The transition of the international relations system has been widely discussed recently. It`s normal against the background of what is happening in the world. But what foreign policy factors this process brings to the forefront of attention remains an open question. Think tanks, analysts and experts voice their opinions on the problem, which is also a subject of lively discussion in political and diplomatic circles in superpowers. For us, the subject can be of particular importance to Azerbaijan too from a number of perspectives.
Global geopolitics and leadership ambitions: controversial situation
It`s very hard to predict how the global balance of power will change in the 21st century. Experts say that complex and inextricably interwoven processes are now taking place on the global scale. If the period between 1991 and early 2000 can be called a stage of geopolitical, economic and ideological leadership of the West led by the United States, the years 2003-2010 offered a different picture, which saw the weakening of the West`s position, revealed that America had limited influence capabilities and witnessed the emergence of new leaders (China, Russia, India etc.). However, these changes did alter neither the philosophy nor the structure of world governance (see: Федор Лукьянов. Россия: внешняя политика в мире будущего / “Стратегия XXI века”, January 2014).
This caused controversy in global geopolitics. There is still no effective mechanism of regulating relations between countries. New conditions require making changes to foreign policy and diplomacy. Think tanks of superpowers have already started considering this (see: “Стратегия XXI века” / Совет по внешней и оборонной политики, January 2014).
Figuratively, they point to several factors that caused “complicated”, “complex” and “confusing” situation on the global scale. First and foremost, the United States is no longer capable of fulfilling a function of the global leader. Experts blame this on failures in the U.S. foreign policy since 2003, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and in the past few years, Syria.
Secondly, several countries with geopolitical leadership claims emerged. China and Russia are most widely spoken about, while others are India, Brazil and Turkey. This adds to the tension as interests clash in geopolitics. Competition between China and America makes itself felt globally. Geopolitical environment, which involves many active forces, offers a picture quite different from the situation in the 20th century.
Thirdly, global governance is becoming very difficult under the new global geopolitical circumstances. The reason is that classic politics and diplomacy are not effective enough. There is a need to renew the content of “governance” concept. The point is that unlike a single leadership model, governance of an environment influenced by many forces should be based on completely different criteria. Humanity has not yet found these effective regulation conditions.
Fourthly, international organizations cannot effectively carry out their activities on the global scale. They still apply the methods of the Cold War era. Interestingly, these organizations` efforts to renew their mechanisms have not yet yielded any fruits. We think that it is the major task facing the world political circles because, on the one hand, everybody obviously realizes ineffectiveness of the old system of relations, and on the other, they cannot reach the common denominator. But why?
We believe that there are some points that Western, Russian and Chinese analysts intentionally or unintentionally do not pay due attention to. It is the excessive leadership ambitions of super powers. A superficial analysis of the content, strategies and goals of studies of analysts shows that the West, Russia and China are seeking to build a system of regulating international relations that will be in the best interests of their own. They almost have no confidence in each other. By the way experts stress this too.
Foreign policy: is a new era beginning?
However, super powers started searching for new political and diplomatic methods. They already understand that it`s important to try a fresh approach (see: Артем Кобзев. Внешняя политика: вызовы на будущее / “Россия в глобальной политике”, February 20, 2014). In this context, analysts single out scientific, technical and technological innovations among major factors influencing politics and diplomacy. One should admit that studying the strong impact of the information and communication technologies on diplomacy is of critical importance. This, in fact, adds fresh dynamism to the geopolitical environment.
The point is that at a stage when information plays such a big role foreign policy and diplomatic activities should be built based on relatively different foundations. They should meet contemporary requirements. In this context, some say that traditional diplomatic instruments of such a powerful state as Russia are insufficient (see: previous source). What is emphasized is that diplomats carry out their activities in an atmosphere of global mutual dependence. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Andrey Kolosovski believes that the Internet has already become “a productive force” for politics and diplomacy (see: Андрей Колосовский: Современные технологии: как России не отстать слишком сильно? / Совет по внешней и оборонной политике, January 21, 2014).
Growing mutual influence of policies of countries, on the one hand, and the information technologies` playing a critical role in this process, on the other, necessitate the introduction of new methods. Highly-skilled professionals are a high priority. According to Kolosovski, Moscow does not yet possess such human resources. This leads to certain shortcomings in the work to build a positive image of the country abroad. This is one of the key foreign policy priorities at the modern stage.
Interestingly, experts believe that using, figuratively saying, “public methods” in foreign policy has become more important. And finding a right correlation between hard and soft power is a vivid sign of it. More exactly, it`s about increasing the influence of information rather than using military methods. For example, capability to work with leaders of public opinion in foreign policy has taken a special importance. Experts work out the following formula: a government should work with a government, a society should work with a society, social networks should work with social networks, the media should work with the media.
No doubts it is difficult to build diplomatic activities or organize foreign policy, as a whole, using the aforementioned method. This requires finding course of the country`s systematic development, building mechanisms of effective application of information and communication technologies in politics. In short, modern diplomacy should be built based on effective use of information.
If foreign policy is built on the basis of the aforementioned principles, the cultural power of the country and the society will make itself felt on the international scale. It is called soft power, and it has become part of political vocabulary. The method of tactical decisions is much more effective here because when the country wants to build a positive image on the international scene businessmen, religious organizations, the media, non-governmental organizations and others should work in coordination. It is one of the important conditions for successful foreign policy on the modern stage.
All this proves that foreign policy and diplomacy are on the verge of serious changes. In fact, the society`s involvement is becoming more and more topical. Analysts figuratively say that “foreign policy is now basically aimed at ordinary citizens” (see: Артем Кобзев. The aforementioned article). This means that building dialogue with all layers of the society should be among key priorities in diplomatic activities. But is humanity ready for the philosophy of dialogue?
Leyla MAMMADALIYEVA
Kaynak: Newtimes.az
