Russia as a Civilization-State: Making Sense of Moscow’s 2023 Foreign Policy Concept

Öz

With the war against Ukraine, Russian foreign policy is going through a critical juncture that causes significant regional and global uncertainties. The current crisis is not a result of short-term brinkmanship but a consequence of Moscow’s three-decade-long search for self-identification since the collapse of the Soviet Union. To follow the Kremlin’s overall foreign policy trajectory and self-identification, Foreign Policy Concepts are quite helpful since they reflect the main framework of Russian diplomacy since 1993. The study begins by explaining the significance of the Concepts for Moscow’s foreign policy. Then, it highlights the main themes of the latest Foreign Policy Concept: anti-hegemonism, multipolarity, Russia as a centre, and Russia as a civilization-state. In each section, Moscow’s understanding of these themes is discussed and put into a historical context to explain the significance of their appearance in the official documents. The article then compares the previous concept to expose the change of narrative in 2023 to show the main changes in Russia’s foreign policy priorities, articulation of other actors, and perception of threats.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Russian Foreign Policy
• anti-hegemonism
• multipolarity
• civilization
• fortress Russia

Bir medeniyet-devlet olarak Rusya: Moskova’nın 2023 Dış Politika Konseptini anlamlandırmak

Öz

2022 yılından bu yana devam eden Ukrayna’ya karşı savaş ile birlikte Rus dış politikası önemli bölgesel ve küresel belirsizlikler yaratan bir yol ayrımından geçiyor. Mevcut kriz, kısa süreli bir maceracılığın değil bilakis Moskova’nın Sovyetler Birliği’nin dağılmasından bu yana süregelen otuz yıllık kimlik arayışının bir sonucudur. Bu sürecin incelenmesi için, 1993 yılından bugüne kadar yayınlanan Dış Politika Konsepti belgeleri, Kremlin’in genel dış politika yönelimlerini ve kendisine dönük kimlik tanımlamalarındaki dönüşümün takibini yapabilmek için oldukça faydalıdır. Çalışma ilk olarak Konseptlerin, Moskova’nın dış politikası için öneminin açıklanması ile başlamaktadır. Ardından, 2023 Konsept belgesinde öne çıkan temalar aydınlatılmaktadır: anti-hegemonizm, çok kutupluluk, bir merkez olarak Rusya, ve bir medeniyet-devlet olarak Rusya. Her bir temaya ayrılan kısımda, Moskova açısından bu kavramların anlamı açıklanarak tarihsel bağlamları verilmektedir. Çalışmanın bir sonraki kısmında mevcut Konsept, bir önceki Dış Politika Konsepti belgesi ile mukayese edilerek anlatıdaki değişim ortaya çıkarılmakta ve bu sayede Rusya’nın dış politika önceliklerinin, diğer aktörleri nasıl tanımladığının ve tehdit algılarının nasıl değiştiği gösterilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Rus dış politikası
• Anti-hegemonizm
• Çok kutupluluk
• Medeniyet
• Kale Rusya

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