International Affairs No. 3, 2025 – Table of Contents

Armen Oganesyan, Editor-in-Chief of International Affairs: Dear Sergey Alekseyevich [Ryabkov], in your view, what underlies Washington’s new approaches in its relations with Russia, Europe, and its closest neighbors? Can this be called a “new course” for America?…

MORE than 60 states face various types of restrictive measures imposed by the US, the European Union, their allies, and countries dependent on them. The arbitrariness of sanctions has become routine. Western powers compete with one another to devise and push through ever more sophisticated restrictive measures – to invent new ways of inflicting maximum economic and existential damage on anyone they choose to label as adversaries, competitors, or simply political regimes they disapprove of. The sanctions wars fueled by the US and the EU have become part of a new normality that should rightly be called “abnormality.”

This course of events must be challenged. It is essential to prevent sanctions wars and the arbitrary labeling of independent states that pursue sovereign domestic and foreign policies from turning into a constant of interstate relations…

THE right of nations to self-determination is one of the most important principles of international law. Before being enshrined in the UN Charter¹ and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,² it underwent a long process of development. Modern scholars typically link the evolution of this principle to the appearance of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which established that sovereignty resides in the nation.

In reality, two events during the French Revolution indirectly influenced the establishment of the right of nations to self-determination. The first, of course, was the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.³ However, this document also presents its own complications. It is impossible to ignore the obvious fact that 18th-century France was not interested in the development of the right to self-determination in the sense of a nation forming its own state, and at that time French society was not experiencing distinctly national problems…

MONEY is the only thing that means anything in America. That ideological maxim from [Alexey] Balabanov’s cult film classic Brat-2 [Brother 2] aptly captures the essence of Trumpism, but there are nuances. Key donors to Trump’s 2024 election campaign included the largest defense corporations (Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Boeing), as well as transportation and oil and gas conglomerates, and the IT venture-technology lobby of Silicon Valley, all of whom are interested in maintaining the US’s military, technological, and economic dominance in the world. War – or rather the agenda of war – is their business and developmental environment…

THE current stage of transformation in global politics and economics is characterized by the emergence of new contours of regional division. Geoeconomic regionalization, which had stalled, is regaining relevance, albeit in revised formats that rely on the primacy of geopolitics and even military force, ratherthan geoeconomics, for spatial integration. Moreover, contrary to earlier assessments, these contours will be formed based not on geoeconomic factors (geoeconomic regionalization) but on military-political and geographic factors. A key tool of such structuring includes natural geographic elements that ensure the security of the territories being developed – in short, the security factor of territories under development and use. This reveals a fundamental difference between the current stage in the development of the system of international economic and political relations and the period of late globalization: The changes, including those in the capabilities of the major global players, are beginning to flatten out…

IN ACCORDANCE with the UN Charter, the UN operates based on a clear “division of labor” among its principal organs, organizations, and agencies. For instance, the UN Security Council (UNSC) bears “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.”¹ Its scope of activity includes crisis response, matters of war and peace, and so on…

THE end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR marked the establishment of a unipolar world order dominated by the US in key aspects of international relations. However, in the early 21st century, signs of crisis began to appear within this system. In the global economic arena, the US encountered serious competitors in the form of China and India. The leading position of the G7 countries was challenged by the emergence of a new interstate alliance – BRICS. The halt in Russian hydrocarbon supplies to the Western market had a serious impact on the industrial sector of the EU and intensified inflationary processes in the US, where a major inter-party conflict erupted ahead of the 2024 presidential election…

THE international drug control regime is currently going through a difficult period. The legalization of drugs by certain states in violation of their obligations under UN conventions, populist interpretations of the conventions’ goals favoring the liberalization of attitudes toward both drug use and illicit trafficking, and the politicization of anti-drug cooperation are all undermining international efforts to combat the global drug threat and eroding trust among states.

