Russia’s Network Diplomacy in the East

Abstract

This chapter deals with the role of Russia in the formats of network interaction in the Middle East and Asia as well as the importance of these regions for the foreign policy course and network diplomacy of Russia itself. In the context of a gradual increase in the political and economic potential of the countries of the East as well as the current geopolitical situation and the actual ‘narrowing’ of the space for foreign policy and foreign economic manoeuvre, the ‘pivot to the East’ has become of particular importance for Russia. At the same time, interaction is of particular value not only at the traditional, bilateral level but also in network cooperation, which can become a ‘multiplier’ of Russia's positions in the above-mentioned regions. Taking into account the increasing trend towards the ‘orientation’ of international relations and the aspirations of the Eastern countries towards taking a more effective and meaningful part in the network system of global governance, the maximum possible diversification of relations with these states based on network types of interaction is the most successful model. The chapter’s main purpose is to identify relevant aspects of Russia's cooperation with the countries of these regions by examining a number of countries as well as their current configuration. Within the chapter, the key issue is the state of Russia's network cooperation in the East as well as opportunities and future prospects for increasing it. For a comprehensive study of this topic, methods of comparative analysis, historical retrospective, particularisation, and generalisation, as well as modelling have been used. As a result, it was discovered that, on the one hand, Russia has significant potential for increasing network interaction in the Middle East and Asia, and on the other, faces a number of difficulties associated with the complicated nature of the network structure of cooperation in these regions. This means that Russia should take into account not only the military–political aspects of cooperation, in whose network formats it is mainly represented but also trade and economic factors that are of particular importance in the current conditions of geopolitical turbulence. One way or another, the ‘pivot to the East’ must be not just a theoretical geopolitical concept, but a real paradigm for the implementation of foreign policy and foreign economic strategy, taking into account the need to engage in mutually beneficial formats of network interaction.