Foreign Policy Cooperation Research Articles

Australia in U.S. Foreign and Defense Policy at the Present Stage

The article analyses the political-military relations between the United States and Australia at the present stage. The key doctrinal documents are reviewed, which make it clear that, in order to strengthen the strategic positions of both countries, modernization of the bilateral alliance is required. The results of cooperation in foreign and defense policy are examined, indicating the evolution of U.S.–Australian relations. Particular attention is paid to AUKUS – the flagship initiative of the Indo-Pacific policy of the Biden administration. The author concludes that Australia now holds a central role in the system of integrated deterrence against China and in the overall security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region.

Comprehensive Regional Economic Partnership as a Mechanism of China's Integration into World Economic Processes

In this article, the author analyzes the impact of RCEP on the process of China's integration into world economic processes. The regional multilateral format of economic relations is a relatively new experience for China, therefore, the author considers China's participation in the RCEP as a possible beginning of a new stage in the implementation of not only regional, but also global ambitions of China. Recently, China has begun to integrate more actively into world economic processes, while putting forward its own initiatives for interaction in a multilateral order, for example, the Belt and Road Initiative. In addition, China is beginning to assert itself in already existing economic associations, for example, within the framework of the RCEP. However, in this case, China faces a number of problems, one of which is the presence of two competitive powers in the Asia-Pacific region: the US and Japan. Due to economic competition with China, both powers benefit from the policy of curbing the growth of China's influence in the region. In addition, today China has a very modest experience of participating in regional multilateral formats, largely due to the priority of the bilateral format of cooperation in China's foreign policy. The author comes to the conclusion that, claiming today to realize their global ambitions, the Chinese leadership is aware of the importance and necessity of the country's more active participation in regional integration processes.

It’s not EU, it’s we: ontological stress and French narration of the uprisings in Tunisia

ABSTRACT The ontological security dynamics of EU foreign policy cooperation and integration have been relatively under-researched. The EU’s efforts to seek ontological security – by consolidating myths, solidifying identifications, and positioning itself on the international crisis – have been discussed by Della Sala, Mitzen, Rumelili, and others, yet one question remains: can the EU provide ontological security? International crises can be an important entry point for studying the dynamics of ontological security within the EU. In this paper, I analyse how France and the European External Action Service (EEAS) narrated the 2011 uprisings in Tunisia. I argue that the EU acts as an ontological security provider in this case by providing a stable network of meaning, narrative, and social space. In the case of Tunisia, I argue that the revelation of the mismatch between its self-perception and perception of others led to significant ontological stress for France and that leaning on the EU provided a way out of this uncertainty. By leaning on the EUs narration of events, France could move past its own stress and still feel secure as part of the EU.

Azerbaijani-Persian relations in 1918-1920: from territorial claims to diplomacy

The article examines the development of Azerbaijani-Persian relations in 1918–1920, when a newly formed state called Azerbaijan Democratic Republic appeared on the world map. Before the declaration of independence, the territory of Azerbaijan was a part of the Russian Empire, which received Azerbaijani lands as a result of the Russian-Persian wars in the first half of the 19th century. The Turkmenchay Treaty of 1828 defined the border separating Azerbaijan and Armenia from Persia and consolidated the division of Azerbaijan between the Russian Empire and Persia. As a result, the territory of Azerbaijan was divided into two parts - northern and southern, called Caucasian and Persian Azerbaijan respectively. The article is an attempt to fill the gap in the analysis of Azerbaijani-Persian relations in 1918-1920 in the domestic science. Historical, narrative and system methods were used as the main methods in the work on the article. The relevance of the article is conditioned by the possibility of revision of international treaties of historical significance. In particular, modern Iran has started revising the Turkmenchay Treaty of 1828. The revision of previously of earlier treaties may pose a threat to regional international relations and alter the territorial integrity of the states involved in the process. Understanding the historical development of the countries is important for building a foreign policy line at the present stage, including for Russia. Based on an analysis of foreign policy documents of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the author comes to the conclusion that Azerbaijani-Persian relations were ambiguous: if initially Persia declared its territorial claims to Azerbaijani lands, then Persia’s policy soon turned in the opposite direction, and the countries signed a number of agreements on foreign policy cooperation. The most important result of bilateral cooperation was the de jure recognition of Azerbaijan by Persia.

