Abstract
International organizations, and especially the United Nations (UN) system, is a riddle inside an enigma. But behind the facade, there are thousands of excellent professionals supporting its work and numerous states competing for visibility within its fora. During the Soviet Times, the USSR had an active policy of promoting its image and standing within the UN, nominating top diplomats and experts to serve in leading roles and supporting various cultural, educational and exchange initiatives, among others. The 1990s have led to significant down-scaling of this policy. Twenty years later, what are the facets of Russian public diplomacy in the international organizations? And how does this strategy correlate with the strategies adopted by a number of other UN member states? The focus of this chapter is on extending the usual perception of public diplomacy forums and actors to include international organizations. It also assesses how Russia uses these means. In other words, this chapter provides a response to two key questions: is there a public diplomacy component in Russia’s engagement in multilateral diplomacy, and what are the strategies and how efficient are the outcomes? The chapter concludes with a reflection on the best practices for promoting soft power and presence within the international system in an increasingly competitive and pluralistic environment.
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Notes
- 1.
The Kremlin’s favorite buzz word is still “soft power”, in “Russia Direct”, 10 August 2013; Medvedev Explains How Russia’s Soft Power should be in the World, in “RIA News”, 3 September 2012, http://ria.ru/riatv/20120903/742179425.html; Medvedev Urges to Catch Up with FRANCE and the USA in Terms of PR, in “Life News”, 3 September 2013, http://lifenews.ru/#!news/100660 (accessed 10 October 2017).
- 2.
Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, 12 February 2013 [Online], available at: http://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/official_documents/-/asset_publisher/CptICkB6BZ29/content/id/122186 (accessed 10 October 2018).
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Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation, 30 November 2016 [Online], available at: http://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/official_documents/-/asset_publisher/CptICkB6BZ29/content/id /2542248 (accessed 10 October 2018).
- 4.
United Nations: Overview, http://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/overview/index.html (accessed 10 October 2018).
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Articles by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. More information on: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/articles/2008-06-17/more-just-talk (accessed 10 October 2018).
- 6.
United Nations: General Assembly: Overview, http://www.un.org/en/ga/ (accessed 10 October 2018).
- 7.
Voting Practices in the United Nations 2017: Report to Congress Submitted Pursuant to Public Laws 101–246 and 108–447, March 2018, https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/281458.pdf (accessed 1 September 2018).
- 8.
State Department Juked the Stats in Report on Voting Patterns at the United Nations, 1 May 2018, https://www.undispatch.com/state-department-jukes-the-stats-in-report-on-voting-patterns-at-the-united-nations/ (accessed 9 October 2018).
- 9.
Soft Power 30: A Global Ranking of Soft Power, 2018, https://softpower30.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/The-Soft-Power-30-Report-2018.pdf (accessed 1 September 2018).
- 10.
Oecd.org, Development Aid Stable in 2017 with More Sent to Poorest Countries, 2018 [Online], available at: https://www.oecd.org/dac/financing-sustainable-development/development-finance-data/ODA-2017-detailed-summary.pdf (accessed 9 October 2018).
- 11.
Fts.unocha.org, 2018, available at: https://fts.unocha.org/data-search (accessed 9 October 2018).
- 12.
For more information, see: https://www.minfin.ru/common/img/uploaded/library/2007/06/concept_eng.pdf (accessed 1 September 2018).
- 13.
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- 14.
Oecd.org, Development Aid Stable in 2017 with More Sent to Poorest Countries, 2018 [Online], available at: https://www.oecd.org/dac/financing-sustainable-development/development-finance-data/ODA-2017-detailed-summary.pdf (accessed 9 October 2018).
- 15.
Soft Power 30: A Global Ranking of Soft Power, 2018. https://softpower30.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/The-Soft-Power-30-Report-2018.pdf (accessed 1 September 2018).
- 16.
US Department of State: Employment Opportunities with the United Nations and Other International Organizations, 2009, https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/io/rls/iva/112404.htm (accessed 8 October 2018).
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Unv.org, Russian UN Youth Volunteers Prepare for Deployment to Assignments in Africa, Asia and the CIS, 2018 [Online], available at: https://www.unv.org/our-stories/russian-un-youth-volunteers-prepare-deployment-assignments-africa-asia-and-cis (accessed 8 October 2018).
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Chepurina, M., Kuznetsov, E. (2020). Multiple Facets of Russian Public Diplomacy in International Organizations: A Case Study. In: Velikaya, A.A., Simons, G. (eds) Russia’s Public Diplomacy. Studies in Diplomacy and International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12874-6_10
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