Moskova'nın Stratejik Anlatısı ve COVID-19 Pandemisi: Aşı ve Prestij Arayışı

Year 2022, Volume: 53, 1 - 19, 26.12.2022

İbrahim Köremezli

Abstract

Batı karşıtı bir dış politika gündemine ve hegemonya karşıtı söyleme sahip bir Avrasya gücü olarak Rusya, COVID-19 pandemisinin ölümcül etkilerini yok etmek için bir aşı geliştirmeye çalışmıştır. Bu girişim, büyük bir güç olduğu iddiasındaki Rusya için aynı zamanda onur ve prestij meselesi olarak görülmüştür. Salgınla mücadele, ulusal düzeyde örgütlendiği ve siyasi bir karaktere sahip olduğu için küresel bir çabaya dönüşemezken Kremlin, Batı’nın normatif üstünlük retoriğini zayıflatmayı amaçlayan bir başarı anlatısı ile sadece bilimsel değil, düşünsel anlamda da Batı’ya meydan okumuştur. Günümüz Rus dış politikası, Batı hakimiyetindeki uluslararası sistemin gücünü ve kalıcılığını sorgulayan ve Rusya ile Çin için daha büyük bir rol öngören bir anlatıya dayanmaktadır.
Makale dört bölümden oluşmaktadır. İlk bölüm, demokratik liberal modelin üstünlüğünü sorgulayan “yükselen Rusya” anlatısını ele almaktadır. Bu anlatı ile Kremlin, otoriter rejimine yöneltilen eleştirilere bir karşı argüman geliştirmekle kalmıyor, aynı zamanda küresel sorunlara karşı savaşmak için modası geçmiş olduğunu iddia ettiği Batılı demokrasilere karşı agresif bir duruş da sergilemektedir. İkinci bölüm, pandemi döneminde Rusya’nın stratejik anlatısını nasıl kullandığını tartışmaktadır. Üçüncü bölüm Moskova’nın dünyada işe yarayan ilk aşıyı geliştirme gayretini incelemektedir. Aşı yarışı sadece bilimsel veya halk sağlığı ile ilgili bir mesele olmaktan çok, küresel siyasette prestij kazanmak için girişilen söylemsel rekabetin bir parçası haline gelmiştir. Makalenin son bölümü, Kremlin’in pandemi döneminde yerli ve yabancı izleyicileri ikna etmeyi amaçlayan anlatısının güçlü ve zayıf yönlerini değerlendirmektedir. 

Keywords

Rus dış politikası, COVID-19 pandemisi, Sputnik V, Uluslararası düzen, Stratejik anlatı

Moscow’s Strategic Narrative and the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Quest for Vaccine and Prestige

Abstract

Russia, a Eurasian power with an anti-Western foreign policy agenda and a counter-hegemonic discourse, made an important attempt to develop a reliable vaccine, a key to fixing the deadly effects of the pandemic, and a matter of honor and prestige for a great power. While fighting the pandemic could not turn into a global effort because of its nationally organized and politically motivated character, the Kremlin challenged the West, not only in the scientific but also in the ideational arena by promoting a success story that ultimately aimed to undermine the rhetoric of Western normative superiority. Contemporary Russian foreign policy is based on a strategic narrative that questions the strength and permanence of the Western-dominated international system and envisions a greater role for Russia and China.
The article falls into four sections. The first part focuses on “the rise of Russia” narrative that questions the superiority of the democratic liberal model. By so doing, the Kremlin not only provides a counter-argument against the oft-raised criticisms of its illiberal authoritarian regime but also takes an offensive stance against the Western democracies arguing that they are outmoded to fight against global problems. The second part discusses the employment of the Kremlin’s strategic narrative during the time of the pandemic. The third part scrutinizes Moscow’s bid to develop the first working vaccine. It is argued that the race for the discovery of a vaccine became a part of the discursive rivalry among great powers for prestige and honor in global politics rather than just a scientific and public health issue. The article concludes with an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Kremlin’s storyline, which aims to convince domestic and foreign audiences at the time of the pandemic.

Keywords

Russian foreign policy, COVID-19 pandemic, Sputnik V, International order, Strategic narrative

