BOOK REVIEWS
RESEARCH ARTICLES. History and Theory of International Relations
The article examines the major events of the two previous centuries of international relations through main concepts of political realism. The author argues that in order to understand the present dilemmas and challenges of international politics, we need to know the past. Every current major global problem has historical antecedents. History from the late 19th century constitutes the empirical foundation of much theoretical scholarship on international politics. The breakdown of the Concert of Europe and the outbreak of the devastating global conflagration of World War I are the events that sparked the modern study of international relations. The great war of 1914 to 1918 underlined the tragic wastefulness of the institution of war. It caused scholars to confront one of the most enduring puzzles of the study of international relations, why humans continue to resort to this self-destructive method of conflict resolution? The article shows that the main explanation is the anarchical system of international relations. It produces security dilemma, incentives to free ride and uncertainty of intentions among great powers making war a rational tool to secure their national interests.
This research is funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (grant agreement number 14.461.31.0002).
The article is a critique of William Wohlforth’s piece on usefulness of IR theory in explaining the history of international relations published in this issue of MGIMO Review of International Relations. It offers an alternative answer to the key question raised by Wohlforth – why humans continue to resort to such a self-destructive method of conflict resolution as war. The author argues that the current aggravation of relations between Russia and the West helps find a new way of answering this eternal question. With the help of historical examples and logical reasoning the author shows that international relations are governed not so much by structural anarchy, as Wohlforth argues, as by «natural spontaneous systemic force», which does not depend on the will of people and manifests itself in events that seem random and irrational. This force can be rationally known by studying how classical geopolitics, cultural (especially legal culture) and civilizational factors influence international relations. These aspects, according to the author, explain both the Cold War and its on-going «second edition». Taking into account civilizational, cultural, historical, linguistic and legal characteristics of actors becomes the key to an adequate understanding of international politics. It should also be noted that cultural and civilizational features affect not only the practice of international relations, but also the IR. According to the author, the theory of political realism in Russia has been reinterpreted in light of the maxim: «God is not in power, but in truth». Thus, an important category of Russian realism turns out to be «justice».
The alternative answer to the question about the recurrent practice of wars in international relations can be formulated as follows: the states are sometimes forced to fight each other due to their geopolitical contradictions complicated by cultural and civilizational differences.
The article offers a critical overview of nine views common in academia related to Russian messianism. The main premise of messianism which is important for its political dimension, is: Providence has a plan along which History unfolds, and in this plan the chosen one (individual or collective) has a special role to play (mission). Under «mission» we understand that a certain community (state/nation) is exceptional and that this exceptionality manifests itself in its special destiny. I discern three distinctive, but interconnected, features of «mission»: (1) the conviction of having a special destiny, (2) a sense of moral superiority, (3) the conviction that the state’s activity is motivated not only by its own national interest but also by a higher cause important for a broader (regional, global etc.) community. The first two components of mission express exceptionalism of the mission-beholder, while the third component refers to the universalistic nature of the calling.
This selection of nine views is not a complete catalogue but it does include the core concepts that may be encountered while reading about Russian messianism. The article seeks to verify and put in order the existing body of knowledge on this topic. The critical verification is based on the material that comes from two main sources. The first is the existing body of academic literature (in English and Russian) which is used to identify and cross-examine the views circulating among academia. The second source comes with the material gathered as a result of the content and discourse analysis of the official statements of Vladimir Putin. The article is structuralised along the enumeration of nine popular views on Russian messianism. Each view is critically combined with the academic literature and the empirical data. The views discussed in the article tend to essentialise Russian messianism and essentialise Russia as well.
The article is devoted to the relations of two distinguished statesmen of the Vienna System period – Austrian Chancellor Metternich and Russian Chancellor Nesselrode. They took the helm of the foreign affairs of the allied states for a long period of time – their cooperation lasted almost 40 years. Russian-Austrian union was based on concurrence in their political views regarding the Concert of Europe, adherence to the principles of legitimacy, conservatism and hostility to revolution and remained until the Crimean War. According to estimates of historians, Nesselrode was just an obedient apprentice of the Austrian Chancellor who orchestrated the whole European policy. Adherence to the principles of conservatism and The Holy Alliance resulted in nothing but misfortunes of Russian foreign policy and its submission to the «European Idea». Austria benefited from this and therefore Nesselrode was called «Russian foreign minister in the service of Austria». However documents witness that Nesselrode being an adept of Metternich’s doctrine wasn’t just a blindfolded follower of all Austrian initiatives. He could stand his ground in face of difficult European politics. In his way he faithfully served Russia and Nicolas the I.
The period of détente is usually associated with a decrease of confrontation in US-Soviet relations, the signing of agreements on the limitation of strategic weapons and anti-missile defense systems and the development of trade and economic relations, scientific and cultural exchanges. Strengthening security in Europe is considered another facet of détente. From this perspective détente is viewed as an alternative to the Cold War, and the end of détente is seen as a missed opportunity to develop international relations in the direction of a secure world with working mechanisms for harmonizing the interests of both the great powers and other countries.
