Europe Adjusting Itself to Realpolitik
Membership in the Council of Europe, which was created to promote “European values” is the legacy of the era when Moscow sought to proved it also shared them. But in the 1990s Russia’s participation in “clubs” was a matter of self-identification, rather than prestige solely: it aspired to belong to the community of the EDCs.
Today we have the same problems – prestige and self-identification. But the answers are different: Russia needs to assert its right to be an independent pole. It is not clear how it is going to achieve its aim in the organization intended to embody the spirit of conceptual and political integration.
The end of the cold war did not bring about forming a new world and European order. Instead of creating institutions reflecting the changing reality, they made a different choice attempting to turn the existing bodies, which existed in the “winning” western block, into universal.
Last decade this approach seemed to be effective: you could see many countries queue to all possible institutions of the “free world”: from the WTO and the IMF to the Council of Europe, NATO and the European Union. The outlook appeared really bright.
But very soon other factors emerged.
First, the expansion of the western sphere of influence was possible only due to the unique historical moment. Russia was in a geopolitical knockout, and China was bothered with its home agenda only. This period lasted over a decade coming to an end gradually.
Second, the ability to accommodate the old institutions to new circumstances turned out rather limited. They are just unable to manage the mission they were entrusted with.
As a result, the work of the existing organizations is paralyzed by both inner misbalance and their conflict with the reality. You can’t transform the global system if mutual irritation and distrust grow.
There is an acute rivalry between great powers unfolding in Eurasia, but the rhetoric politicians use appears to be tuned to a different register – the one that was accepted at the beginning of the 1990s – mutual understanding based on common values. It is hard to conceive the triumph of Realpolitik in the terms the Council of Europe uses. The more so because apart from political and humanitarian aspects, there are mercenary interests. On the one hand, they wish they could punish Russia, on the other hand, no one wants to lose a large financial donor.
Europe cannot help working out a new security system, which should include a landing for discussion. The Council of Europe, the oldest European organization, could easily become such a ground. Even more so because, unlike the OSCE, for example, no one calls in question its mandate and competence.
Everyone should acknowledge that the world has changed and everything went a different way than it was planned at the dawn of the 1990s.
Fyodor Lukyanov, Russia in Global Affairs editor-in-chief
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 03, 2008
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