scholarly journals Ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation, state priorities, law-making

Author(s):  
Valeriy Zhabskiy ◽  
Aleksander Shuvalov

In the early 1990 s, the foreign policy concept in Russia was based on the policy of «Euro-Atlanticism», which presumed orientation towards the Western model of development, integration with the Western countries and a conflict-free vision of international relations. But unlike the era of «Cold War» with the USSR, the Western countries did not consider the Russian Federation to be equal in status and did not hasten the process of establishing strategic partnership. Russia has never managed to establish an alliance with the Western countries and become «part of the Western world», «Euro-Atlanticism» has not proved itself. In the late 1990s, a shift began to a course of «multi-vector» foreign policy, implying a multipolar system of international relations. Moreover, at the end of the twentieth century, the Russian Federation faced growing threats from the United States and the countries that make up the military-political bloc of NATO, which necessitated a rethinking of priorities and possibilities for ensuring the protection of Russia’s national interests and security, and the development and adoption of new doctrines and concepts on the subject. This article thus deals with the process of establishing State priorities on the basis of the principle of protecting the national interests and safeguarding the national security of the Russian Federation during the period 1999-2007.

Author(s):  
Grigorii Aleksandrovich Maistrenko

National security issues are crucial, multifaceted, and integral phenomena of social and political life of the country. This article explores the normative legal framework that regulates this sphere of social relations. The article presents an analysis of the features of legal support for national security as a problem of stabilizing society. Analysis is conducted on the peculiarities of legal support of national security as the problem of stabilization of society. The author notes that the national security policy, first and foremost should be aimed at ensuring geopolitical interests of the Russian Federation, its sovereignty, political stability, and progressive socioeconomic development. Research methodology employs complex and systemic approaches; systemic, functional, historical general scientific methods; analysis and synthesis as private scientific methods; formal-legal analysis of normative legal acts; and comparative legal method. It is claimed that in the sphere of domestic policy, the key prerequisite for achieving the protection of national interests should consists in unification of the nation in order to solve spiritual, cultural and material tasks due to the overall sustainability and consent in the country, nonviolent resolution of domestic social conflicts; while in the sphere of foreign policy – planning and implementation of foreign policy actions from the perspective of ensuring national interests. The author gives practical recommendations for further improvement of national security system of the Russian Federation.


2020 ◽  
pp. 131-147
Author(s):  
O. Demenko

The article explores the state and development trends of modern international relations. It is noted that modern scientific thought has not yet developed unified approaches to characterizing the current stage in the development of international relations. At the same time, many scientists and political analysts assess the current state of international relations as a new “cold war”. In support of this position, they point out that in recent years a whole network of clashes, wars and contradictions has developed around the world, at the center of which were disagreements of the same nature as during the years of the first Cold War. At the same time, there is an opinion that the current relations between the West and the Russian Federation cannot be characterized as a new “cold war”. The status of Russia today cannot be compared with the status of the USSR, China is much stronger than the Russian Federation, and the United States remains the dominant force in the world. It is noted that, although the current conflict in many respects differs from the first Cold War, there are a number of general signs that suggest the similarity of modern international relations with the conflict of the previous historical period. The tools that participants in the conflict can use have changed, the role of ideology has decreased, and, on the contrary, the importance of the economy, technologies and the information sphere has increased, nuclear weapons have a different influence and geography, and the processes of globalization significantly affect the dynamics of international relations. But in a sense, the current conflict can be called a continuation of the first Cold War. Ukraine, along with some other post-Soviet countries, has become an arena of confrontation between the collective West and the Russian Federation in the context of the new Cold War. Based on this, the main priority of Ukraine’s foreign policy should be the effective implementation of the European and Euro-Atlantic integration strategy. Joining the Euro-Atlantic security system and approaching Western standards of democracy, law and socio-economic development will be the main guarantee of independence and further progressive development of the Ukrainian state.


