The Religious Factor in Russia's Foreign Policy

Curanović, Alicja

doi:10.4324/9780203133279

Cited by 65 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…Indeed the administration of religious pluralism has been assimilated by Putin administration to the strengthen of the State, as confirmed by the new national security concept which see the "moral and religious education" as a matter of the State and the "harmful influence of foreign missionaries" to be controlled. This is confirmed by the agreements between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federal Government regarding army and education (Doklad v rabochey gruppe: Doklad Predsedatelya Uchebnogo Komiteta pri Svyashchennom Sinode arkhiyepiskopa Vereyskogo Yevgeniya, cooperation agreement between the ROC and the ministry of Education signed in April 2000 (Curanovic, 2012;Rousselet, 2000).…”

Section: Managed Pluralismmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…In the history of Russian state the religious factor fulfilled the roles of creating cultures legitimating its social function in foreign policy. This is why, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the State found in the Russian Church the source of a new ideology and of a way to strengthen his mandate overcoming the legitimation crisis (Curanovic, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Church-State Interplay in Post-Soviet Russia, and the Image of the West

2019

Russian Journal of Political Studies

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This paper's aim is grasping the issue of tradition-change in the Russian Federation from religious and cultural perspective. In particular, it will consider the return to power of the Russian Orthodox Church in post-soviet era, analysing the ideology on which its role is based on, and its connections with Kremlin's ideology. After the failure of the Soviet project, a large part of Russia's political elites believe that Russia must adapt its political and religious systems according to its own history and identity: this shift means henceforth the idea that Russia must not be a copy of Western world. One harbinger of this idea was the concept of "managed democracy" developed by V. Surkov and embraced by the Kremlin in 2004. The concept may be interpreted in strict relation with the one of Russkij Mir, developed later to identify the community of ethnic Russians, The second harbinger may be seen in the "traditional values" discourse, that present Russia as a different civilizational universe. Although it is difficult to trace the exact moment in which the term traditional values was used for the first time in explicit opposition to liberal values, it is designated to denote the moral sphere, and this field has become the center of the Church presence in the public debate. In 2014, in his annual state of the nation address, President Putin pointed to traditional value as one of the country's policy priorities: this is perfectly coherent with Russia tendency in the public sphere to define its international activity in terms of moral duty. This is true in particular in relation to the liberal-secularized West, appointed as the "antichrist". What are the terms and reasons of this opposition? Which kind of principles allow us to identify the Russian community as different from the western one?

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Section: Managed Pluralismmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Church-State Interplay in Post-Soviet Russia, and the Image of the West

2019

Russian Journal of Political Studies

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“…Importantly, an Islamic RPT project must convince the Kremlin and the Russian public that it is compatible with the mainstream non-Islamic view of Russia's history and identity; and while it may shake up the established Islamic authorities, it should not appear as a threat to the 'traditionalism' paradigm designed by and for the ROC. Finally, it should support Russia's foreign policies, in particular towards the Muslim world but ideally also towards the West; here again Islamic RPT can build on the experience of the ROC (Curanović 2012;Payne 2010;Stoeckl 2012). This is a tall order.…”

Section: Religious Political Technologymentioning

confidence: 98%

Religious political technology: Damir Mukhetdinov’s ‘Russian Islam’

Kemper

2019

Religion, State and Society

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This contribution introduces the concept of 'religious political technology' (RPT), using as a case study the strategies of Damir Mukhetdinov, deputy mufti of the Moscow-based muftiate DUMRF. RPT encompasses the construction and professional dissemination of an ideological platform that presents religionin this case Islamas an asset to the state and the nation. Mukhetdinov's RPT is historically enrooted in Russia's Islamic discourse (through references to Tatar intellectuals and theologians of the late imperial period), and presented as loyal, tolerant, peaceful and modernand at the same time as 'traditionalist'. His RPT is meant to appeal to mainstream trends in Russian society (including Neo-Eurasianism and Slavophile thought), to the Orthodox Church, and to the Kremlin; it also presents itself as an instrument of Russia's foreign policy. At the same time, Mukhetdinov's provocative statements meet strong opposition.

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“…Secondly, in the aftermath of the 2003 US intervention in Iraq one of the goals of Putin's foreign policy was to portray Russia as maintaining a Muslim tradition in the context of the religion's recognized status in Russia and the presence of various Muslim ethnic minorities on its territory (Curanovic, 2014). Putin attended and claimed at the 2003 Organization of the Islamic conference that Russia was a 'Muslim Power'.…”

Section: Interacting With the 'West'mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Russia's assertiveness and its engagement in the Ukraine crisis have been explored or predicted for some time in the literature. Moreover, in the last four years and especially since Putin came to power as president for the third time there has been a proliferation of books on Russian foreign policy (Mendras, 2014;Snetkov, 2014;White and Feklyunina, 2014;Curanovic, 2014;Lucas, 2014;Makarychev, 2014;Kanet and Piet, 2014;Tolstrup, 2013;Tsygankov, 2013;Freire and Kanet, 2012;Rowe and Torjesen, 2012;Mouritzen and Wivel, 2012;Mankoff, 2011).…”

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confidence: 99%

Aspirations to Great Power Status: Russia’s Path to Assertiveness in the International Arena under Putin

Nitoiu

2016

Political Studies Review

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This article focuses on the literature developed in the last few years on Russia’s foreign policy by exploring six books which can be thought as representative: two general books on Russian foreign policy, one that focuses on security and intervention, another on Russia’s soft power and influence in the post-Soviet space, and two others on Russia’s relationship with the West. There is an underlying idea in the six books that Russian foreign policy has been deeply marked by Putin’s leadership. Russia’s foreign policy has been continuously evolving since 2000 towards assertiveness, through which Putin has aimed to regain Russia’s lost status of being a great power. In the last few years and especially since Putin came to power for the third time, there has been a proliferation of books on Russian foreign policy. The value of the six books lies in the way they chart the path towards assertiveness in Putin’s quest to put Russia again on the map as a great power. Allison R (2013) Russia, the West, and Military Intervention. Oxford: Oxford University Press. De Haas M (2011) Russia’s Foreign Security Policy in the 21st Century: Putin, Medvedev and Beyond. Abingdon: Routledge. Gvosdev NK and Marsh C (2013) Russian Foreign Policy: Interests, Vectors, and Sectors. Los Angeles, CA: CQ Press. Leichtova M (2014) Misunderstanding Russia: Russian Foreign Policy and the West. Farnham, MD: Ashgate. Sherr J (2013) Hard Diplomacy and Soft Coercion: Russia’s Influence Abroad. London: Royal Institute for International Affairs/Chatham House. Tsygankov AP (2012) Russia and the West from Alexander to Putin: Honor in International Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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The Religious Factor in Russia's Foreign Policy

Cited by 65 publications

References 0 publications

Church-State Interplay in Post-Soviet Russia, and the Image of the West

Church-State Interplay in Post-Soviet Russia, and the Image of the West

Religious political technology: Damir Mukhetdinov’s ‘Russian Islam’

Aspirations to Great Power Status: Russia’s Path to Assertiveness in the International Arena under Putin

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