Russia as a civilization-state: Making sense of Moscow’s 2023 Foreign Policy Concept

Abstract

With the war against Ukraine, Russian foreign policy is going through a critical juncture that causes significant regional and global uncertainties. The current crisis is not a result of short-term brinkmanship but a consequence of Moscow’s three-decade-long search for self-identification since the collapse of the Soviet Union. To follow the overall foreign policy trajectory and self-identification of the Kremlin, Foreign Policy Concepts are quite helpful since they reflect the main framework of Russian diplomacy since 1993. The study begins by explaining the significance of the Concepts for Moscow’s foreign policy. Then it highlights the main themes of the latest Foreign Policy Concept: anti-hegemonism, multipolarity, Russia as a center, and Russia as a civilization-state. In each section, Moscow’s understanding of these themes is discussed and put into a historical context to explain the significance of their appearance in the official documents. The article then compares the previous concept to expose the change of narrative in 2023 to show the main changes in Russia’s foreign policy priorities, articulation of other actors, and perception of threats.