The New Russian Diplomacy

By Igor S. Ivanov

Book Overview

"

In this frank and engaging book, foreign minister Igor S. Ivanov describes the evolution of Russian foreign policy since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Drawing on Russia's long diplomatic history, Ivanov analyzes the complex process through which a newly democratic Russia has redefined its foreign policy during a volatile transformation over the last decade. The book includes the text of Russia's Foreign Policy Concept, a Putin administration document that guides the day-to-day activities of the government. Designed to provide the world community with a transparent outline of Russia's foreign policy agenda, the Concept attempts to balance Russia's important role in the new world order with internal pressures to focus on domestic stability. The radical transformation of the past decade has required a complete overhaul of the process by which foreign policy is crafted, implemented, and communicated, according to Ivanov. The Concept delineates the role of parliament in making foreign policy decisions, the interrelationship of the legislative and executive branches, and the apportionment of authority among the president, government, and regional authorities. It also stresses the need to renovate Russia's diplomatic service, whose tradition of professionally trained diplomats dates back to Peter the Great. While acknowledging the impulse to recreate foreign policy from scratch during periods of revolutionary change and radical reform, Ivanov stresses the theoretical and practical importance of continuity. Although the modern political system of the Russian Federation has no analogue in Russian history, Ivanov draws compelling connections between the country's contemporary challenges and the rich legacy of Russian and Soviet diplomacy--in the process invoking the political philosophies of historical Russian leaders from ancient Rus' to Alexander Gorchakov. The New Russian Diplomacy was originally published in Russia, where it received very favorable reviews. This volume is a special edition prepared for American readers with a new introduction and an expanded and updated discussion of the U.S.-Russian relationship.

"

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0815733666
• ISBN13: 9780815733669
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The Wizard of Oz and Foreign Policy

I had wanted to comment on this book previously, but had refrained. The news today of yet another state takeover of an independent Russian television network finally prompts me to write. I mean no disrespect to the Russian foreign minister, but merely voice my opinion as a private citizen. In the movie "The Wizard of Oz" when Dorothy and her friends finally are allowed in to meet the "Wizard" they are told by the grandiose image on the screen to "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain". In this hopeful analysis by the Russian foreign minister, the reader gets the feeling that the little man from Kansas has nothing over the current Russian administration. While Ivanof is a talented diplomat, and makes some interesting points in general terms about Russia's position in a both historical and modern context, the reader is asked to accept a mature, accountable and democratic Russian foreign policy as a fait acompli. Barely more than a decade into Russia's new experiment in democracy, the author claims parliament, public opinion and the press all are taken into account when formulating policy. This seems to be optimistic at best.Ivanof does make the interesting and probably mostly true point that pragmatism has replaced ideology. National interest has carried the day, and that despite apparent differences in methodology, there is a certain continuity from autocracy to communism to democracy in the carrying out of Russian foreign affairs. Still, the reality of Russia's past and the continued lack of liberty in the new Russia are not sufficiently addressed. Russia is still a state in transition. Basic rights and liberties taken for granted in the west do not yet fully exist in the new Russia. Democracy is a messy business, and to be sure, we in the glass houses of the developed `west' are often times hardly in a position to toss stones. Nevertheless, it remains that if Russia is to take its place among the democracies as an equal, it must make that most frightening and yet necessary step from behind the curtain.