Стр. 36 - V

Электронное приложение к журналу «Международная жизнь»
Author : L. Klepatsky
Professor, Diplomatic Academy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
THEORY AND PRACTICE of Russian Foreign Policy -
these are precisely the words we see in the title of the book
authored by a team of contributors from the Russian Presi-
dential Academy of National Economy and Public Admin-
istration. I can say at once that this is a non-standard
publication, if only in its concept. The book consists of four
chapters. The first of them focuses on the conceptual foun-
dations of our country's foreign policy, the second bears the
title "Russia and the Contemporary World," the third looks
into the regional priorities of Russian foreign policy, and the fourth into its major areas.
The logic of construction of the analysis of Russian foreign policy is not objectionable.
The book has an educational purpose, and therefore the description of Russian foreign
policy is largely academic, not exploratory. However, its claim to verify theory with practice
mandates appropriate demands. All the more so as the international setting of Russia since
the Soviet Union's collapse, and the challenges facing it today, give rich material for a mean-
ingful analysis of our country's foreign policy and for forward-looking conclusions. The
aim is to help ensure that foreign policy and diplomacy perform the function of a watch-
man and not one that only responds to emerging global trends and issues. Moreover, for-
eign policy is obliged, with the utmost care, to balance its conduct and actions with the
country's resource potential in all respects.
Perhaps my interpretation of the authors' intent is not fully correct, but the subtitle of
"theory and practice" pushes me toward reading the book in just this context: in what
measure and degree the foreign policy practice of our State meets the theoretical postulates
of foreign policy and, on the contrary, how theories contribute to the shaping of foreign
policy.
What does the book lack? Perhaps only the theoretical comprehension of the present-day
Russian foreign policy.
It is an informative material, no doubt about it. But somehow there is no word about how
the foreign policy activity of the Russian State is built and how it relates to the listed the-
oretical principles
The book links the development of the theoretical foundations of the country's foreign
policy to the overall transformation of international relations that began following the dis-
integration of the world socialist system. This approach is methodologically correct since
it helps identify the leading trend of this transformation.
Theory and Practice of Russian Foreign Policy