Survey research and Russian perspectives on NATO expansion

A specialist on Russian politics and foreign relations employs large-N surv ey research to analyze the reactions of Russian elites and mass publics to the expansion of NATO eastward. The article assesses the salience of NATO-r elated issues to elites and mass publics; preferences as to current and fut ure Russian policy responses; the correlation between elite and mass threat perceptions and their orientations to the domestic political economy, and orientations to further NATO expansion. Survey data are combined with insig hts about foreign-policy orientations in relatively open Systems to explain and anticipate Russian policy choices in the face of NATO expansion, NATO' s intervention in Kosovo, debates concerning the scope of NATO's mission, a nd prospects for a further increase in NATO's membership.