The article deals with the history of relations in the triangle USA – USSR – China in 1977– 1980. The evolution of Washington’s foreign policy strategy and the inclusion to it policies towards the USSR and China in these years came at the background of pronounced Soviet– Chinese antagonism. In the first months there was no clear plan in the actions of the Carter administration, there was a sharp rivalry for influence on the president between individual political figures (first of all – S. Vance and Zb. Brzezinski). They proposed different scenarios of the development of the US–Soviet and US – China relations. Throughout the Carter presidency, the US used as much as possible the tensions between Moscow and Beijing. In the framework of tripartite relations, each of the sides consistently pursued its own course aimed at achieving unilateral benefits. There were no attempts to establish a trilateral dialogue with an agreed agenda. The processes of détente practically did not affect the complex of international problems that existed within the American – Soviet – Chinese triangle. Moreover, Washington’s use of the «Chinese card» prevented the reduction of tensions in American–Soviet relations and strengthened the Cold War logic and methods in the planning and implementation of US foreign policy.
RESEARCH ARTICLES. United Nations in World Politics
Currently U.S.-UK cooperation in the UN does no attract as much attention as it deserves. Despite a conspicuous disparity in the countries’ military and economic might, they have maintained close ties for more than seventy years, which inevitably affects their position in the UN. The allies’ role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq cast suspicion on their activities in the organization. In the early 21st century, the UN itself was faced with a number of challenges, such as terrorism and regional conflicts; U.S. frustration with its effectiveness led to some reform efforts.
Covering the years 2001 – 2017, the article consists of three parts. The first part focuses on quantitative and qualitative parameters determining the U.S.’s and the UK’s roles in the UN and compares their approaches to it. The second part discusses the activity of American and British permanent representatives to the UN, based on their memoirs and interviews. The third part analyses some examples of cooperation and competition in the UN. The list of examples is illustrative rather than comprehensive given the existence of the special relationship.
The analysis of U.S.-UK cooperation in the UN reveals its ambiguous nature, but it does not serve to debunk the myth of the special relationship. The cooperation is largely pragmatic.
Article studies the strategic frame, organizational and operational aspects of UN peacekeeping missions police components activities to ensure sustaining peace.
It is noted that at present the UN Police actively participates in UN peace operations acting as an integrated solution of issues of peace and security. Consideration is also given to the growing importance of the UN Police to international peace and security and the increased attention given to policing by the Security Council and the Secretary General.
The UN police now engage in United Nations peace operations across the entire peace and security spectrum, from conflict prevention to peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Serving in the frame of UN interim administrations the UN Police acquired a unique experience of law enforcement and international cooperation on combating crime.
It underscores the most recent global developments, including advances made in the Strategic Guidance Framework for International Police Peacekeeping, to ensure coherence of effort and refine strategic police generation platforms.
From the viewpoint of the structural and functional approach, the UN Police as a peacekeeping actor has not only specific functions and tasks, but also the potential, organizational structure, trained personnel needed to perform a wide range of tasks both at the stage of conflict prevention and post-conflict peacebuilding.
The legal and organizational issues of UN Police involvement in peacekeeping activities are almost resolved. At present the UN Police component as an institutional subsystem represents an organizational structure that unites international policemen from various member states, which acts as a collective actor in UN peacekeeping.
RESEARCH ARTICLES. Politics and economics of individual states
The article is devoted to the strengthening of right-wing and populist sentiments observed in Spanish society in recent years, which is largely a consequence of both ethno-national conflicts, primarily in Catalonia, and of social and ideological confrontations that have become aggravated in the country. There is an increase in the influence of neo-traditionalists and neo-conservatives, whose calls to protect the territorial integrity of the country, the Christian values and historical traditions of the Spanish nation are heard louder, echoing Franco's ideological and political heritage. Neo-francoists, neo-phalangists, monarchists, carlists, and some military circles in Spain praising now the contribution of the dictatorial regime to the historical and socio-economic development of the country in the 20th century. The article cites facts proving that the basic tenets of Francoism, associated primarily with the preservation of the territorial integrity of the country and the unity of the Spanish nation, are finding welcome response in modern Spain. With the growth of separatist aspirations in the regions the nationalism in the form of neo-Francoism, has recently acquired more and more real political power. The conclusion is proved by the success of the right-wing Vox party in the elections to the regional parliament of Andalusia in December 2018. If the current trends continue, Spanish ultranationalists and neo-francoists will be represented not only in regional parliaments, but will also receive mandates in the General Cortes and the European Parliament.
Saudi Arabia is one of the key economic players in the Middle East with a number of competitive advantages. The article analyzes these advantages as well as disadvantages and identifies measures to improve the competitive potential of Saudi Arabia. Methodologically it employs the Porter’s «diamond model». Cultural, historical and socio-political trends in Saudi Arabia increase the complexity of reforming the economy and increasing its competitiveness. The current reforms are insufficient to improve the quality of human capital. Existing economic and political institutions need to be reformed. There is an obvious problem of low women’s employment. Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia occupies only the 4th place on the regional competitive index table, authors see ways to strengthen this indicator of the Kingdom’s economy. The most decisive factor in this regard as argued by the authors is the elimination of state institutional problems which are chiefly responsible for low competitiveness of the economy.
ISSN 2541-9099 (Online)