References

• Aljazeera. 29 December 2020. Argentina Begins COVID Vaccine Campaign with Russian Shots. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/29/argentina-begins-vaccine-campaign-with-russias-sputnik-v (accessed 10.07.2022)
• BBC. 29 December 2020. Russian Covid Deaths Three Times the Official Toll. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55474028 (accessed 10.07.2022)
• Bollyky, T. J. and Bown, C. P. 29 December 2020. Vaccine Nationalism Will Prolong the Pandemic. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2020-12-29/vaccine-nationalism-will-prolong-pandemic (accessed 10.07.2022)
• Chassany, A. 10 February 2021. The West Should Pay Attention to Russia and China’s Vaccine Diplomacy. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/c20b92f0-d670-47ea-a217-add1d6ef2fbd (accessed 15.02.2022).
• DW. 18 March 2020. Merkel: Coronavirus is Germany's greatest challenge since World War II. https://www.dw.com/en/merkel-coronavirus-is-germanys-greatest-challenge-since-world-war-ii/a-52830797 (accessed 15.02.2021).
• Feklyunina V. (2008). Battle for Perceptions: Projecting Russia in the West. Europe-Asia Studies, 60(4), 605-629.
• Felter, C. 1 March 2021. A Guide to Global COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-world-doing-distribute-covid-19-vaccines (accessed 10.07.2022)
• Fox, C. and Kelion L. 16 July 2020. Coronavirus: Russian Spies Target Covid-19 Vaccine Research. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53429506 (accessed 20.07.2022).
• Foy, H. 13 August 2020. West’s Response to Russian Vaccine Owes as Much to Geopolitics as Science. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/5e320e6b-1182-47a6-993e-0bb7f6c7bc2d (accessed 15.02.2022)
• Frenkel, S, Abi-Habib, M. and Barnes, J. E. 5 February 2021. Russian Campaign Promotes Homegrown Vaccine and Undercuts Rivals. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/technology/russia-covid-vaccine-disinformation.html (accessed 20.07.2022)
• Global Times. 4 May 2020. Human rights come after saving lives in fierce pandemic. https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1187378.shtml (accessed 10.07.2022)
• Goodman, J, and Carmichael F. 29 May 2020. Coronavirus: Bill Gates ‘Microchip’ Conspiracy Theory and Other Vaccine Claims Fact-checked. https://www.bbc.com/news/52847648 (accessed 10.07.2022)
• Grigas, A. (2012). Legacies, Coercion and Soft Power: Russian Influence in the Baltic States. Chatham House Briefing Paper, 1-16.
• Gul, K. 2 February 2021. Protests in Europe over COVID-19 restrictions. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/protests-in-europe-over-covid-19-restrictions/2131789 (accessed 20.03.2022)
• Hopf, T. (2016). ‘Crimea is Ours’: A Discursive History. International Relations, 30 (2), 227-255.
• https://sputnikvaccine.com/
• https://www.ft.com/content/5e320e6b-1182-47a6-993e-0bb7f6c7bc2d (accessed 10.02.2021)
• Kalinina, E. Narratives of Russia’s ‘Information Wars’. Politics in Central Europe, 12 (1), 147-165.
• Karaganov, S. and Suslov, D. (2018). A New World Order: A View from Russia. In P. Schulze (Ed.) Multipolarity: The Promise of Disharmony. (pp. 59-82). Frankfurt: Campus.
• Kortunov, A. (2016). The Inevitable, Weird World. Russia in Global Affairs, 4, https://eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/the-inevitable-weird-world/
• Kortunov, A. 29 April 2020. The Battle of ‘Coronavirus Narratives’: Three Lines of Defence Against China. https://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/analytics/the-battle-of-coronavirus-narratives-three-lines-of-defence-against-china/ (accessed 10.07.2022).
• Köremezli, İ. (2021) Küresel Siyasette Moskova’nın Farklı Yüzleri: Covid-19 Salgını ile Mücadele ve Sputnik V. Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 22 (1), 242-251.
• Lavrov, S. (2019). The World at a Crossroads and a System of International Relations for the Future: Rivalry and Confrontation or Cooperation and Security. Russia in Global Affairs,17 (4), 8-18.
• Levada. 2 February 2021. The Coronavirus: Fears and Vaccination. https://www.levada.ru/en/2021/02/02/the-coronavirus-fears-and-vaccination/ (accessed 12.03.2022)
• Liik, K. 21 May 2018. Winning the Normative War with Russia: An EU-Russia Power Audit. Policy Brief. European Council on Foreign Relations. https://ecfr.eu/publication/winning_the_normative_war_with_russia_an_eu_russia_power_audit/ (accessed 10.02.2022)
• Lo, B. (2020). The Sino Russian Partnership and Global Order. China International Strategy Review, 2, 306-324.
• Lomsadze, G. 12 January 2021. Caucasus Vaccine Effort Infected with Geopolitics. https://eurasianet.org/caucasus-vaccine-effort-infected-with-geopolitics (accessed 10.02.2022)
• Lynas, M. 20 April 2020. COVID: Top 10 Current Conspiracy Theories. https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2020/04/covid-top-10-current-conspiracy-theories/ (accessed 15.02.2022)
