International Affairs No. 3, 2021 – Table of Contents

Key words: system of international relations, economic diplomacy, international law, Westphalian system, Congress system, Versailles-Washington system, Yalta-Potsdam system.

THE TERM “system of international relations” has become part and parcel of the professional vocabulary of historians and political scientists. A system of international relations or a world order is a form of organization of international relations that reflects the entire spectrum of relationships among members of this system (actors) and their hierarchy. These relationships are based on principles that are enshrined in international legal documents, namely treaties and agreements. …

Key words: European continental model, Anglo-Saxon model, financial globalization, Neoliberalism, European Economic Monetary Union, center and periphery Euro zones, international role of the Euro, ECB nontraditional monetary policy, international liquidity, global financial system, Anglo-American business standards

The Transformation of the European Corporate Model Toward Neoliberal Synthesis …

Key words: Brexit, European Union, Northern Ireland, US/UK and NATO.

IT IS FINISHED! Consummatum est! In the final hours of 2020, at the tail end of a nerve-racking blitz chess match, Great Britain and the EU finally managed to choke back at least some of their vitriol to reach a “divorce” settlement that was not too painful but by no means pretty. The agreement was signed on December 24. At a joint press-conference with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said with barely concealed satisfaction: “The clock is no longer ticking. Today is a day of relief.” …

Key words: ASEAN, Asia-Pacific, Indo-Pacific, Quad, Quad+, US-Chinese tensions.

IN MID-2019, the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) approved a report titled ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.¹ …

Key words: Taiwan, PRC, US, Asia-Pacific region, territorial disputes.

THE WORLD is accustomed to perceiving the Taiwan problem exclusively within the context of Sino-American relations and the well-established claim that “Taiwan is an integral part of the People’s Republic of China.” However, that inertia is deceptive, especially today. Against the backdrop of a sharp escalation of the confrontation between Beijing and Washington, the growth of the PRC’s economic, political, and military power and, accordingly, the determination of the US to retain military and strategic superiority in the eastern Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole, the resolution of the Taiwan issue is becoming increasingly uncompromising. …

Key words: COVID-19, pandemic, polycentricity, deglobalization, multivectorism, digital diplomacy, inclusivity, cyberspace, Russia, actors, international relations.

“RUSSIA strives to act as constructively as possible in the international arena” – this is one of the most significant statements that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made at an annual press conference on the results of Russian diplomacy [2]. And it is fundamentally important today, when major changes in the global situation, triggered this time by the coronavirus pandemic, have made it an urgent task for international actors to develop the most rational approaches to the new challenges and to ensure national interests in the new situation. …

Key words: information and communications technology (ICT), cybersecurity, digital sovereignty.

ACHIEVING and ensuring cybersecurity is a global problem and a security challenge for all nations in the digital age. At the international and national levels, rules for regulating cyberspace are being discussed and developed, and solutions to the challenges of global Internet governance are being sought. Digital sovereignty is inevitably becoming a focus of international and national agendas. …

Key words: digital diplomacy, communication platforms, social networks, information security.

GLOBALIZATION has led to the rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) that impact modern society. ICTs influence international affairs, since they provide means of communication with the global audience in a worldwide format. …

Key words: information security in the private sector, international negotiation process, business structures, information and communication technologies (ICTs), cyberthreat, protecting information resources of the business community, collective attribution.

STATE activities in the field of information security are determined by a whole range of interrelated tasks that include protecting state sovereignty; preventing interference in internal affairs; preserving internal political stability; ensuring the rights and freedoms of citizens; promoting the development of the national economy and the social sphere; strengthening the rule of law and order; and maintaining the stability of the financial system, close interaction with international organizations, and cooperation with foreign countries. …

Key words: Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), stability and security in Central Asia, SCO transformation, Uzbekistan-SCO.