International Conference <i>Middle Eastern Studies in Eurasia</i>: Oriental Studies Culture and Search for New Formats of Interaction

On October 20–21, 2023, the International Conference Middle Eastern Studies in Eurasia was held in Moscow, organized by the Primakov Center and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The event was attended by representatives of research institutes and teachers from universities in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as various regions of Russia, which have historically established and are developing their own oriental centers and schools. The conference participants had a unique opportunity to exchange teaching experience, talk about achievements and problems in Oriental studies education, and share skills in studying the problems of one of the most conflict-ridden regions in the world. The conference was structured around a discussion of issues affecting both the current state and prospects for the development of Oriental studies, trends in the development of existing schools of teaching Middle Eastern languages, and scientific schools of classical academic research. The issue of the possibility of creating a common educational space for Middle Eastern studies in Eurasia was discussed. In her welcoming speech, the executive director of the Center for Foreign Policy Cooperation V. G. Karslieva emphasized that common historical roots and methodological traditions determine not only the past, but also the present of oriental studies in the countries of the post-Soviet space. In many countries of Central Asia, academic oriental studies have changed significantly and have become much more applied in nature. During the plenary discussions, the scientific director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences V. V. Naumkin stated that academic oriental studies are necessary for solving not only political, but also scientific, humanitarian, and educational problems. Four plenary sessions of the conference were devoted to the topics of: the current state of Middle Eastern studies, schools of teaching Middle Eastern languages, scientific schools of the classical cycle of Middle Eastern studies and the issue of studying the modern Middle East in Eurasian countries. MGIMO was represented at the event by Vice-Rector for Personnel Policy, Associate Professor of the Department of Diplomacy V. M. Morozov and professor of the Department of Oriental Studies M. A. Sapronova. In conclusion, the conference organizers proposed to develop regular interaction, and also initiated an expansion of the event format: the Russian language and common culture not only remain a factor in bringing together experts from Eurasian countries, but also form a common research and educational field.

Diplomaticheskaya politika Rossii v otnoshenii Turcii v 2014–2023 gg.

The article analyzes the current aspects of Russia's diplomatic policy towards Turkey, considered in the historical context of the development of the interaction between the two states in 2014-2023. The content of the article reveals both positive factors of the development of foreign policy cooperation and negative circumstances complicating the building of Russia's diplomatic course towards Turkey.

“No Colonial Baggage”: Imagining a Decolonised Australia‐Africa Relations

As part of its strategy to win African votes for election to the UN Security Council (2008–12), Canberra sought to leverage its soft power potential by presenting Australia as having “no colonial baggage” in Africa while framing Australia as “a country from the Global North, located in the Global South,” and one that would “work with other small and middle powers.” Ultimately, the campaign was successful, including up to 50 of Africa's 54 countries voting for Australia. This paper considers this framing in the context of a shared but differentiated colonial history, including its contradictions, given that Australians fought several wars on African soil on behalf of the British Empire, supported white minority regimes and anti‐communist movements on the continent, and maintained the white Australia policy until the 1970s. The paper deploys decoloniality theory to engage Australia's lack of a neat fit within a historicised articulation of a “coloniser‐colonised” relationship between Europe and Africa. We show that, despite this lack of fit, Australia's relations with the countries of Africa reinforce long‐standing of patterns of knowledge, power, and being associated with colonialism. Accordingly, the paper makes three recommendations for cooperation and innovative thinking in foreign policy and diaspora diplomacy between Africa and a more independent and multicultural Australia based on the “equality of being.”

National Identity, Social Preferences, and Foreign Policy Attitudes: Experimental Evidence from Japan

AbstractAre strong national identities in the public an impediment to cooperative foreign policy attitudes? Researchers have proposed the promotion of universalism—and, accordingly, the submergence of existing national identities—as a viable path toward cooperative international relations. Conversely, I suggest that strong national identities can actually encourage public support for cooperative foreign policy. Evidence from field experiments in Japan that integrates psychological affirmation theory and a game measuring social preferences indicates that Japanese who were affirmed of the positive aspects of their national identity held more prosocial attitudes toward their Chinese counterpart in the game, which in turn led to cooperative foreign policy preferences. In contrast, participants who were not affirmed of their national identity exhibited more proself tendencies in the game, which predicted support for militaristic foreign policy. Finally, in contrast to national identity affirmation, national chauvinism, or perceived superiority over other countries, was associated with militant internationalist attitudes.

