The Communist Theory of International Relations

This essay analyses the distinctive effects of Marxist-Leninist ideology and Communist practice on states ruled by Communist parties and states with non-Communist or ‘bourgeois’ regimes. Communist regimes assert that they are historically destined to triumph over ‘capitalist’ and ‘imperialist’ governments. From 1917 to 1944, the Soviet Union was the sole Communist-governed state. Since 1944 there have been multiple Communist-ruled states. Such states generally have formal state-to-state relations in addition to Communist party-to-party relations. Non-Communist-ruled states may have oppositional relations with domestic and foreign Communist parties as well as formal relations with the foreign ministries of Communist-led states. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union has claimed that its decisions bind all Communist parties, but it has also accepted the primacy of a global gathering of Communist parties. Disputes among Communist parties over doctrine and interests that are theoretically congruent raise questions about the coherence of the ideology. Forming a Communist world-state to suppress national rivalries could offer a solution, but at the cost of abandoning national state sovereignties and the autonomy of specific Communist parties.

Gender parity in the foreign services of African countries

The paper considers the gender situation in foreign ministries of African states. The authors investigate the history of gender changes in diplomacy in post-colonial Africa and the reasons for the high representation of women in foreign ministries and embassies of certain states, as well as policies for the recruitment of diplomatic personnel. The present paper pays special attention to the activities of foreign ministers and examines biographies and political careers of individual African women diplomats. The authors note the typical challenges the latter face in their work. Furthermore, the article broadens the understanding of the contribution of African women diplomats to the development of political, economic and cultural relations with Russia.

Consular Protection with Chinese Characteristics: Challenges and Solutions

Summary In today’s globalised world, giving consular protection to an increasing number of overseas citizens has become a common challenge to foreign ministries. China, as the most populous country witnessing fast economic development, is facing more severe challenges in this field. Since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, China’s consular protection has demonstrated new trends such as involving more actors in service delivery, constructing a co-ordination network, legalizing the management and taking targeted preventive measures. Compared with developed countries, ‘whole government involvement’ is the most prominent feature of China’s consular protection practice.

Tasks of improving the UN's activities and training personnel for work in the Organization

The article presents a personal view of the former executive offi cer of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation/USSR to the UN on the state, problems and prospects of development of this Organization. It provides an analysis of the activities of UN member States and their foreign ministries to use opportunities to preserve peace and international security. Particular attention is paid to the inconsistency of the US course in the fi eld of arms control, reform of the UN and its Security Council, with an emphasis on the analysis of Russia's position. The article highlights the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs in preparing recommendations for Russian delegations when discussing specifi c items on the approved agenda at the annual sessions of the General Assembly. Much attention is paid to those areas of the UN's activities, the regulation of which would meet the interests of Russia and other Member states: the fi ght against international terrorism and organized crime; ensuring international security; promoting economic development of the UN state; prevention of armed confl icts; strengthening the cooperation of Member States in the fi ght against infectious and other dangerous diseases. The need to improve the structures and apparatus of the UN is emphasized. In this regard, it is emphasized the need to organize at a high professional level training of competent specialists for work on the UN line in the Russian Foreign Ministry and in the UN structures in New York, Vienna, Geneva, etc.

Hashtag Diplomacy and Its Use in Africa

"Hashtag diplomacy or ‘Twitter’ diplomacy, sometimes referred to as twiplomacy, is an emerging tool used by international policy actors, such as heads of state and diplomats, to conduct public diplomacy and to reach out to worldwide audiences. In a 2018 study of government Twitter users around the world, 951 Twitter accounts were identified as belonging to state leaders and foreign ministries in 187 countries. Therefore, close to 100% of United Nations members states (193 members) consider Twitter to be a valid enough tool to employ on a frequent basis. These users have a combined audience of close to 490 million followers. But what of Twitter’s value for individual diplomats, foreign ministries and heads of state and government in Africa? Can this tool be of use in the management and implementation of public diplomacy in a continent where internet penetration is 40% of the combined population and if so, what are these foreign policymakers using it for? This chapter intends to address these questions by exploring the use of hashtag diplomacy in Africa, and other regions, in reference to select examples. It will begin by situating this type of diplomacy under the umbrella of public diplomacy and it will then move on to consider feasibility and reach of this social media platform in Africa. Keywords: hashtag/Twitter diplomacy; Africa; social media "

Hardening attitudes may obstruct Sofia-Skopje solution

Significance The annexe aims to prevent Bulgaria vetoing the EU-NM inter-governmental conference (IGC) in December. Working groups from both foreign ministries have been created to discuss their differences and attempt to resolve them by November 10, when Zaev meets his Bulgarian counterpart in Sofia. Impacts A Bulgarian veto of the IGC would be a blow to Germany, which has pushed hard for greater openness to Western Balkan applicants. It would also be a blow to Greece, which forced painful concessions on Skopje in 2018 with the promise of EU membership negotiations. Another postponement of negotiations would weaken the coalition in Skopje, embolden EU-sceptical parties and disappoint the public. NM's Albanian minority would blame 'Yugo-nostalgia' and Serb influence on ethnic Macedonians, echoing accusations regularly voiced in Sofia.

