Offensive or Neoclassical Realism? How a Great Power Shapes Its Environment

Abstract: This thesis aims to shed light on the differences between offensive and a specific version of neoclassical realism on their expectations regarding how a great power shapes its environment. The neoclassical framework proposed in this work constitutes an independent variable captured by the polarity in the system, an intervening variable of state capacity, and a dependent variable of revisionist foreign policy. It is argued that along with multipolarity and bipolarity, there is a need to incorporate unipolarity in structural realist accounts. Analysed from this perspective, great powers feel high external pressure due to the nature of unipolarity, which diminishes the value of pure structural frameworks. In this respect, the incorporation of state-level factors provides more reliable analyses for explaining anxious great powers` strive for regional hegemony. As a result, neoclassical realism is better equipped to explain Russia`s revisionist foreign policy.