THE international drug control system is based on three UN conventions of near-universal application: the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as amended by the 1972 Protocol (154 parties¹), the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances (184²), and the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (192³)…

IN THE context of global information dominance, the Pentagon is expanding its units tasked with conducting information operations against Russia and reinforcing proxy units within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The 2023 Strategy for Operations in the Information Environment, published in July 2023, speaks of the need to create special “information forces” to “gain and sustain information advantages … [for] successful operations in the information space.” Information warfare is assuming new, sophisticated forms, aimed in particular at the cognitive perception of both individuals and entire nations…

RECENT escalating tensions among all parties involved in the Ukraine crisis have compelled me to speak out on the issue of Ukraine’s security – especially in light of a shift in the US’s assessment of events in Ukraine.

The US has ceased to recognize Russia as the party responsible for this war, and this fundamentally changes not only America’s perspective on the current problem but also reveals the true instigators of the bloody conflict…

THE first steps of the current US administration have often been perceived by outside observers as some oddity – an inexplicable departure from the understanding of American policy goals and objectives that had become familiar and widely accepted by practically the whole world, especially during the 1990s and 2000s.

However, the political news coming out of Washington today reflects long-standing domestic developments in the US and the implementation of pre-formulated, thoroughly prepared plans. These plans align with the goals and objectives of a particular school of American political (and economic) thought – one that is largely unfamiliar to Russia’s political class but is now associated with the name of President Trump…

LATE winter and spring 2025 are rich in anniversaries marking the conclusion of US involvement in some of the most significant military and armed conflicts of the latter half of the 20th and early decades of the 21st centuries. Fifty years ago, on April 30, 1975, the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam captured Saigon. This marked the end of the Indochina wars and the complete collapse of the US’s military-strategic positions, which had been established between 1965 and 1972 through the large-scale deployment of US Armed Forces (AF) [1]…

THE Korean Peninsula nuclear issue (KPNI) is one of the main threats to contemporary international security. It consists of two aspects: first, the nuclear aspect, expressed in the DPRK’s efforts to develop nuclear deterrent forces in response to the threat posed by the nuclear US and its allies¹; and second, the political aspect, which includes relations among the states of the Korean Peninsula and external actors whose security is threatened by the presence of nuclear weapons on the peninsula.²…

THE formation of the Franco-German tandem was a complex and protracted process, driven by Charles de Gaulle’s objective desire to elevate the role of France and Western Europe in the world, to strengthen control over the political and economic potential of the Federal Republic of Germany, to challenge the US and the USSR, to maintain France’s economic growth and ensure the modernization of its armed forces, and to restore interstate and interregional balances in international relations.¹

THE concept of a tandem as a possible platform for pursuing de Gaulle’s goals did not emerge immediately. The general reflected on the narrowness of the Atlantic system, the prospects of integrating the European Economic Community with the US through a free trade zone, the idea of an organized union of all European peoples from Iceland to Istanbul and from Gibraltar to the Urals, a strengthened partnership within the Washington-Paris-London triangle, drawing Rome in through expanded foreign policy cooperation, and using the Soviet-American antagonism as a means of rallying around France the peoples bordering it and creating “alliances without dependencies.”…

IN THE CIS member states, the legal framework regulating the activities of national human rights institutions is actively developing. Laws adopted in the 1990s and early 2000s are being updated.

In November, Law No. ZRU-1002 (November 15, 2024) on the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman) entered into force. During the 2025 spring session, the Parliament of Azerbaijan is considering a bill to amend the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The new draft Constitutional Law on the Akyikatchy (Ombudsman) of the Kyrgyz Republic has passed through the stage of public discussion…

ISSUES related to civil society are becoming much less prominent in Western academic discourse due to the following factors:

– First, in societies long considered among the most democratic and exemplary in terms of citizen participation in governance, a persistent trend has emerged toward the erosion of their social foundation – the middle class…

THE first signs of the systematic digitalization of electoral processes were observed during the 2008 US presidential election, which spurred further developments in the application of information and computer technologies in elections and secured Barack Obama the reputation of the first social media president. From then on, Internet technologies became the primary channel for communicating and interacting with voters. The quintessence of technological progress became the 2024 US election – the first in global practice to take place amid the widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) and neural networks.