• Miskimmon A., O’Loughlin B and Roselle Laura (2013). Strategic Narratives: Communication Power and the New World Order, New York, Routledge.
• Miskimmon A. and O’Loughlin B. (2017). “Russia’s Narratives of Global Order: Great Power Legacies in a Polycentric World”, Politics and Governance, 5 (3), 111-120.
• Omelicheva, M. Y. (2016). Critical Geopolitics on Russian Foreign Policy: Uncovering the Imagery of Moscow’s International Relations. International Politics, 53, 708–726.
• Pieper, M. (2020). Russkiy Mir: The Geopolitics of Russian Compatriots Abroad. Geopolitics, 25 (3), 756-779.
• Prabhala A. and Ling, C. Y. 5 February 2021. It’s Time to Trust China’s and Russia’s Vaccines. The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/opinion/covid-vaccines-china-russia.html (accessed 15.02.2021)
• Reuters. 1 April 2020. U.N. warns of ‘dire’ effects of coronavirus, ‘greatest test’ since WWII. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-un/u-n-warns-of-dire-effects-of-coronavirus-greatest-test-since-wwii-idINKBN21J6DK (accessed 15.02.2022)
• Reuters. 28 December 2020. EU’s Borrell Accuses Russia of Spreading COVID-19 Disinformation to Sell its Vaccine. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-russia-idUSKBN2921EI (accessed 10.02.2022)
• Reuters. 29 January 2021. Ukraine Bans Use of Russian COVID-19 Vaccines. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ukraine-vaccine-idUSKBN29Y17C (accessed 10.09.2022)
• RIA. 11 December 2020. Kreml prokommentiroval soobshcheniia o popytkakh diskreditirovat ‘Sputnik V’. https://ria.ru/20201211/vaktsina-1588743533.html (accessed 10.02.2021).
• RIA. 25 January 2021. Prezident Meksiki nazval vaktsinu ‘Sputnik V’ uspehom rossiyskoi nauki. https://ria.ru/20210125/vaktsina-1594555913.html (accessed 10.02.2022)
• RT. 15 March 2021. Has the pandemic turned your government into totalitarians? RT launches own Covid-19 Freedom Index. https://www.rt.com/news/518107-covid-freedom-index-rt/ (accessed 16.03.2022)
• Saari, S. (2014). Russia’s Post-Orange Revolution Strategies to Increase its Influence in Former Soviet Republics: Public Diplomacy po russkii. Europe-Asia Studies, 66 (1), 50-66.
• Sakwa, R. (2021). Greater Russia: Is Moscow out to Subvert the West? International Politics, 58, 334-562.
• Scocozza, C. (2020). Coronavirus Geopolitics. A Reflection on the Russian Case. Culture e Studi del Sociale, 5 (1), Special issue, 389-393.
• Statista. Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine - statistics & facts https://www.statista.com/topics/7762/sputnik-v-covid-19-vaccine/#dossierKeyfigures (accessed 10.09.2022)
• Szoszyn, R. 29 January 2021. The Geopolitics of the Vaccine in Ukraine. https://forum.eu/article/the-geopolitics-of-the-vaccine-in-ukraine/908
• TASS. 11 December 2020. Visible to the Naked Eye: Kremlin Slams Big Pharma’s Ploy to Smear Russia’s COVID Vaccine. https://tass.com/politics/1234019 (accessed 20.07.2022).
• TASS. 24 December 2020. ‘War of Vaccines’ Already Begun, Truth is Russia’s Strength, Diplomat Asserts. https://tass.com/russia/1239601 (accessed 20.07.2022).
• TASS. 29 January 2021. Serbia Receives New Shipment of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 Vaccine. https://tass.com/world/1250317 (accessed 20.07.2022)
• TASS. 3 February 2021. ‘Way over the top’: Lavrov lambasts West’s hysteria over Navalny case. https://tass.com/politics/1252255 (accessed 20.07.2022)
• TASS. 30 December 2020. West obstructs fighting COVID pandemic in ‘undesirable’ countries Lavrov says. https://tass.com/politics/1241325 (accessed 20.07.2022)
• The Moscow Times. 15 December 2020. Oliver Stone Receives Russian Coronavirus Vaccine Despite Age Concerns. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/12/15/oliver-stone-receives-russian-coronavirus-vaccine-despite-age-concerns-a72355
• Tsygankov, A. P. (2021). The Revisionist Moment: Russia, Trump, and Global Transition, Problems of Post-Communism, 68 (6), 457-467.
• Tyushka, A. (2022) Weaponizing Narrative: Russia Contesting EUrope’s Liberal Identity, Power and Hegemony, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 30 (1), 115-135.
• WHO. 23 September 2020. Managing the COVID-19 Infodemic: Promoting Healthy Behaviours and Mitigating the Harm from Misinformation and Disinformation. https://www.who.int/news/item/23-09-2020-managing-the-covid-19-infodemic-promoting-healthy-behaviours-and-mitigating-the-harm-from-misinformation-and-disinformation (accessed 10.01.2022)
• Yaffa, J. 8 February 2021. The Sputnik V Vaccine and Russia’s Race to Immunity. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/02/08/the-sputnik-v-vaccine-and-russias-race-to-immunity (accessed 10.05.2022)
• Ziegler, C. (2012). Conceptualizing Sovereignty in Russian Foreign policy: Realist and Constructivist Perspectives. International Politics, 49, 400–417.