A new version of the Foreign Policy Concept of Russia was approved 12 February 2013. President Putin signed a decree regarding the development of this concept on the day of his inauguration, which clearly shows how much importance the Russian head of state attaches to foreign policy.
There was a time when Russia's foreign policy concept could be expressed in a brief circular which stated that Russia had "achieved her natural development; there is nothing for her to wish for, nothing for her to solicit from anyone," and "it only remains for her to consolidate her position, defend herself from external danger and develop her internal strengths, both moral and material, by accumulating reserves of resources and multiplying her prosperity." That was in the time of Emperor Alexander III. Today the situation is completely different.Moscow's approval of a new foreign policy concept took place amid serious changes in international relations and the introduction of new foreign policy concepts by several large states.
Answers to the questions of the legal status of the Concept, why a new version was passed, and how it differs from the old version can be found in the text of the document itself. In the Concept it says that it is a "system of views". At the same time, one should keep in mind that the document was approved by a Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, that is, all of its provisions have been accorded the status of a presidential decree; this is lower than that of a law, but higher than that of any other legal acts, including resolutions of the Government of Russia, acts of parliament, etc..
The answer to the question of why another new version of the Concept was adopted can be found in the Constitution of Russia, which states that the President of Russia "determines the main directions … of the foreign policy of the state" and "leads the foreign policy" of Russia, that is, he is the main state agency and the main official in this area. If we recall when the previous concepts were adopted, we will see that the years were directly connected with changes in the head of state: 1993, 2000, 2008 and 2013.
It must be noted that to this day the constitutional status of foreign policy has not been established. While the main principles of foreign policy were fixed in the constitutions of the USSR, the Russian constitution of 1993 is silent on these principles. From our point of view, this is not an entirely correct approach, as the authority of the head of state with regard to foreign policy should be written into the constitutional framework. This is one mechanism for ensuring that the foreign policy is in the interests of the state and the people. For example, a constitutional provision on such a principle of foreign policy as the protection of the fundamentals of international law and the protection of Russia's allies would likely have been a legal obstacle to the adoption, say, of Security Council Resolution 1973.
And now we shall turn to the differences between the 2013 version (Concept 2013) and the 2008 version (Concept 2008). First of all, the new version excluded several prior goals of foreign policy and added several new ones. For example, the goal of creating a system of bilateral and multilateral partnerships to make the country's international position more resistant to variations in the foreign policy situation was excluded from Concept2013, and a new one was added: to strengthen Russia's trade and economic position within the system of world economic relations, to provide diplomatic support for the interests of Russian economic operators abroad, not to allow discrimination against Russian goods, services or investments, and to use the capabilities of international and regional economic and financial organizations to these ends. It is quite obvious that these changes are to a great extent caused by Russia's entry into the WTO.
The new approaches to the issue of human rights in Russian foreign policy should also be mentioned. While in Concept 2008 the goal of Russia's foreign policy was "the protection of the rights and lawful interests of Russian citizens and compatriots living abroad," Concept 2013 adds "the assertion… of Russian approaches to the topic of protecting human rights." It must be said that the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs evaluated the activities of the UN Council on Human Rights quite vividly and accurately, noting that in international forums, human rights are more and more often "used to unilaterally impose neoliberal concepts which propagandize an asocial way of life and corrupt the individual".
In analyzing the new philosophy of Russia's foreign policy, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov writes that the West's messianically persistent attempts to spread its own values bring to mind the words of the German philosopher Oswald Spengler, author of the book The Decline of the West: "All of these are episodic and local values, in most cases determined by the transient spiritual interests of the residents of large Western-European type cities, and not eternal historical values." The Russian minister emphasizes that denying the values which have developed over the course of millennia, losing one's cultural roots and absolutizing individual rights and freedoms is a recipe for losing all reference points both for domestic and foreign policy.
Another important addition to Concept 2013 is a definition of the essence of today's situation in the world. Russia's choice of foreign policy strategy depends on the accuracy of that concept. While Concept 2008 spoke simply of "fundamental and dynamic changes" and "cardinal transformations in international relations," Concept 2013 characterizes these changes. It is noted that the essence of the current transitional period being experienced in international relations is the formation of a polycentric international system. The new version of the Concept says that the possibilities for the West to dominate the world economy and policy are continuing to decrease. Global potential for power and development is decentralizing and moving to the East, first and foremost to the Asia Pacific region… The appearance of new players in the foreground of world politics and economics and the attempts of Western countries to preserve their customary positions are linked with the intensification of global competition, which increases instability in international relations.
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov notes that "attaching" Russia to another key player on the international arena as a follower will not even be considered as a possibility. The independence of Russia's foreign policy is determined by its geographical size, its unique geopolitical position, and its centuries-old historical tradition, culture and national identity.
New overtones also appeared in the classification ofpriorities of Russia's foreign policy. While Concept 2008 said that Russia "has an interest" in a stable system of international relations based on the principles of equal rights, mutual respect and mutually profitable collaboration, Concept 2013 says that Russia "conducts its policy" on the basis of these principles; furthermore, another principle has been added which was not mentioned previously – the principle of noninterference in the internal affairs of the state. This is a very important declaration, considering that concepts based on "lawful" interference are being promoted as "the norms of ordinary international law taking shape".
Of course, the new version of the Foreign Policy Concept of Russia has not resolved all existing issues. These issues include, for example, that of the foreign policy powers of subjects of the Russian Federation. Regulation of their participation in international life was not changed in Concept 2013 and simply reiterated the corresponding provisions of Concept 2008. However, the issue itself remains. And the foreign policy powers of the regions are not at all harmless. Among the foreign policy activities of the regions of Russia today one can see regulation of foreign migration, attracting foreign investments and many other issues which in essence should belong to the federal center.
There is one other important conceptual issue connected to the dependence of Russia's foreign policy on domestic policy.
First of all, while there is no official domestic policy concept, it is in the Foreign Policy Concept that important areas of domestic policy have appeared. For example, while the goals of Russia's foreign policy in Concept 2008 included the creation of favorable external conditions for "the modernization of Russia; the transition of its economy to an innovative path of development; raising the standard of living of the population; consolidation of society; strengthening the foundation of the constitutional order, the rule of law and democratic institutions; the implementation of human rights and freedoms; and, as a result, ensuring the country's competitiveness in the globalized world", Concept 2013 speaks of other goals, namely, the stable and dynamic growth of Russia's economy, its technological modernization and transition to an innovative path of development, raising the standard of living and quality of life of the population, strengthening the rule of law and democratic institutions, and implementation of human rights and freedoms. Considering that Concept 2013 was approved by presidential decree, one can draw important conclusions, including legal ones.
Second, it is worth noting not only the dependence of foreign policy on domestic policy, but alsotheir inverse relationship, which is manifested in the possibility of conducting a given domestic policy depending on the situation in the world. It seems that it is this aspect of the interrelation of domestic and foreign policy which was the basis for adopting the new 2013 version of the Foreign Policy Concept of Russia.