JUNE 15, 2021, marks 20 years since the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which, in a relatively short period of time, has become one of the most influential multilateral structures in Eurasia. …

Keywords: Venezuela, Operation Gideon, Checkmate Maduro strategy, Sosa Azpúrua, Guaidó, United States, intelligence, coup, Silvercorp.

IN A previous article,¹ we wrote that Venezuelan and possibly Cuban security services might have successfully thwarted Operation Gideon thanks to an information leak from the entourage of Juan Guaidó. On May 3, 2020, Venezuelan troops, security services, and civilians prevented a coup attempt by Venezuelan deserters and American mercenaries hired by the private military company Silvercorp USA, owned by Jordan Goudreau, who incidentally did not take part in that terrorist attack. Two American terrorist mercenaries, Luke Denman and Airan Berry, and at least 47 Venezuelan deserters were taken prisoner. We surmised at that time that the Venezuelan authorities had been tipped off about Operation Gideon by Cuban intelligence agents in the United States, mainly in Florida, where there are comparatively large Cuban and other Latin American immigrant communities. Guaidó had visited Florida accompanied by supporters, who might have a leaked the Operation Gideon plan either accidentally or deliberately, as there might have been people in Guaidó’s entourage who had been recruited as agents by Caracas and/or Havana. …

RUSSIAN oil company Rosneft, while playing a major role in satisfying the growing energy needs of the world economy, pays priority attention to environmental protection. Rosneft’s goal of continuing to be an effective driver of socioeconomic progress in the energy transition era is reflected in its large-scale environmental strategy. The core of that strategy is the Carbon Management Plan for the period until 2035, which covers issues of sustainable development, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, competent waste management, energy efficiency, low-carbon projects, land reclamation, and biodiversity preservation.

Forests are a natural way to counter emissions, so every year Rosneft plants trees near its areas of operation. Over the past three years, Rosneft and its subsidiaries have planted about 3.5 million trees throughout Russia, 1.5 million of which were planted in 2020 alone. The company has an even more ambitious goal for 2035 – to launch a large-scale afforestation and forest ecosystem maintenance program. …

Keywords: crisis situation, Crisis Management Center, Contact Center, Repatriation Coordination Headquarters, free transport.

Question: Oleg Vladimirovich [Syromolotov], diplomacy is not an especially public topic, and what happens behind closed doors is kept particularly tightly under wraps. This is especially true when it comes to the international counterterrorism agenda, which you oversee for the Russian Foreign Ministry. It isn’t often you meet with journalists, but every time you do, it is interesting, sometimes even fascinating. You work on specific matters that our readers are aware of, be it Syria, counterterrorist cooperation, or combating organized crime and drug trafficking. …

Key words: Russia, Saudi Arabia, diplomatic relations, international terrorism.

THE YEAR 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the restoration of relations between Russia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. …

The War for Values and Ideas Continues

IWOULD LIKE to thank the attendees of our conference. Despite objective challenges related to logistics and busy, jam-packed work schedules, you found the opportunity to come here to this blessed land, Crimea. Thank you very much! …

Key words: Togo, Robert Dussey, intergovernmental agreements. Russia-Africa summit, joint projects.

ON FEBRUARY 15-17, 2021, Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Togolese Republic, paid a working visit to Russia. As part of the visit, full-format bilateral talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took place in St. Petersburg on February 16. “This is a historic day,” the Russian minister told his Togolese counterpart. “Today, we are welcoming you on the first-ever visit by the head of the Foreign Ministry of Togo to the Russian Federation.” …

Key words: Germany, Britain, Middle East, Soviet intelligence network, disinformation operation.

ON THE evening of June 21, 1941, just hours before the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Marshal Semyon Timoshenko, people’s commissar for defense, and General of the Army Georgy Zhukov, chief of the Red Army General Staff, were at the Kremlin, urging Joseph Stalin in the wake of new reports of German military activity along the western border of the USSR to immediately issue a directive to activate the Soviet Union’s previously approved plan of response to a potential German attack. But the Soviet leader was dragging his heels. He was waiting for news from the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs. …