Earth:Primakov Doctrine
The Primakov doctrine is a Russian political doctrine formulated in the 1990s. It assumes that the national security of the Russian Federation relies on its superpower status and therefore Russia cannot allow the formation of a unipolar international order led by the United States .[1][2]
History
The doctrine takes its name from Yevgeny Primakov, who was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation by President Boris Yeltsin in 1996. Primakov led the efforts to redirect the foreign policy of Russia away from the West by advocating the formation of a strategic trilateral alliance of Russia, China and India in order to create a counterbalance to the United States in Eurasia.[3]
The Primakov doctrine revolves around five key ideas: Firstly, Russia is viewed as an indispensable actor who pursues an independent foreign policy; Secondly, Russia ought to pursue a multipolar world managed by a concert of major powers; Thirdly, Russia ought to pursue supremacy in the former Soviet sphere of influence and should pursue Eurasian integration; Fourthly, Russia ought to oppose NATO expansion; Fifthly, Russia should pursue a partnership with China.[2]
The doctrine led to the gestation of a Russia, India and China trilateral format, which would eventually become the BRICS.[4]
Criticism
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov brought the "Primakov Doctrine" term into the geopolitical lexicon as least as early as 2014. He spoke on the eve of Primakov's 85th birthday, to celebrate the moment Primakov took control of the Russian Foreign Ministry from his predecessor,[4] Andrei Kozyrev, who had charted a course of rapprochement with the West.
However as early as 1997 the American foreign policy establishment labelled it as such. Ariel Cohen described the doctrine as a zero sum game even while noting the strong bonds between Russia and Iran.[5]
Mark Bassin observed that "a variety of very different Eurasian perspectives and doctrines have been articulated," and he pointed out those of Gennady Zyuganov and Alexander Dugin along with Primakov's. Of these three, Bassin writes: "the best known and most important representative of post-Soviet neo-Eurasianism is Alexander Dugin," and indeed Vladimir Putin was said by some as early as 2001 to be "a closet Eurasian".[6]
According to Emanuel Copilaş, Primakov was the architect of Moscow’s geopolitical reorientation from the Western space to the Eurasiatic space. Copilas writes: "the neo-Eurasianist inspiration of Primakov’s geopolitical concept is undeniable." Copilas attaches the label of "Primakov Doctrine" to the "political articulation of Neo-Eurasianism."[7]
A diplomat with the Middle East Institute wrote in October 2020 that the Black Sea might soon be the focus of Putinian attention, and adduced as support the Primakov Doctrine, according to which Putin sees a[8]
| “ | zone of influence in [Russia's] ‘near abroad’, [and this had] already made it into the so-called Primakov Doctrine published in 1998-1999. Doctrines are one thing, but operations are another. Putin has been the catalyst for operationalizing these strategic ideas into geopolitical objectives that have since made international news. Underpinned by Putin’s use of the oil and gas industry, this deadly recipe has provided a roadmap for how to make Russia great again. What happens in the Black Sea with Putin’s pervasive patchwork politics of pipelines, intimidation, occupation, and annexation is therefore only one variation of a theme that resonates throughout all of Russia’s geopolitical ambitions. | ” |
References
- ↑ Delong, Marek (2020). "The Concept of Russian Federation Foreign and Security Policy by Eugene Primakov". Internal Security 12 (1): 307–318. doi:10.5604/01.3001.0014.3205.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rumer, Eugene (2019). "The Primakov (Not Gerasimov) Doctrine in Action". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: 1–23.
- ↑ Weitz, Richard (2007). "The Shanghai Cooperation Organization: The Primakov Vision and Central Asian Realities". The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 31 (1): 103–118.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Lavrov predicts historians may coin new term: the Primakov Doctrine". TASS. 28 October 2014. https://tass.com/russia/756973.
- ↑ Cohen, Ariel (15 December 1997). "The "Primakov Doctrine": Russia's Zero Sum Game with the United States". The Heritage Foundation. https://www.heritage.org/report/the-primakov-doctrine-russias-zero-sum-game-the-united-states.
- ↑ Bassin, Mark (2014). Eurasianism "Classical" and "Neo": The Lines of Continuity. pp. 279–294. https://cesran.org/eurasianism-classical-and-neo-the-lines-of-continuity.html.
- ↑ Copilaş, Emanuel (2009) “Cultural Ideal or Geopolitical Project? Eurasianism’s Paradoxes,” Strategic Impact no. 3 pp.65-80
- ↑ Meiering-Mikadze, Ekaterine (23 October 2020). "Drifting attention: Why the Black Sea continues to matter". Middle East Institute. https://www.mei.edu/publications/drifting-attention-why-black-sea-continues-matter.
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