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Post-Soviet Issues

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Vol 9, No 2 (2022)
View or download the full issue PDF (Russian)
https://doi.org/10.24975/2313-8920-2022-9-2

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND GLOBAL POLICY

138-150 1953
Abstract

The change in the balance of power in Ukraine in February 2014 not only changed Ukraine’s foreign policy course, but also marked the beginning of a new Western policy toward Kiev. Political support for the Ukrainian authorities was expanded. Ukraine’s involvement in the sphere of Western interests intensified. Western countries used multilateral mechanisms to form new interstate relations with Ukraine. The Ukrainian army was actively modernized. The West supplied Western equipment. The U.S. and the EU have been closely following the conflict in Donbass. While publicly supporting a peaceful solution to the conflict, the West did not take real steps to resolve it. Advocating a violent solution to the conflict, nationalist forces became actively involved in the country’s domestic politics. Kiev was encouraged to take steps to curtail trade and economic cooperation with Russia and to sever ties between businesses. The IMF was actively pursuing programs and consistently demanding reforms in the social and economic spheres. In the political sphere, the West supported Ukraine’s policy, which led to the aggravation of political relations between the countries. After Vladimir Zelensky came to power in 2019, the West intensified its support for Kiev. Western authorities bet on a forceful solution to the conflict and provoked conflict between Ukraine and Russia. In February 2022, anticipating Ukraine’s actions, Russia launched a special military operation. It called into question the further development of Ukraine and, at the same time, led to an adjustment of Western policy. The U.S. and EU stepped up military support for Kiev and significantly expanded financial aid. This policy of the West has created certain risks for Russia, which has entered the phase of acute geopolitical confrontation with the U.S. and the EU.

151-167 1038
Abstract

The European Union continues to develop the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Adopted in March 2022, the EU’s “Strategic Compass for Security and Defense” in the next decade should become a roadmap for the development of the EU’s ambitions, stated in the 2003 and 2016 EU Strategies. The Strategic Compass offers a list of measures to strengthen the defense component in EU policy. They are concentrated in four main areas: crisis management, resilience, capacity building and partnerships. A significant innovation is the proposal to apply the qualified majority voting procedure on certain issues of foreign policy, security and defense policy. As part of the new EU Strategy, it is proposed to create a group of Rapid deployment forces and increase investment in the defense sector. The innovation will also be the holding of EU exercises and the EU Security and Defense Partnership Forum. Specific action plans for the announced initiatives should be developed by the end of 2022, and their implementation is scheduled for 2030. The Strategic Compass was perceived ambiguously — the key points of criticism are the inability of the Union to ensure its own strategic autonomy. In the context of the changed geopolitical situation in Europe, which coincided with the publication of the new Strategy, the EU countries continued to follow the lead of US policy. The emphasis in Compass on the complementarity of the foreign and security and defense policy of the EU in relation to the Alliance confirms that the countries of Europe will tend to rely on the usual institutions of NATO as opposed to the creation of new structures of the European Union. In addition, significant disagreements in the perception of threats by EU member states, as well as the general amorphousness of the Union’s foreign policy initiatives, remain a problem. It is likely that a significant breakthrough in the creation of effective institutions of European foreign policy, security and defense policy will not be achieved, but the acquisition of new powers by the European Commission will strengthen supranational control over the policies of EU member states in these areas.

168-182 2084
Abstract

The conclusion of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea in 2018 was intended to put an end to a very long and difficult negotiation process to determine the legal regime for this closed water body, which has no natural connection with the World Ocean. The Convention was supposed to fill the gaps in the management of this water area that existed in the framework of the previous Soviet-Iranian agreements of 1921 and 1940, which were in force but not up to date, and to give all the Caspian states common and equal rights and powers to use and exploit the spaces and resources of this maritime region. However, up to 2022, the Convention has not entered into legal force, as one of the Caspian countries — the Islamic Republic of Iran — has not yet ratified this regional agreement, considering that it is the most disadvantaged party. Despite the resolution of the Caspian Sea seabed delimitation issues in its northern part in previous years, the problem of delimitation in its southern part may require both enormous efforts and time, further complicating the current situation. There is as yet no final understanding as to what delimitation models can be used here to satisfy the interests of all the states involved. Moreover, the implementation of the norms and provisions of the 2018 Convention requires the drafting and signing of new bilateral and multilateral documents that close a whole series of “gaps” in the proposed convention regime. In fact, the fate of the 2018 Convention depends on how these contradictions will be resolved. The analysis of these problems is the focus of this paper.