Author(s):  
Viktor V. Nikitin ◽  

ased on archival documents from the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Moscow, which are being introduced into scholarly use for the first time, this essay discusses the two basic approaches of Slovak diplomats to Russian foreign policy. The first approach, utilised during the era of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Andrei V. Kozyrev, was described by Slovak representatives in Russia criticising its pro-Western policy that they said did not meet Russian national interests, but was then being pursued by the then top of the Russian Foreign Ministry. They saw the main problems of Russian diplomacy as being the deterioration of the socio-economic situation of the population of the Russian Federation on the one hand, and Kozyrev's emphasis on “strategic partnership” with the United States on the other, which gave rise to growing anti-American sentiments both among the political elite and the Russian electorate. This led, in particular, to a situation where even the most important bilateral agreements between Russia and the United States were perceived by the deputies of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation as a betrayal of Russian national interests. The second approach, which appeared in Slovak diplomatic reports under the next head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Evgeny M. Primakov, was characterised by, after modifying both their rhetoric and approach to foreign policy, criticism of the minister, which resulted in an attempt by Western countries, especially the United States, to have him removed from his post. This is because Slovakia did not need even a hint of a conflict between Russia and the West, since both the Western and the post-Soviet spaces became the most important and, in a sense, even irreplaceable areas of Slovak foreign policy.


Author(s):  
Sergei Valer'evich Krivov ◽  
Tat'yana Vladimirovna Baranova ◽  
Sergey Valer'evich Starkin

The subject of this research is the sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia in response to the Ukrainian events of 2014. Leaning on the available empirical data and expert assessments conducted by various financial and analytical structures, an attempt is made to identify the nature and severity of impact of sanction pressure upon different economic sectors of the Russian Federation, implemented for achieving the foreign policy goals. Emphasis is placed on the absence of uniform sanctions policy due to the specificity of foreign policy goals and peculiarities of sanction mechanisms used by the United States and the European Union. It is underlined that anti-Russian sanctions and Russia’s response in many instances are substantiated by the preceding trends in strategic vision of foreign and domestic policy by the Russian Federation, as well as the nature of its relations with the West. The conclusion is made that the focus in studying the problem of sanctions has shifted towards the political analysis and further analytical and scientific examination. The author believes that in the conditions of uncertainty of the economic effects and absence of common approaches towards understanding the prospects of sanctions policy by the Western countries the two main scenarios of its further development. It would either gradually fade out without “renewed efforts”, slowly negating its practical effect, and prompt the United States and the European Union intensify the dialogue with Russia, avoiding the problematic issues on the status of Crimea, implication in the events in South-Eastern Ukraine, etc.; or it can lead to full “politicization” of sanctions polity and its integration into the negotiation process on settlement of the Ukrainian situation and turning into a powerful tool for conducting negotiations.


Author(s):  
Jarosław Sadłocha

The category of a national interest is one of the most popular notions used in international relations. It has a polysemic character and is differently interpreted by various scientific perspectives. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief analysis of selected approaches of the theory of international relations to defining interests and correlating the interpretations of national interests of the Russian Federation performed on their bases. The choice of case study concerning the foreign policy of the Russian Federation is not accidental because in countries aspiring to gain world power the concept of national interest is raised while explaining the motives of decisions taken by their leaders exceptionally often. In this article, Russia’s interests will be discussed in reference to the annexation of the Crimea and Russia’s actions towards Ukraine. Those events vividly show the specificity of defining the national interests, based on one hand on the pursue to being a powerhouse and understanding the interests in the category of power and, on the other hand, resulting from the political identity of Russian elites. As a result, an assessment of the scientific utility of selected theoretical paradigms and their use in the analyses of Russia’s foreign policy will be outlined.


2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 131-161
Author(s):  
G. G. Kosach