The EU and the invasion of Ukraine: a collective responsibility to act?

Abstract Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has upended Europe's security order, with many observers calling it a turning point for the European Union. This article contends, however, that the EU's response has been less a turning point and more of an epiphany, providing a reality check for the EU and its member states about how far European foreign policy cooperation has evolved in recent decades. It suggests that an understanding of the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine requires consideration of the member states' foreign policy co-operation, which has intensified over the past half-century, and its underpinning norm which we term a ‘collective European responsibility to act’. In emphasizing this norm, we identify core ideas about the functioning of collective European foreign policy. We re-examine three key preoccupations of the EU foreign policy-making practice and assessment through the lens of the collective European responsibility to act and show how it enables a different and novel re-reading of the added value of EU foreign policy cooperation. The EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine thus serves as a timely focusing event that demands a rethink of the premises that have underpinned our analysis and understanding of collective European foreign policy-making over decades.

"ИНИЦИАТИВНОЕ" ПОЛЕ ТУРЕЦКОЙ ВНЕШНЕЙ ПОЛИТИКИ НА СОВРЕМЕННОМ ЭТАПЕ: ПРИМЕР СОМАЛИ

The article attempts to comprehensively analyze a new phase of transformation of Turkish foreign policy at the present stage, using Ankara’s policy towards Somalia as an example. By using a significant source base of materials in Turkish, including the program documents of the Turkish Foreign Ministry “Towards a foreign policy...”, as well as academic literature, the author defines a relatively new concept of “initiative and humanitarian” foreign policy of Turkey, identifies tools and assesses the effectiveness of the implementation of its “initiative” field on the example of Somalia, where Turkey managed to strengthen its influence in a short period of time and take one of the key positions among non-regional actors. The author comprehends Ankara’s experience of applying the “Turkish model” of the foreign policy cooperation and identifies the key lines for applying the model in an “initiative field” within the framework of promoting Turkish national interests in Somalia and on the African continent on the whole. The author concludes that the Turkish model of cooperation, as demonstrated by the example of Somalia, in the mid-term and long-term perspective may quite provide Turkey in the future with the necessary strategic advantages in comparison with other non-regional players due to the effectiveness in the organization of coordinated multi-vector and multi-level work of state structures and non-governmental organizations.

Drivers and Barriers of Digital Market Integration in East Africa: A Case Study of Rwanda and Tanzania

Digital development has become a firm pillar in the national development strategies of many countries in the Global South. Although the geopolitical competition over ICTs leveraged their diplomatic and economic relevance in the international sphere, developing countries remain in a subordinate position in global power relations. However, while they could collectively improve their standing by uniting behind an integrated digital market, national governments in the East African Community are reluctant to implement a single digital market, leading us to inquire: What constrains digital market integration in East Africa? This article compares Rwanda and Tanzania, two relatively digitally mature but less developed countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, whereas one is a small landlocked country and the other a larger emerging economy. Following the classification of Hout and Salih, material, ideational, political, and external aspects affect a nation’s enthusiasm for regional initiatives. By examining factors related to domestic politics and political economy, this article finds that material and political factors encourage digital regionalism in Rwanda but discourage it in Tanzania; ideational factors contribute to national rather than regional unity in both countries. Yet, external factors linked to EU foreign policy and developmental cooperation seem to lead current regional projects. Therefore, this article concludes that drivers of African regionalism may turn into barriers depending on the domestic political and economic circumstances while digital market integration is currently driven by foreign players. More generally, the study contributes to the debate on African agency in ICT for development and developing countries’ capacity to overcome traditional dependency structures.

