ANALYSIS OF RUSSIA FEDERATION
Russia is a developing democracy government that uses hard and soft powers to navigate the tradition of the ever evolving landscape of a new democracy. According to Kegley and Blanton, soft power is defined as the “ability to exercise international influence that is increased when a country’s values and conduct are respected throughout the world”. Also define hard power as the ability to exercise “international influence by means of a country’s military capabilities”. Smart power is another layer of a combination of hard and soft power that for this article will be left out. In reviewing the applications of where and how the power is being used in Russia, the levels of analysis will help to clarify each level of government’s powers hard and soft.
At the International System level of analysis one for Russia the Non-Government Originations and the Government Organizations the government organizations are higher. Russia as an international power based on our text is bipolarity. Russia in recent years has join alliances with Brazil, India, and China this alliance is called BRIC. This alliance would be a hard power to help each of these states to have a greater influence on the global policy future and the international economy (Kegley and Blanton). Also, based on research for the failure rate of multinational organizations expanding in Russia is due to the differences in culture and the corrupt business system of bribery especially of the local business owners. The local business owners hold most of the natural resources from the government communist democracy sell off (Fay and Denison). NGO’s have experience some limited success in the area of human rights. Based on the history of Russia i...
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... Effectiveness: Can American Theory Be Applied in Russia?
Carl F. Fey and Daniel R. Denison
Organization Science , Vol. 14, No. 6 (Nov. - Dec., 2003), pp. 686-706
Published by: INFORMS
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4135128
Foreign Assistance, International Norms, and NGO Development: Lessons from the Russian Campaign
Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom
International Organization , Vol. 59, No. 2 (Spring, 2005), pp. 419-449
Published by: The MIT Press
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3877910
Hard and Soft Power
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Historically, Russia has always been a country of perplexing dualities. The reality of Dual Russia, the separation of the official culture from that of the common people, persisted after the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War. The Czarist Russia was at once modernized and backward: St. Petersburg and Moscow stood as the highly developed industrial centers of the country and two of the capitals of Europe, yet the overwhelming majority of the population were subsistent farms who lived on mir; French was the official language and the elites were highly literate, yet 82% of the populati...
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Historically, Russia’s relationship with the West has been shaky at best. From the Crimean War in the 1850’s to alienation following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution all the way up to the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has been “under attack.” This has forced them to adopt a mentality that is based in self sufficiency and autarky. As Western nations attempt to strengthen democracy in Russia in the 21st century, Russia has responded negatively to these perceived “intrusions.” Therefore it is important to ask what role the West should play in Russia’s development and what is hindering this from happening? In her book Russia: Lost in Transition, Lilia Shevtsova outlines two different ways the West can approach development with Russia: let them figure it out themselves or patiently create an international environment that the Russians feel comfortable in. Shevtsova clearly favors the latter. The West’s involvement is hindered however by double standards, ideological differences, and negative perceptions of the West’s motives by the Russian people. These must first be analyzed before showing how a cautious, assertive approach is the best way for the West to assist in Russian development.
Morcombe, M. and Fielding, M. 2014. The Spirit of Change: Russia In Revolution. New South Wales: McGraw-Hill.
Russia is generally apportioned the benefit of having introduced a political phenomenon that basically provided an alternative for capitalism; communism. Since this concept was only set in motion at the turn of the 20th century, we can therefore deduce that, to a large extent, Russia is, to most people, synonymous with leaders such as Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, and Gorbachev. This supposition is entirely based on the premise that the Russian revolution of 1914 inherently altered the socio-cultural and socio-political direction of the nation, bringing into birth a never before envisioned era where Russia was not ruled by the Tsars, but by simple men; men who spoke to and articulated the needs of the masses. To this extent, communism, therefore, is largely misconceived as having been the fulcrum of Russia’s civilization. Much of this misconception , as signaled earlier, is based on the growth and progression of the Russian society in the years after the revolution until 1990, when the Berlin wall fell, essentially bringing down with it decades of Soviet Union tradition based on communism.
Shelley, Louise I. “The Challenge of Crime and Corruption.” Russia’s Policy Challenges. Ed. Stephen Wegren. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 2003. 103-122.
In a speech broadcast to London via radio on October 1st, 1939, Winston Churchill famously said: “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma (Murdico, 1).” While it is true that Churchill was referring to his inability to predict the country’s actions in regards to the impending world war, the words can be used to illustrate a general confusion and lack of understanding, by both western and eastern powers alike, concerning the massive nation. Russia, as it stands today, currently encompasses about 6.6 million square miles of land (Murdico, 1), and is the largest country in the world by land mass. Along with a large area, Russia also has quite the large reputation; having been through two world wars, governments both communist and imperial, and a slew of civil wars and internal struggles. Russian politics and history is still today a hot topic of conversation, yet very little of this conversation mentions anything pre-WWI. It may be difficult to say exactly why this is so, as a great number of factors, including first an foremost our own cultural biases and perspectives come in to play, but it is true that Russia may confuse us because it is nearly impossible to categorize as being entirely “western” or “eastern” in nature. It is not really European nor is it truly Asian. Instead it has been shaped by a blend of different cultures and political ideologies that certainly include both European and Asian influence. Playing a huge role in this is the geography of the area; its location lends itself to contact with and, more importantly, being attacked by surrounding societies while still being pushed up against the corner of a continent in an almost isola...
Lafeber, W. (2002), America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945-2000. 9th edn. New-York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Russia's political institutions remain comparatively weak and political power is highly centralized, particularly at the presidential level, which maintains a dominant presence. Continued government interventions, regulations and an inefficient and corrupt legal system weigh on the cost and pace of doing business in Russia. These factors seriously hinder investment, both foreign and domestic. The corruption is very high and considered one of the most important political factors in Russia, as more than half of the population feels that corruption has increased and that the efforts of the government to reduce its levels are inefficient. (See App.11) The Corruption Perceptions Index placed the country in the lower section of the list (133 of 176 countries) showing the high corruption and bureaucracy in the country. Corruption and deficiencies in the rule of law limit Russia’s FDI potential. The Human development Index of
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Riasanovsky, Nicholas V., and Mark D. Steinberg. A History of Russia. 7th ed. Oxford: Oxford, 2005. Print.
Since the earliest recorded history, there has always been one elusive title that a State has strived for, the title of Super Power. Power is one of the fundamental characteristics of the international system and the distribution of power among states. It is obvious that states are unequal in power and this “entails a number of important implications for international politics”. As a result of this lack of power, the ‘weak states’ desires and concerns are often neglected and the ‘strong states’ demands usually shape the international agenda. In the Modern Society, some would argue that we have two great powers in Russia and the United States, but if you measure and compare the two countries, The United States is more powerful. Some of these categories are population in which the U.S has more than double Russ...