183-190 1455
Abstract

Due to the commonality that has formed between the countries of the Central Asian region and the Islamic Republic of Iran under the influence of the historical and cultural context, unity on the ground of religious beliefs, as well as considering the threats that require consolidation and the development of a common strategy, contacts between these states are currently extremely active and multifaceted. However, this was not always the case, and in this regard, it is worth emphasizing that the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been and remains extremely significant in optimizing the climate in the foreign policy arena. Having freed itself from destructive outside influence and become more pragmatic in matters of state welfare, Iran today has the status of an authoritative subject and initiator of international relations, which is manifested in its focus on mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, economic, cultural and intellectual spheres, in its striving for its own economic prosperity, to ensure stability and security both within the country and throughout the Central Asian region. The article is devoted to the analysis of the foreign policy pursued by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the specificity of which is quite clearly demonstrated by the example of its relations with Kyrgyzstan. In addition, the author formulates the main provisions on which mutually beneficial cooperation can be built not only between these countries, but also throughout the region under consideration.

191-203 586
Abstract

Current Global Agenda is inextricably linked with political campaigns, lobbyists, and official and opposition media that are constantly improving the ways to influence social processes. In the context of the intensifying competition, actors have to pay more and more attention to their own image in the international arena. The article considers the BRICS organization as a platform for interaction within the framework of the idea of moderate conservatism.

BRICS is an important grouping bringing together the major emerging economies from the world. BRICS opens a space for dialogue, the identification of convergences and consultation regarding various topics, and expands contacts and cooperation in specific sectors. Events seeking the approximation between academics, activities for interested groups are increasingly organized as a pre-census practice. Such an media platform project would logically bring significant enhancements to confidence-building in the international sphere and serve the purpose of safeguarding the common information environment.

ECONOMY

204-212 794
Abstract

Over the past decades, China has managed to become one of the most developed countries in the world. Having strengthened its economy, China began to actively pursue a foreign policy, one of the instruments for the implementation of which was the One Belt, One Road initiative. Initially, the initiative was considered by the leadership of the PRC as a mechanism for solving internal problems, as well as a plan to promote relations with the countries of Southeast Asia. However, as it developed, the initiative began to acquire the features of a foreign policy strategy, the purpose of which is to provide China with a reliable connection with the world, capable of functioning even in the event of escalation of conflicts and US attempts to control communications connecting China with the world. According to the Chinese authorities, the global financial crisis of 2008, conflicts in the Middle East, terrorist attacks - all this indicates that global changes are ripe for the world. A system of international relations based on US interests is no longer in the interests of all mankind. The promotion of the One Belt, One Road initiative is seen in this context as a road map for the reform of the existing world order, the emergence of which is predetermined by the very course of history. In this article, we will look at the internal and external reasons for the launch of the One Belt, One Road initiative, a detailed analysis of which will help to understand the true intentions of the Chinese authorities, as well as to determine the place that, in their opinion, China should take in the world.

POLITICS

213-229 2294
Abstract

Catalan nationalism, rooted in the 19th century, transformed into separatism in the 1980s, threatening the existence of the Spanish state. The unstable political situation in the country caused by the crisis of the party system and serious economic problems is noticeably aggravated by the Catalan issue. The separatists representing the autonomy are not distinguished by unity, which provokes additional tension in the region, but they have a serious impact on the central government. The instability of the current Spanish government, formed by socialists, is compounded by the need to seek support from representatives of Catalan nationalist pariahs in the country’s parliament. This fact also makes it necessary for the ruling party not only to enter into a dialogue with the Catalan separatists, but also to agree to certain concessions.

The situation is complicated by the fact that in the autonomy itself, the separatists are not supported by the majority of the population, and some residents of the region openly speak from unionist positions. The whole complex complex of contradictions of the Catalan question is critically connected with the problem of reforming the constitutional system of the Kingdom of Spain. The current Constitution of the country – which has become very obvious at the current stage of the development of the political and social crisis in Spain – requires a partial revision, primarily from the point of view of resolving the issue of the powers of a number of autonomies in the state and their interaction with the center.

HISTORY AND RELIGION

230-249 693
Abstract

In the second half of the XIX century . Russia pursued an active policy in the Central Asian khanates, firmly determined to move its border beyond a wide strip of deserts and semi-deserts. At the same time, the rivalry between the Russian and British Empires for influence and control over the Central Asian khanates unfolded. It was a political, diplomatic and geopolitical duel, the so-called “Big Game”, in which intelligence played one of the main roles. To fulfill the tasks facing the intelligence, Russia has attracted scientific historical-geographical and military-topographic expeditions under the auspices of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (IRGO). It was they who at the end of the XIX century. In a certain part became one of the main activities of the IRGO.

The best officers of the General Staff were attracted to participate in them. It was their heroic efforts that made it possible to fill in the gaps in the knowledge of Central Asia and, especially, its western part of Uyguria (East Turkestan) and Inner Mongolia.

In recent decades, due to the geopolitical processes that are taking place in the Eurasian space, historical, geographical achievements that have become world-wide have again attracted attention. Again, we have to hear about a new “Big Game” that takes place for the same values — resources, territories, trade routes. The tasks and political and technological methods of conducting geopolitical rivalry have changed. However, gratitude should remain in memory for having contributed to the implementation of the foreign policy of the Russian Empire by conducting intelligence research of the expanses of Central Asia.



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ISSN 2313-8920 (Print)
ISSN 2587-8174 (Online)