Signaling Woman and Leader: Navigating the Double Bind as a Foreign Policy Decisionmaker

ABSTRACT The effects of gender on foreign policy decision-making is an understudied topic. While some research has examined the role of women chief executives in conflict, little research has looked at what role women defense and foreign affairs ministers play on outcomes. In this article, we examine the role that women chief executives, defense ministers, and foreign affairs ministers play in both conflictual and cooperative foreign policies. Specifically, we ask whether women foreign policy leaders are more likely to enact foreign policy decisions and whether they will be more extreme in their decisions. Past research posits that women leaders face a double-bind. Women must be both leader and woman while in office. We argue that this pressure will affect the decisions women make in foreign policy. We examine this relationship from 1980 to 2008 and find that women foreign policy leaders are different from men; they are more active in conflictual foreign policy and have more extreme cooperative foreign policy.

How much unity do you need? Systemic contestation in EU foreign and security cooperation

ABSTRACT The Common Foreign & Security Policy (CFSP) is a transnational policy framework to deliver collective foreign policy and also to manage differences among member states. As such, it has always been dependent on their support. Since 2019, however, disagreement within this system is said to have reached a new level. Taking this political trend as our starting point, this article proposes a new, conceptual approach to understanding how contestation challenges the EU’s foreign policy cooperation system. While the majority of research focuses on disagreements in decision-making, we argue for a broader conceptualisation – systemic contestation. Drawing on norm contestation scholarship, we argue that systemic contestation manifests itself in two ways: as passive contestation, when member states disengage from and fail to take ownership of CFSP initiatives and their implementation; and as tacit contestation, when they fail to act when faced with the need to safeguard the system. This approach accounts for the transgovernmental character of the CFSP; and the central role of member states within it. Finally, we contend that our conceptualisation of systemic contestation offers promising new avenues for empirical research to understand the “black box” of EU foreign policy cooperation.

Contesting procedural norms: the impact of politicisation on European foreign policy cooperation

ABSTRACT While there is increasing evidence in the literature of politicisation in the area of European foreign policy, we know less about how this has affected the dynamics of cooperation among EU member states and, specifically, the procedural norms that govern this policy. This article is concerned with how politicisation and contestation manifest at the micro-level and how they might shape everyday EU foreign policy negotiations. It seeks to establish to what extent politicisation – resulting from the emergence of a new political cleavage centred around issues of identity and supranational integration – has driven normative contestation within EU foreign policy negotiations and whether this has led to the erosion of long-standing procedural norms in European foreign policy. Our findings suggest that despite CFSP Council committees being an institutional arena, characterised by intergovernmental, relatively insulated, and technical decision-making, current processes of politicisation linked to the rise of populism and the increasing transfer of authority to the EEAS have increased contestation of norms within this setting. However, procedural norms have remained relatively resilient to these challenges.

Still Governing in the Shadows? Member States and the Political and Security Committee in the Post‐Lisbon EU Foreign Policy Architecture*

AbstractThe Lisbon Treaty introduced far‐reaching reforms for EU foreign policy co‐operation. In the decade since, most scholarship has focused on the High Representative and EEAS. Far less consideration has been given to its consequences for member states' ownership of foreign policy. This article therefore examines how these institutional reforms have affected the Political and Security Committee (PSC), established to enable member states to better manage EU foreign policy cooperation. Drawing on new empirical data, it shows that the PSC has found its capacity to act as strategic agenda‐setter increasingly constrained because of greater opportunities for activism by the HRVP and EEAS; and by the emergence of the European Council as the key arbiter in foreign policy decision‐making. While this indicates the PSC today finds it harder to perform the role originally assigned to it, it is gaining alternative relevance through an emerging oversight role, which has implications for member states' EU foreign policy engagement.

Settling it on the multi-level parliamentary field? A fields approach to interparliamentary cooperation in foreign and security policy

Interparliamentary cooperation in EU foreign and security policy, once the paradigmatic example of competitive relations between parliamentary levels, has recently evolved towards more cooperative dynamics. This evolution provides an interesting context in which to examine the conditions that facilitate or hinder cooperation in the EU multi-level parliamentary field. This article takes inspiration from Fligstein and McAdam’s sociological theory of fields, arguing that certain field conditions (power, preferences, field environment, and social skill) can influence patterns of cooperation in a parliamentary field. The theoretical argument is assessed using two empirical cases: institutionalised cooperation in the Interparliamentary Conference on foreign policy, security and defence; and policy-specific cooperation during negotiations over the controversial European Defence Fund. The findings indicate that a relative ‘settlement’ of the parliamentary field does not necessarily translate into mutually reinforcing parliamentarism. On the contrary, certain properties in the field continue to impair the quality of democratic oversight in this burgeoning domain.

ГЕНДЕРНЫЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ В РОССИЙСКОЙ АФРИКАНИСТИКЕ: ОБЩЕСТВЕННО ПОЛИТИЧЕСКАЯ ЖИЗНЬ СТРАН АФРИКИ СКВОЗЬ ПРИЗМУ ГЕНДЕРНОЙ ПРОБЛЕМАТИКИ

This article is an analytical review of gender science in Russian African studies. Under modern geopolitical conditions Africa is becoming an important vector of foreign policy and international economic cooperation for Russia. The development of further mutually beneficial ties between our countries requires expanding and deepening knowledge about each other. Russian scholars of Africa play an important role in that process. In recent decades significant gender shifts have taken place in a number of African states: women are taking an active part in public and political life, gender equality is being ensured at regional and national levels, including the electoral process which is one of the most accurate indicators of the democratization in society. It is noted that the realities and prospects in the formation of gender balance in social and political life in African countries have common trends, but in some cases the significant country specificity exists. The author of the article indicates the reasons for the considerable increase in the representation of women in legislative and executive bodies in several countries of the continent, as well as the obstacles that impede social and political activity of African women

Beyond "Soft Power": Humanitarian Influence and Cooperation in Foreign Policy

Beyond "Soft Power": Humanitarian Influence and Cooperation in Foreign Policy

Institutional Mechanisms of the Turkish Foreign Policy: The Case of Russia - Turkey High-Level Cooperation Council

The article aims to examine and explore with pros and cons of High-Level (“Strategic”) Cooperation Councils (HLSCC) mechanisms in Turkish foreign policy and evaluate its effectiveness in foreign trade, foreign policy cooperation, and crisis management capacity of Turkey concerning the relations with Russia. Turkey has already started to establish High-Level Cooperation Councils to build institutional infrastructure for strategic partnerships in foreign policy and strengthen institutional power in the bilateral cooperation after 2006. The study of Turkish foreign policy is an academically attractive topic mostly in terms of its geopolitical dimensions. The institutional mechanisms that enable the country to interact with other states in a dynamic regional and international environment remain less researched heretofore. The article attempts to highlight the evolution of Turkish foreign policy in terms of institutional changes in the bilateral and multilateral mechanisms. The article applies a case study method with descriptive analysis examining Councils’ functions such as foreign policy coordination and determination of collective commitments and official bilateral targets in the case of Russia - Turkey High-Level Cooperation Council. The article found out that these institutional mechanisms partly justified themselves as a coordination mechanism, but they were relatively weak for achieving the pledged commitments. The Councils were flexible and innovative cooperation mechanisms of the foreign policy to develop bilateral and multilateral ties in the age of the global power restructuring and the volatile conjuncture in world politics.

Euroscepticism 's Impact upon European Union's Foreing Policy

In the article, the author overviews and analyzes the impact of Euroscepticism on EU foreign policy. In particular, we identify the key actors involved in implementing the European common foreign policy and level of their affiliation with the ideas of Euroscepticism. EU Commissioners, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the staff of the European External Action Service are not eurosceptic. However, they do not have sufficient political influence decision making process. Thus, the European Council faces some obstacles achieving a compromise on international relations' issues. The European Parliament is more dependent on the Member States. Positions of the Member States are also different. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe have a much higher level of opposition to strengthening internal integration in foreign policy, but they support EU enlargement. The Nordic countries support the deepening of foreign policy cooperation but are wary of the accession of new members. Therefore, the biggest opposition to the common foreign policy observed in the EU member states. Under the influence of Eurosceptic ideas, they slow down the process of integration. The population supports the common foreign policy with hopes to resolve the migration problem. Besides, citizens believe that common foreign policy can prevent the economic intervention of third countries. Excessive interference in the EU by Russia, China and the United States is also an obstacle to deepening integration. Despite this, European officials and citizens of EU member states support of strengthening cooperation in this area. To sum up, it is difficult to realise a common foreign policy without decreasing level of eurosceptism.