AI use in elections is usually broken down according to purpose – organizational-technical and informational – but it can also be classified by period: preelection, election day, and postelection…

Keywords: diplomatic mission, inviolability of diplomatic mission premises, premises of a consular post, diplomatic immunities and privileges, sending state, receiving state

SINCE ancient times, it has been an unfailing principle that the ambassador’s residence enjoys absolute inviolability. In Ancient Greece and Rome, this inviolability extended to the private residences of proxeni and praetors.¹…

THERE was a time when heated debates raged about the harms and benefits of electricity, means of communication, and all sorts of other “novelties” and inventions. That time has passed peacefully, just as we are now seeing the decline of overused and hackneyed phrases about how modern technologies are “developing at unprecedented rates,” “confidently spreading across the globe, shaping a progressive digital era,” and “creating not only networks, but a new human being,” and permeating “every pore” of human life – work, science, culture, leisure, education, and public administration. It is remarkable how passive a role the international community has attributed in these discourses to the human being (an impermissibly passive role), given that behind any such process there are, first and foremost, concrete human actions. Technologies cannot develop, improve, or be implemented by themselves. These are conscious actions based on a specific metaphysical framework of goals and objectives.

At this point, we are dealing with yet another familiar phenomenon/convenience in the form of the Internet – first of all, as a means of communication; second, as an information resource; third, a work tool; fourth, a household service; fifth, a means of influence…. The list could be considerably expanded. Meanwhile, it is important to remember that this is merely a means and a tool – like a pencil, a bus, or an escalator – and it should not be transformed into an alternate reality that consumes more and…

THE Russian stage of the international and interregional sociocultural and business program “BRICS People Choosing Life,” implemented by the regional public organization “BRICS. World of Traditions” in the member countries since 2022 under the slogan “From the ecology of soul and body to the ecology of the world,” has successfully concluded.

Focused on strengthening interstate and intercultural interaction within BRICS, the program brings together large-scale educational, cultural-humanitarian, and business initiatives. In 2024, during Russia’s chairmanship of the group, major events were held in Moscow, Tver Province, Moscow Province, Altai Territory, and the Republic of Tatarstan…

IN LATE February 2025, the research service of the pan-African magazine Jeune Afrique published its traditional annual review dedicated to the 500 largest business entities in African countries. Banking and financial institutions are not included in this review, as they are the subject of a similar traditional study conducted by Jeune Afrique experts (see the author’s article in International Affairs, Vol. 71, No. 2 (2025), pp. 193-198)…

MARCH 14, 2025, marks 80 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Russia – an event that not only signifies the strategic alliance between the two countries but also reflects the profound historical, cultural, and political bond that dates back to the early stages of Venezuela’s struggle for independence.

This anniversary coincides with another event of immense historical significance – the 80th anniversary of the Red Army’s triumph over Nazi Germany, a victory that not only liberated Europe from the scourge of fascism but also reshaped the course of world history…

DIMPLOMATIC relations between Russia and Jamaica were officially established on March 12, 1975, through the exchange of personal notes between the permanent representatives of the USSR and Jamaica to the UN – Yakov Malik and David Mills. Thus, this year we celebrate their 50th anniversary – a milestone that reflects decades of multifaceted interaction between our countries, marked by both highs and lows…

ON FEBRUARY 9, Russia lost its foremost expert on American policy and US-Russia relations: Sergey Mikhailovich Rogov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Science (History), Professor, Director and later Research Supervisor of the Institute for US and Canadian Studies.

