The Russia-Middle East policy has demonstrated considerable resilience, as has the regional system of international relations
Introduction
When Vladimir Putin launched his “special military operation” in Ukraine a year ago, many experts and journalists concluded that this decision would inevitably have a fundamental impact on Russia’s foreign policy all over the world, including the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. For instance, there were widespread expectations that being distracted...
The realism of foreign policy remains relevant
The new concept of Russia's foreign policy, unexpectedly for many, introduced the concept of a state-civilisation in official use. Its appearance may be the beginning of a change in the conceptual framework of Russian foreign policy thinking. Moreover, the changes may both ...
Russia risks losing the most out of this portion of its “Ummah Pivot” given growing the Chinese, Turkish and U.S presence
(This is the second and final part of the author’s article series on this topic. The first one can be read
here
, and it is recommended to review it before the present piece).
Russia’s “Ummah Pivot”, or its post-2014 comprehensive engagement with the many Muslim-majority countries along its southern periphery and beyond, comprises one of the most important pillars of its contemporary...
In terms of urbanisation and lifestyle, late Soviet and post-Soviet #Russia were and are a Western society with all its attendant problems
The National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation approved by the President of Russia will go down in history as a document that sharpened the issue of the country’s traditional spiritual and moral values. Values were also featured in in its predecessor, Strategy 2015. However, Strategy 2021 has new accents. The source of the threat is the “Westernisation”...
The Southern vector of Moscow’s balancing act: what awaits it in years to come?
A key component of Russia’s 21st-century grand strategy goal of becoming the supreme balancing force in Eurasia is its “Ummah Pivot” of comprehensive engagement with the Muslim-majority countries to its South, stretching from North Africa to South Asia. This vector of Russian diplomacy is intended to compensate for the recent setbacks in Western Eurasia (Europe) while simultaneously preventing any future disproportionate...
Russia must be able to demonstrate results that exceed those in its attempts to integrate into Globalisation 1.0 at the beginning of the century
On January 1, 2021, we all met both the new year and the new, third decade of the 20th century. This is a good reason to think not only about possible events in world politics over the next twelve months, but also about the likely trends in the development of the international system over the next ten years.
Andrey Kortunov:
Aristotle and Alexander: Two...
U.S.-Russia Relations Post-Election
The Russian media has been overwhelmed by expert (and not so expert) predictions over the past few days about who will win the U.S. presidential elections and how the results will affect U.S.-Russia relations. Both candidates have their fair share of supporters and detractors in Russia.
From the outside, it would seem that current President Donald Trump is generally more popular, despite the fact that relations between Washington and Moscow have hardly improved...
If you expect Moscow to give in to external pressure and make concessions, you’ll be waiting a long time
Just like in many other countries, leap years are generally seen as bad luck in Russia, full of unpleasant surprises, unforeseen problems and bitter trials. And this year has been no different. In February, Russia nearly got caught up in a direct military confrontation with Turkey in Syria. In March, world oil prices plummeted, ushering in a global economic recession. And by April, Russia...
Political crises and controversies regarding a number of issues hardly set aside the need to build trust on specific issues, without mentoring, arrogance and sarcasm on either side
The Carnegie Moscow Center’s web site has published an article by my colleague Sabine Fischer: “
From Gas Pipeline to Navalny. What Russia Doesn’t Get About Germany
"
Liana Fix:
The Times for a Special Relationship Between Germany and Russia Are Over
She attempts to reflect on the aggravation of relations between...
Neither the coronavirus nor the economic recession will automatically lead to a détente, let alone a reset in relations between Russia and the West
Six months ago, when COVID-19 had just moved beyond the borders of China and embarked upon its triumphant march across Europe and North America, politicians and foreign affairs experts started discussing what will happen after the virus is vanquished. The debate that ensued balanced the fears and concerns of pessimists with the hopes and expectations...
