#6
strana.ru
December 5, 2001
Future Russian National Council on Foreign Policy to Shape State Foreign and Security Policy
The Council would base its activity on broad consensus and regular interaction between the authorities, experts and public organizations
By Sergey Markov

A National Council on Foreign Policy is an idea that was put forward at roundtable discussions that were held within the framework of the Civic Forum and it was finalized at various talks. Such a council is seen as a vehicle to help in shaping foreign policy and the policy in the sphere of security on the basis of a broad consensus and regular interaction between the authorities, experts and public organizations.

There is still a danger that Russia's foreign policy may boil down to implementing the foreign policy concepts of high bureaucratic officialdom and it may acquire an "ideological" or "narrow party lines" as was the case in the not too distant past.

In the meantime, the society in new Russia is interacting with the authorities along a wide range of interests: various public groups, information and expert networks, branches and corporations.

All these interests must play a definite role in shaping such a foreign policy that would have the backing of citizens. A bureaucratic interpretation of politics is fraught with serious problems for the country's development.

Tasks facing a National Council on Foreign Policy:

- To harness the potential of civic society to implement foreign policy. Public structures are capable of effectively supporting Russian diplomacy. What we are talking about here is presenting Russia's stand at international forums, as well as participation of Russian civic society in the activities of international civic forums.

- Participation of society in forming mechanisms that adopt decisions on foreign policy problems. The decision-making system in Russia has departed from the Soviet system but it is still a long way from modern decision-making systems that are demonstrated by countries efficiently upholding their national interests.

- Formulating principle conditions that Russian public circles definitely insist upon while practicing a foreign policy in respect to these or those countries.

- Promoting a professional dialogue between various groups of experts: statesmen, experts of independent public centers, academic specialists, corporation experts, the media and other important groups.

Participants in the National Council on Foreign Policy may be:

- foreign policy experts representing various sectors: structures of the executive and legislative branches of power, independent research centers, civic alliances, and corporations.

- representatives from regions having definite interests in the sphere of foreign politics.

- leaders from Russian diasporas.

- leaders from influential public associations, NGOs.

- politicians that deal with foreign policy issues.

- transnational corporations, business structures that have international programs.

- academic specialists as well as experts from specific fields.

- public opinion leaders.

Organizational forms of work:

- public expertise opinion on Russia's foreign political activity.

- organization of public discussions on foreign policy issues.

- participation of representatives from civic associations in organizing diplomatic visits (first of all, visits of foreign delegations to Russia).

- National Council takes the initiative to prepare reports on the most pressing problems.

- taking the initiative to organize the participation of representatives from Russian society in the work of international conferences on topics that are important to Russia (e.g., conference in Durban).

- organizing forums and other structures of an international dialogue (e.g., Russian-German forum, Russian-Ukrainian forum).

- forming expert-research networks for solving tasks requiring interaction between state and public structures (e.g., working with fellow countrymen).

- forming expert councils in specific fields.

- compiling programs for civic monitoring of elections and "power" structures.

Proposed research programs to be opened:

- monitoring of foreign policy topics.

- monitoring new global threats (new forms of terrorism, new types of global threats to security - information and others).

- the existing decision making system in Russia and how to transform it.

- September 11 and the dynamics of development in the world system of relations.

- Russia's image in the world.

- the Russian diaspora.

- new relationships in the CIS.

- aligning a system of communications between various groups of experts and interested groups on foreign policy questions.

- mutually favorable conditions in the post-Soviet environment.

Most immediate problems and vectors of work:

- choosing and working out the organizational foundations of the Council: mixed collegium? Public center? Expert network?

- working out a basic agenda for the Council.

- forming the structure of the Council.

- holding a Russian-Ukrainian forum and studying the experience of its work.

- participating in the formation of foreign ministry structures for working with fellow countrymen, and so on.

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