Presidential Address: Main Currents in Russian Foreign Policy

1947 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 167-186
Author(s):  
R. W. Seton-Watson

In my first Address from this chair I chose as my subject ‘The Foundations of British Policy’, in the belief that its study is more than ever incumbent upon ourselves and upon the succeeding generation, and that neglect and incomprehension are among the major causes of the most devastating war in all our history. And if it is an urgent duty, in the interests of future peace, to study and discuss the workings of our own policy, it follows that we must also clear our minds as to the underlying motives of other Powers, both friendly and hostile. The price that we have all had to pay for neglect of German history is even to-day not yet fully understood. But to the plain man Russian policy, with its many shifts of extreme violence, is even more mysterious. Thus the events which brought us together in 1941, in an alliance of twenty years for which there is no precedent, ought to be, nay are, the personal concern of every one of us. These events, the result of Hitler's supreme blunder in invading Russia, represent a rebound from unreasoning isolation and appeasement to a policy first of guarantees, then of increasingly effective intervention, and finally of unswerving ‘jusqu'au-bout-isme’. Are we to assume that that unconventional alliance was merely dictated by passing necessity and is in gradual dissolution, or alternately that it rests upon a solidarity of interests which far outbids ideological aims?

Author(s):  
А.А. Синдеев

Актуальность статьи определяется востребованностью на нынешнем этапе осмысления опыта современной России исследований, посвященных процессам, явлениям, принципам и подходам, сопровождавшим формирование ее внешней политики. При этом речь идет как об универсальном, так и об индивидуальном (личностном) уровнях. Об актуальности выбранной темы свидетельствуют совпавшие в 2020 году два юбилея — Организации Объединенных Наций, ее Совета Безопасности и юбилей министра иностранных дел России Сергея Викторовича Лаврова. С учетом последнего факта данная статья не носит свойственного юбилейным статьям характера. Ее цель состоит в том, чтобы проанализировать, какие принципы и подходы в конце ХХ — начале XXI века были положены в основу российской внешней политики. Для реализации заявленной цели автор использовал открытые источники — послания Президента РФ В. В. Путина Федеральному собранию с 2000 по 2004 год, а также все протоколы заседаний Совета Безопасности ООН за вышеуказанный хронологический период, и выделил для статьи те из них, которые касались борьбы с терроризмом, поскольку эта проблематика была востребована в 2000–2004 годах и предоставляла хорошие шансы для объединения усилий различных партнеров. Данные материалы потребовали применения системного подхода, историко-генетического, историко-типологического и сравнительно-исторического методов. Результатами проведенного исследования стали систематизация официальных внешнеполитических установок, анализ принципов и подходов, использованных С. В. Лавровым на посту постоянного представителя России в Совбезе ООН. Полученные результаты необходимо воспринимать как предварительные. Работа над проблемой должна быть продолжена. The relevance of the article is accounted for by the necessity to analyze and reassess research works devoted to the processes, phenomena, principles and strategies that have shaped the foreign policy of modern Russia. The article treats the issue on both universal and individual (personal) levels. The relevance of the issue is accounted for by two anniversaries we celebrate in 2020, namely the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council and the 70th birth anniversary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov. It should be noted, however, that the tone of the article is not celebratory. It is aimed at the analysis of principles and strategies of the foreign policy adopted by the Russian Federation in the late 20th — early 21stcenturies. To achieve the aim of the research, the author of the article analyzes open sources, such as Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation given by the Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2000–2004, and all the minutes of meetings of the United Nations Security Council in 2000–2004. The author focuses attention on speeches devoted to the struggle against terrorism, for the issue was highly relevant in 2000–2004 and demanded that partners should coordinate their efforts to combat common challenges. To analyze the abovementioned data, the author of the article employed systemic approach, history and genetic approach, historical-typological approach, comparative-historical approach. The research enabled the author to systematize official guidelines of Russian foreign policy and to analyze the principles and strategies used by S. V. Lavrov as permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Security Council. It should be noted that the findings of the research are preliminary and require further analysis.


1947 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 47-67
Author(s):  
R. W. Seton-Watson

I fear that my address to-day will inevitably disappoint expectations, for I have no state secrets to offer you, and in the time at my disposal I obviously cannot hope to cover so vast a field. A more modest, and therefore more correct, title would be ‘Some Aspects of Foreign Policy’, planned merely in outline, but capable of evoking and sustaining fuller discussion in parallel fields.


Upravlenie ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 116-122
Author(s):  
Sadeghi Elham Mir Mohammad ◽  
Ahmad Vakhshitekh

The article considers and analyses the basic principles and directions of Russian foreign policy activities during the presidency of V.V. Putin from the moment of his assumption of the post of head of state to the current presidential term. The authors determine the basic principles of Russia's foreign policy in the specified period and make the assessment to them. The study uses materials from publications of both Russian and foreign authors, experts in the field of political science, history and international relations, as well as documents regulating the foreign policy activities of the highest state authorities. The paper considers the process of forming the priorities of Russia's foreign policy both from the point of view of accumulated historical experience and continuity of the internal order, and in parallel with the processes of transformation of the entire system of international relations and the world order. The article notes the multi-vector nature of Russia's foreign policy strategy aimed at developing multilateral interstate relations, achieving peace and security in the interstate arena, actively countering modern challenges and threats to interstate security, as well as the formation of a multipolar world. The authors conclude that at present, Russia's foreign policy activity is aimed at strengthening Russia's prestige, supporting economic growth and competitiveness, ensuring security and implementing national interests. Internal political reforms contribute to strengthening the political power of the President of the Russian Federation and increasing the efficiency of foreign policy decision-making.


Author(s):  
Andrej Krickovic

Over the last four decades, Russia has been at the very center of peaceful change in international relations. Gorbachev’s conciliatory New Thinking (NT) fundamentally transformed international relations, ending the Cold War struggle and dismantling the Soviet empire and world communist movement. Contemporary Russia is at the forefront of the transition away from American unipolarity and toward what is believed will be a more equitable and just multipolar order. Over time, Russia has moved away from the idealism that characterized Gorbachev’s NT and toward a more hard-nosed and confrontational approach toward peaceful change. The chapter traces this evolution with a particular emphasis on the role that Russia’s unmet expectations of reciprocity and elevated status have played in the process. If they are to be successful, future efforts at peaceful change will have to find ways to address these issues of reciprocity and status, especially under circumstances where there are power asymmetries between the side making concessions and the side receiving them. Nevertheless, despite its disappointments, Russia’s approach to change remains (largely) peaceful. Elements of NT, including its emphasis on interdependence, collective/mutual security, and faith in the possibility of positive transformation, continue to be present in modern Russian foreign policy thinking.


1995 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 986-988
Author(s):  
Janet M. Hartley

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-56
Author(s):  
Irina Busygina ◽  
Mikhail Filippov

In this article, we explore the inherent trade-offs and inconsistencies of Russia’s policies toward the post-Soviet space. We argue that attempts to rebuild an image of Russia as a “great power” have actually led to a reduction of Russian influence in the post-Soviet region. The more Russia acted as a “Great Power,” the less credible was its promise to respect the national sovereignty of the former Soviet republics. In 2011, Vladimir Putin declared that during his next term as president, his goal would be to establish a powerful supra-national Eurasian Union capable of becoming one of the poles in a multipolar world. However, Russia’s attempt to force Ukraine to join the Eurasian Union provoked the 2014 crisis. The Ukrainian crisis has de-facto completed the separation of Ukraine and Russia and made successful post-Soviet re-integration around Russia improbable.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document