Russia in Global Affairs

A new, promising wave of encirclement is unfolding. This time it is led by China and Russia and their growing connections with the Global South. The encirclement of the Global North, forcing imperialism back to build a multipolar world, becomes a tangible possibility.

The relations of the so-called Rest with the collective West changed in time, moving from competition to confrontation to an open conflict that effectively breaks the current international arrangements. In short, this is a Grand Split.

This article is an attempt to make a humble contribution to the debate on the Liberal International Order from the perspective of an “autocratic” state―Belarus, as it has been assigned to this category by the West and as the author of this article happens to be Belarusian Foreign Minister.

Among the instruments of influence on the global information space and international public opinion, public diplomacy undoubtedly occupies a special place: as a soft power tool it enables countries to attain their political aims.

The fighting in Ukraine has changed the coordinate system in world politics, forcing all countries to take their position on the current events. The picture clearly shows the fundamental processes that are unfolding in the world.

Since the creation of the US-led unipolar global order the US has enjoyed the benefits of hegemony. However, the rise of non-Western powers within a still forming multipolar global order has sparked attempts by the US to limit the strengths and opportunities of those rising powers and thereby retain a relative power and influence advantage.