MULTIPLEXITY PARAMETERS OF THE CIS FOREIGN POLICY: APPLIED ANALYSIS

The article examines the main foreign policy partners of the CIS member states, as well as major international organizations, in which the countries of the Commonwealth participate. On the basis of a number of indicators, the parameters of the CIS countries’ multi-vector nature are estimated. The study is based on the following methods: the content analysis of doctrinal documents, the network analysis of diplomatic representations, quantitative methods to evaluate voting on resolutions of the 47–70th sessions of the UN General Assembly. Comparison of the voting on the UN General Assembly resolutions both between the CIS states and with the G20 countries makes it possible to identify the closest foreign policy partners among the CIS countries, as well as among the most influential countries in the world. Quantitative analysis is complemented by qualitative studies of the CIS states’ foreign policies (the project has been realized for several years by the Department of Theory and History of International Relations at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, in conjunction with the leading universities of the Commonwealth within the CIS Networking University). The analysis carried out by the authors testifies the formation of a separate subsystem of international relations in the post-Soviet space. A number of CIS countries implement the concept of an expanded multi-vector approach in their foreign policies, even trying not to declare the hierarchy of foreign policy partners at the official level at all. The proximity between positions of Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan as well as that of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan is observed. Countries of the “Euro-Atlantic orientation” (Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia) have attitudes closest to Germany, Italy and Japan. Particularly distinguished are the symmetrical foreign policy steps of Armenia and Azerbaijan within the framework of mutual reflection. Among the G20 countries, Armenia and Argentina have the closest positions, whereas Belarus and Russia – to China, Central Asian countries – to South Africa, Azerbaijan and Belarus – to Indonesia. Conclusions are also made of Turkey’s and Saudi Arabia’s insignificant degree of influence on the CIS states’ foreign policies.