It briefly focuses on the major pillars of Russian foreign political thinking as presented in the speech under four points: nation state; destructiveness of revolutions; moral and ethical values; and international cooperation. Then, more detailed comments follow each point. The intention is to focus on the deeply rooted conflict-generating factors and the underlying causes of the animosity in the relations between the West and Russia at present.
Bottom-line-up-front: The major problems and dividing lines between the West and Russia are conceptual. So what? However, peaceful solutions are still possible, provided that the sides can bridge the gap between their opposite values and adopt a common international agenda, rather than pushing for their own. Source: shutterstock.
In his speech, President Putin covered a plethora of issues ranging from environmental threats to socio-economic problems, from fighting terrorism to local conflicts and post-conflict situations, from overall civilizational crisis to a firm rejection of Western values.
These are: a the notion of the nation-state as the fundamental unit of international relations; b the denial of revolutionary developments as a means to solve critical problems accumulated in a given society; c a eulogy of moral and ethical values that belong, according to some modern currents in the West, to the past; and d enhanced international cooperation and the necessity of reforming international organizations, primarily the UN.
These subjects have constantly occupied the minds of philosophers, thinkers, politicians, political theorists and practitioners all over the world, especially in established democracies. In general terms, they also are shared by many, mainly conservative circles in the West. President Putin unequivocally underlined that the major problems and dividing lines between Russia and the West are of conceptual, civilizational character.