Training Skills with Common-Interest Building

This fourth Synthesis of the Science Diplomacy Action series involves that pedagogy of common-interest building among allies and adversaries alike as a negotiation skill to apply, train and refine. This serial edition also represents a journey with science diplomacy and its engine of informed decisionmaking among friends who facilitated the first formal dialogue between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia regarding security in the Arctic, which we co-directed at the University of Cambridge in 2010. The starting point for that NATO-Russia dialogue was science diplomacy, as an holistic (international, interdisciplinary and inclusive) process to balance national interests and common interests for the benefit of all on Earth across generations. Operation of this holistic process became clear in 2016 during the 1st International Dialogue on Science and Technology Advice in Foreign Ministries, when the ‘continuum of urgencies’ was identified from security time scales (mitigating risks of political, economic, cultural and environmental instabilities that are immediate) to sustainability time scales (balancing economic prosperity, environmental protection and societal well-being across generations). The following year, the theoretical framework of informed decisionmaking – operating across a ‘continuum of urgencies’ short-term to long-term – emerged with the case study published in Science about the 2017 Agreement on Enhancing International Arctic Scientific Cooperation, which has entered into force among the eight Arctic states. With continuing acceleration, in 2020, Springer published the first volume in the new book series on INFORMED DECISIONMAKING FOR SUSTAINABILITY. The graduate course on “Science Diplomacy: Environmental Security and Law in the Arctic Ocean” was introduced in 2016 with the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, involving a Mock Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting as the culminating synthesis with the Student Ambassadors. Framed around their working papers for the Mock Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting, the Student Ambassadors negotiated a declaration, which they adopted by consensus and signed at end of that first semester. In subsequent years, additional holistic integration exercises were introduced into the course, including the Common-Interest Building – Training Game with the pedagogy of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, each of which has international, interdisciplinary and inclusive relevance at local-global levels (APPENDIX 1: Syllabus – Spring 2020). From 2017 through 2020, the graduate course was expanded to Science Diplomacy: Environmental Security and Law in the Arctic Ocean, involving The Fletcher School in Medford (Massachusetts, United States) and the International Law Programme at MGIMO University in Moscow (Russian Federation). Building on a Memorandum of Understanding between our institutions, this joint video-conferencing course was approved by the Russian Ministry of Education and involved Carnegie Corporation of New York funding that was directed by Prof. Paul Arthur Berkman, contributing to the soon-to-be Russia and Eurasia Program at The Fletcher School. Each year, Student Ambassadors from the United States and Russian Federation adopted and signed joint declarations by consensus, as an exercise in common-interest building. Results of training skills with common-interest building are reflected herein with the compilation of consensus declarations crafted by the Student Ambassadors in their Mock Arctic Council Ministerial Meetings from 2016 to 2020. The essence of common-interest building is to make inormed decisions that operate across time in view of urgencies, short-term to long-term, tactical and strategic. Urgencies are embedded across diverse time scales with local-global relevance, as demonstrated by accelerating impacts through: month-years with our global pandemic; years-decades with high technologies; and decades-centuries with global human population size and atmospheric carbon-dioxide concentration in our Earth system. The underlying process of informed decisionmaking involves holistic integration with science as the ‘study of change’, revealed with the natural sciences and social sciences as well as Indigenous knowledge, all of which characterize patterns, trends and processes (albeit with different methods) that become the bases for decisions. Contributing with research and action, the institutions involved with decisionmaking produce: governance mechanisms (laws, agreements and policies as well as regulatory strategies, including insurance, at diverse jurisdictional levels); and built infrastructure (fixed, mobile and other assets, including communication, observing, information and other systems that require technology plus investment). Coupling of governance mechanisms and built infrastructure contributes to progress with sustainability, which were weaved throughout the course with the Arctic Ocean as a case study. Outcomes of the joint-video conferencing course between The Fletcher School and MGIMO University have accelerated globally into the training initiatives with diplomatic schools among foreign ministries as well as with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Our hope is science diplomacy and its engine of informed decisionmaking will lead to lifelong learning across the jurisdictional spectrum with its subnational-national-international legal levels for the benefit of all on Earth across generations.

“Football More Important Than Berlin”

In the early 1960s Portugal and the Netherlands confronted the problem of East German participation in the UEFA Junior Tournament and Olympic qualification. Although not very important tournaments, domestic governments feared they would cause a public backlash against themselves and NATO should the East Germans not be allowed to participate. These games became tied up with debates over NATO policies, national interest, and public opinion. The popularity of football prompted some states to attempt to use the national interest exception to the East German travel ban. These football matches brought the Cold War into the smaller NATO member states’ national boundaries. By hosting sporting events the Netherlands and Portugal engaged directly with their NATO allies over Cold War policies with which they did not fully agree or which they believed would cause public opinion problems at home and abroad. NATO diplomats, foreign ministries, and the leaders of national and international football federations spent months in protracted negotiations over whether minor football matches involving the German Democratic Republic would even take place during the height of the Cold War as each group attempted to appear blameless in the court of public opinion.

Information and communication technologies in work of the foreign affairs ministries of Central Asian countries

Taking into account the rapidly developing sphere of ICT and its importance, it seems relevant to consider the role and features of the practical use of information and communication technologies in the activities of the Central Asian foreign ministries. The article emphasizes that the use of such an important tool as ICT in the work of the ministries of foreign affairs of Central Asia countries is not developed enough, although, there is a positive trend.

Presidential Delegation to Foreign Ministries: A Study of Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico (1946–2015)

When do presidents delegate policy-making authority to their foreign ministries? And is foreign policy unique in this respect? We posit that six international, national, and personal factors determine the opportunity and motivation of presidents to delegate, and then analyse the cases of Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico in 1946–2015. By applying fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, we find that four combinations of factors are sufficient paths to delegation: (1) international stability and elite consensus on foreign policy; (2) international stability, right-wing president, and low diplomatic professionalisation; (3) international stability, right-wing president, and low presidential expertise on foreign policy; or (4) absence of authoritarianism combined with elite consensus on foreign policy and right-wing president. Our study of foreign ministries reinforces some of the main findings of the scholarly literature on other ministries, thus challenging the view of foreign policy-making as different from domestic policy areas.