ABSTRACT
Russia-China relations are usually analysed through the prism of strategic interactions between rational actors, epitomised by leaders of the two states. This chapter demonstrates how deeply the relationship between Moscow and Beijing is embedded and influenced by domestic factors. It discusses elements of Russia's and China's domestic politics that have been conducive to closer co-operation between the two states. Russia's political regime has evolved into a personalised system, while China's has taken on an institutionalised form. The chapter looks at four types of domestic arrangement that have a particular bearing on the conduct of foreign policy: leadership, domestic power relations, national identity and the two states discourses regarding each other. Domestic power relations illustrate how the pluralism of the powerful, bargaining among key political and economic actors, influences Russia and China's international behaviour. The configurations of domestic power relations in Russia and China differ, mostly because of the fact that the major political parties have different roles.
