Упрощенная HTML-версия
http://interaffairs.ru
Author : E. Solovyev
Head of the Theory of Politics Section, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian
Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Science (Political Sciences)
THERE IS A MORE OR LESS general agreement in the
West that by the early 21st century the world has become
unipolar. Indeed, the bipolar world disintegrated leaving the
United States the only superpower with the status under-
pinned by its uncontestable superiority and uncontestable
leadership in many fields: the world's most capacious domes-
tic market and the largest and most diversified scientific and
technological potential.
Global domination, however, cannot rest on "hard power"
alone, that is, on military superiority or economic domina-
tion. The last few decades have taught us that economic and
military superiority are not necessarily convertible into polit-
ical control: "soft power" is a necessary third element.
Respect for human rights was treated as a moral justification of the new power dimension
of world politics which knew no borders: the world was open to the Western countries'
active interference.
THE HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE figured prominently in the struggle for a "new world
order." It is commonly believed in the West that the states which rely on the human rights
issue as the linchpin of their policies acquire new sources of their legitimacy.
Contrary to the previously accepted formula of power, the new formula which has gained
currency in the rapidly transnationalized world betrays itself in demonstrative non-involve-
ment (rather than involvement), refusal to invest and deliberate inaction - an efficient in-
strument which forces states, political parties, respect for human rights was treated as a
moral justification of the new power dimension of world politics which knew no borders:
the world was open to the Western countries' active interference.
To become a reality, a new world order requires an awareness of a mission and widespread
messianic ideology in the countries that form its center or serve its axis. The West is con-
centrated, first and foremost, at democratic proliferation, yet at least one important point
remains unappreciated.
It seems that those who think that the West gains points by exploiting the humanitarian
issues are quite right; the axiom about Russia being an a priori weak player in the human-
The "Soft Power" Humanitarian Dimension: "Human Security"
in Russia's Foreign Policy