Russia in Global Affairs

A large part of the global majority sees current events as just another confrontation between white people.

The African effort at negotiating for peace between the parties is not only a laudable one but one that holds significant merit not only for Africa but for the Global South and the globe generally.

Africa sees Russia as primarily a promising trade partner and a guarantor of its food and energy security, and, generally a long-term reliable partner for development. At a new stage, after Russia’s withdrawal from the “Black Sea Grain Initiative”, it is necessary to attach greater importance to the preservation and expansion of humanitarian exports from Russia in the Russia-Africa format and on a bilateral basis.

Attempts to encourage changes in the positions of African states by carrot and stick have limits. The distancing of African countries from both Russia and the United States was not the result of policy reformulation by African countries, but primarily because Russia and the United States themselves had changed and radicalized their approaches.

The 2023 Russia-Africa summit will be an important feature of not only the year but of future relations and development. Cooperation between Russia and South Africa, the rest of Africa and with as much of the world as possible could help fortify humanity against the ever-present danger presented by black swans in the international system.

In this insightful interview conducted by Modern Diplomacy executive Kester Kenn Klomegah with Fyodor Lukyanov, Chairman of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, Research Director at the Valdai Discussion Club, and Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, focused largely on Russia and Africa relations, and a few aspects of the emerging new world order.

A variety of principles of international relations are manifest in the emerging world of neo-modernity. While the Middle East concept within Western Asia and North Africa is struggling with the challenges of postmodern relativism and some of its elements are waning, the premodern concept of the Islamic world is regaining relevancy.

Islamism. Political Islam. Islamic fundamentalism. The mass media and academic studies are literally brimming with these terms. However, what we see today as a natural component of international relations, in the 1970s-1980s was an unheard-of and inconceivable phenomenon in world politics.

As the current years draws to a close, one of its key results may be the greater initiative that is taken by the developing world in driving economic integration in the global economy. China has firmly occupied the leading role in the sphere of opening markets and advancing new formats and models of economic integration.