Russia in Global Affairs

The realization of national interests, and of foreign policy in general, depends not only on the conscious, scientifically grounded formulation of the content of these interests, but also on the perception by state leaders of the “avails and needs of their homeland and the aspirations of other countries.”

Pragmatism is one of the fundamental principles of Russia’s foreign policy. Although this term is somewhat abstract, its content is quite concrete. The 2016 Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation envisages that diplomats’ efforts should be focused on creating favorable external condi-tions for the country’s sustainable internal development.

We should gradually free foreign policy of rigid subordination to geopolitics and related super-involvement. Geopolitics won’t disappear, but becoming less engulfed in it is an important task for Russia to tackle.

China has gradually evolved from a consumer into a producer and exporter of international knowledge. The shift of not only world power but also the production of international knowledge to China is already a real phenomenon of modern IR theories.

The 2018/2019 world political season ended in an atmosphere of some fated madness, with tragedies degrading into a farce in line with Hegel’s trite aphorism. But the atmosphere of farce makes everyone fear that the situation may spiral out of control for the most trivial of reasons.

Stephen F. Cohen ‘s book War with Russia? is controversial and debatable. Any of the author’s arguments should create applause by his supporters and fierce opposition from his critics as they could be the starting point for a much-needed debate.

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.

Even the most controversial Chinese assessments concerning Russian diplomacy are of interest as they are formulated not from the Western point of view but from the position of China as a new rising power seeking to create its own specific national style in diplomacy.

It seemed before the Singapore summit, - the meeting of the leaders of the US and North Korea, which was drawing attention of the whole international community while being prepared, that Donald Trump’s “blackmail diplomacy” proved its effectiveness. However, is it possible to consider his policy towards Pyongyang and his administration’s foreign policy a success?