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Post-Soviet Russia has had the will to dominate its neighbors, but it no longer has the capability. Its Central Eurasian neighbors are much stronger and more confident about their independence, and Russia's influence is being effectively challenged there by China, the West, and the democratic economies of Asia. Unable to modernize its economy and armed forces, Russia has failed to achieve most of the main objectives (excluding NATO, regaining trade exclusivity, ending drug, arms, and terrorist infiltration) it has set for itself in the "near abroad." In view of Russia's admitted weakness and its excessive reliance on oil and gas exports, some of its leaders favor redirecting its efforts to improving relations with the West. Aside from Central Asia, where Russia is cooperating with NATO in combating extreme Islamists operating in Afghanistan, Russia is trying to establish an Eurasian customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus. But relations with most of the others have deteriorated to some degree in recent years.

Soviet foreign policy underwent a significant change in orientation in the early 1970s. Emphasis on the pursuit of a new, more constructive relationship with the United States gave way to a primary focus on competition with the U.S. for influence and strategic presence in the third world, and there was a notable reduction of traditional restraints on the conduct of that competition. The article focuses on Soviet policy in the region and the period in which this redirection of policy was first manifested—the Middle East between the June 1967 and the October 1973 wars; it explains this major change by an analysis of the divergent images of the United States and of U.S.-Soviet relations that were held by Soviet elites, and the outcome of conflict among holders of the respective images.

Under the authoritarian regime of Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan has achieved independence and stability by exploiting its natural resources through a strategy of “staple globalism” and by balancing the great powers against each other. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the new regime first distanced itself from Russia and tried regional alliances, then accepted help from NATO, and most recently turned cautiously to Russia (and China). Throughout, Uzbekistan has managed to receive considerable assistance from international agencies and military aid from several outside powers, albeit relatively little private foreign investment, owing to its poor business climate. The country has also handled potential conflicts with neighbors without significant violence.

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