La résolution des conflits : le rôle de la Fédération de Russie

Abstract

Coping with conflict : the role of the Russian Federation. The revolutionary changes of recent years that resulted in the end of the cold war, the collapse of the Soviet empire in East-Central Europe and, finally, in the very dissolution of the Soviet state have had a major impact on the role of the Russian Federation, as the major successor state to the USSR, in coping with regional conflict. Against growing domestic opposition, the current Russian leadership of President El'tsin and Foreign Minister Kozyrev has emphasized a general foreign policy of cooperation with the West as an essential element of joining the « civilized » community of nations and supporting domestic democratization and marketization. This overall policy has resulted, officially at least, in efforts by the Russian government to emphasize negotiations and cooperation in dealing with the conflicts that have broken out in the « near abroad » - the non-Russian successor states of the former USSR. Elsewhere, in former Yugoslavia and the developing world for example, the Russian Federation has tended to play a modest direct role in regional conflict management, but a role that has generally been supportive of Western policy initiatives. The future policy of Russia in coping with regional conflict will depend, to a substantial degree, on the outcome of the domestic power struggles in Russia. Even the liberal democratic elements represented by the present government have often found it difficult to deal with its new neighbors on the basis of sovereign equality. This is especially true because the emerging view of Russian national interests tends to conflict with the interests of the new states on Russia's borders. A more nationalist leadership in Moscow would likely be much more assertive - even aggressive - in dealing with regional conflicts in the « near abroad » and less cooperative with the West in responding to regional conflicts elsewhere in the world.