The paper examines the evolution of Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy in the context of wider changes in the Middle East and in the Arab world triggered by the Arab Spring. The author argues that during this decade the Kingdom’s foreign policy has witnessed a fundamental transformation: the very essence of the Saudi foreign policy course has changed signifi cantly as the political es-tablishment has substantially revised its approaches to the country’s role in the region and in the world. Before 2011, Saudi Arabia — the land of the ‘Two Holy Mosques’ — positioned itself as a representative of the international Muslim community and in pursuing its foreign policy relied primarily on the religious authority and fi nancial capabilities. However, according to Saudi Arabia’s leaders, the Arab Spring has plunged the region into chaos and has bolstered the infl uence of various extremist groups and movements, which required a signifi cant adjustment of traditional political approaches. Saudi Arabia, more explicit than ever before, has declared itself as a nation state, as a regional leader possessing its own interests beyond the abstract ‘Muslim Ummah’. However, the author stresses that these new political ambitions do not imply a complete break with the previous practice. For example, the containment of Iran not only remains the cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy, but has become even more severe. The paper shows that it is this opposition to Iran, which is now justifi ed on the basis of protecting the national interests, that predetermines the nature and the specifi c content of contemporary Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy including interaction with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), approaches towards the solution of the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict, combating terrorism, and relations with the United States. In that regard, the transformation of Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy has, on the one hand, opened up new opportunities for strengthening the Kingdom’s interaction with Israel, but, at the same time, has increased tensions within the framework of strategic partnership with the United States. The author concludes that currently Saudi Arabia is facing a challenge of diversifying its foreign policy in order to increase its international profi le and political subjectivity.


Author(s):  
Pavel A. Anisimov ◽  

The article examines the main challenges to the national security of the Russian Federation in the Arctic region. In particular, the author analyzes the reasons for the behavioral patterns of Russia and the NATO countries in relation to the Arctic through the prism of a realistic paradigm in the theory of international relations. It is the comprehensive approach to the consideration of the Arctic situation that determines the novelty and relevance of the study. In connection with the discovery and development of large mineral deposits, the role of the Arctic region in modern world political processes has increased. Also, since the late 20th – early 21st century, the Arctic has been in the focus of increased attention of international actors due to its geopolitical importance. All this makes it a priority for Russia. The intensification of the economic activity of the Russian Federation in the Arctic, as well as the implementation of such projects as the Northern Sea Route, has become the cause of the growing tensions in the region. The United States and other NATO countries, whose geopolitical interests are affected, are not only strengthening their anti-Russian rhetoric, but also increasing their military presence. In turn, this is perceived by the Russian side as a strategic threat and leads to mirror measures, including the deployment of a military infrastructure and an increase in the number of military exercises. However, despite growing tensions in the Arctic, Russia has consistently demonstrated its readiness for open dialogue and cooperation with its Western partners.


1995 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 510-532
Author(s):  
Christoph Bluth

RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY IS STILL IN A STATE OF FLUX. LIKE the other former republics of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation seeks to come to terms with being an independent state needing to define its national interests and foreign and security policy objectives.The principal element in the new frame of reference for Moscow is the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union itself. For forty years, most of the territories controlled by Moscow were adjacent to territories protected by the United States, or else to China. The Russian Federation is now virtually surrounded by former Soviet republics, all with deep political, social and economic problems, and some of which are highly unstable and subject to violent civil conflicts. The territory of the Russian Federation itself, about 75 per cent of the territory of the former USSR with about 60 per cent of its population, is still not properly defined, given that significant sections of the borders are purely notional, and the degree of control that Moscow can exercise over the entire Federation is uncertain.


2004 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahram Akbarzadeh

In March 2002 the United States and Uzbekistan signed a Declaration of Strategic Partnership. This document marked a qualitative break in the international relations of Uzbekistan and, to some degree, the United States' relations with Central Asia. Uzbekistan had sought closer relations with the United States since its independence in September 1991. But the course of U.S.-Uzbek relations was not smooth. Various obstacles hindered Tashkent's progress in making a positive impression on successive U.S. administrations in the last decade of the twentieth century. Tashkent's abysmal human rights record and the snail's pace of democratic reforms made the notion of closer ties with Uzbekistan unsavoury for U.S. policy makers. At the same time, Washington was more concerned with developments in Russia. Other former Soviet republics, especially the five Central Asian states, were relegated to the periphery of the U.S. strategic outlook. But the dramatic events of September 11 and the subsequent U.S.-led “war on terror” changed the geopolitical landscape of Central Asia. The consequent development of ties between Tashkent and Washington was beyond the wildest dreams of Uzbek foreign policy makers. Virtually overnight, Uzbek leaders found themselves in a position to pursue an ambitious foreign policy without being slowed by domestic considerations.


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