The early 1980s saw the emergence at the Institute for US and Canadian Studies of relatively young but already experienced and distinguished researchers from the first postwar five-year generation. They made a name for themselves not only on account of their comprehensive knowledge of their subject area, their analytical skills, and their ability to draw conclusions, but also because of their talent for debate. This group included Andrey Kokoshin, Sergey Plekhanov, Vladimir Pechatnov, and Anatoly Utkin. Sergey Rogov was undoubtedly among them. For us – the next generation of American studies scholars – these figures served as scientific beacons, models to emulate. We listened attentively to their reports and presentations, learning from their ability to speak, defend their positions, and work with materials and primary sources. In retrospect, it is safe to say that this period at the institute saw the formation of a true school of Soviet American studies…

THE complex interweaving of foreign policy, military, and economic processes in the 1930s on the European continent left a distinctive imprint on how Latvia, its ruling groups, and strata of society perceived their place in the world. After the establishment in Germany of Hitler’s expansionist regime, based on a misanthropic ideology and direct violence, Riga had to determine its strategy and tactics in relation to Nazi Berlin, as well as build relations with neighboring states, including the USSR, and Western countries. By tracing the diplomatic maneuvers and regime characteristics specific to Latvia as a central country in the region during the early period of Kārlis Ulmanis’s dictatorship (1934-1938), one can discern the patterns behind the failure of contradictory attempts to preserve neutrality and “leader-centered” statehood amid the unfolding of World War II and the inevitable dramatic clash between the USSR and Germany…

SUMMING up the year 2024, it is impossible not to mention such a landmark event for Russian-Portuguese relations as the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, which was commemorated that year. The revolution of April 25, 1974, radically changed the course of Portuguese history. During it, the dictatorship of António Salazar was overthrown, and the pro-fascist regime of the New State was dismantled. It became the starting point for the formation of anew, open, democratic Portugal: “The hands on the clock of history seemed to have stopped for the Portuguese in 1926, when a reactionary dictatorship was established in the country following a military coup.”¹ Thanks to the events of April 25, they began to move again. Regardless of how various political groups in Portuguese society assess the revolution and its outcomes, they all agree that this event is a key milestone in the modern history of the country…

I ONCE held that enormous book in my hands and thought: How many years and how much effort did the author invest in writing what was arguably the first monograph on Saudi Arabia in our country? The book was titled The History of Saudi Arabia, and its author was RAS Academician and now Scientific Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for African Studies Alexey Vasiliyev, a remarkable individual and outstanding expert on the Middle East and, more broadly, the Global South and East. At the time, he was a pioneer who introduced Russian readers to many fascinating aspects of a country we knew little about, largely because up until the early 1990s, we had not even established diplomatic relations with it.

My personal view on this is simple: In the 1930s, the USSR and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia began moving toward political rapprochement, which London strongly opposed, and the British derailed the budding dialogue. Yet in 1932, the future King Faisal visited Moscow and held talks with Mikhail Kalinin, who was then head of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR…

THIS book by renowned Russian historian Marina Arzakanyan* is devoted to exploring the professional and personal journeys of the French political figures who surrounded General de Gaulle at various stages of his life and who continued his legacy after he left politics. These include two presidents of the Fifth Republic – Georges Pompidou and Jacques Chirac; three prime ministers – Michel Debré, Jacques Chaban-Delmas, and Édouard Bahadur; as well as two outstanding representatives of French intellectual life – ethnographer Jacques Soustelle and writer André Malraux…

THE rapidly evolving international security environment is a key factor defining the current state of international relations. The emergence of new challenges and threats is a fundamental element in the ongoing reassessment of the global security architecture. The conventional understanding of security and strategic stability is gradually being revised in favor of a differentiated approach, viewing security as a comprehensive system that encompasses not only arms control and nuclear nonproliferation, but also key trends such as the militarization of outer space, cyber diplomacy, the threat of international terrorism, and other pressing global issues.

The unipolar model is without question losing relevance in the context of the development and revision of global security architecture, while the multipolar model – reflecting the evolving international environment – has become a more appealing objective, particularly for the countries of the Global South. This trend is further reinforced by the growing global role of BRICS…