Arms Sales as a Russian Foreign Policy Tool

Egor Asanov
master’s student of MGIMO School of Governance and Politics;

Arthur Grigoryan
master’s student of MGIMO School of Governance and Politics;

Daniil Nakhaev
master’s student of MGIMO School of Governance and Politics.

Abstract

Nowadays military power plays a significant role in foreign policy of a State according to the advocates of political realism. In recent years amid the increasing role of a military factor in the international system, research into the issue of arms sales seems pertinent to the political conjuncture. The paper focuses on the analysis of the role of arms sales in the Russian foreign policy toolbox. The main purpose of the article is to determine the importance of military power in international relations, to identify the place of modern Russia in the world arms market and to consider the supply of military equipment as a tool for promoting Russia's national interests on the world stage. The research is based on the dialectic method; also, literature and scientific sources analysis is used in the paper. It has been found that the development of military industrial complex is one of the key components of a state’s power. Moreover, the study shows that Russia’s place in the global arms market manifests, mostly, Russia’s weight in world affairs. The Russian Federation is capable of regulating the balance of powers, altering the military and political situation in any conflict zone or region owing to the prudent approach to selling military goods. This paper shows that international arms sales is one of the most effective tools by which the Russian Federation gets to continue displaying and proving its relevance in the current international security and defense environment. In conclusion, the article demonstrates that the country's place and role in the world arms market is evidence of its military-political power and international authority.

Keywords: arms sales, Russia, foreign policy, international system, political influence, balance of powers, soft power.

Introduction

Nowadays the international system is being transformed. Great powers, in their turn, are seeking to get an advantage point, while using various means. The Russian Federation is the second biggest exporter of arms in the world. It is a well-known fact, that arms sales help secure new allies and deter the powerful rivals by extending the firepower to new territories. Amid the increasing role of a military factor in the international system, research into the issue of arms sales seems pertinent to the political conjuncture[1]. According to the advocates of political realism, military power plays a significant role in foreign policy of a State[2]. In its turn, the development of military industrial complex is one of the key components of this power. Thus, the purpose of the article is to analyse the role of arms sales in the Russian foreign policy toolbox.

Analysis of arms sales as Russian foreign policy tool

It is worth mentioning that the global arms market is one of the most conservative, that is directly related to the specifics of the military-industrial complex, namely, with long-term cycles of creation, operation and modernization. Therefore, importers do not alter a supplier since choosing certain one. This factor is bound to enhance friendly ties between states. Arms sales extends the influence of an exporter in strategically important regions. Moreover, it allows a country to have a hold over geopolitical conjuncture. Arms sales is characterized as a long-term relationship between an exporter and an importer. This is primarily due to after-sales service – repairs, staff training, and infrastructure construction. Such states become allies in the military, political and economic spheres, because the importing state trusts the exporting state with the most vital things - national security and sovereignty.

The Russian leadership attaches great importance to such tasks in foreign policy, which is directly enshrined in the Federal Law No. 114-FZ of 07/19/1998 "On Military-Technical Cooperation of the Russian Federation with foreign States". This is especially true for modern Russia, which is gradually regaining its lost geopolitical positions after the collapse of the USSR, when arms markets in such regions as Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa were lost.

Russia’s place in the global arms market manifests, mostly, Russia’s weight in world affairs. The Russian Federation is capable of regulating the balance of powers, altering the military and political situation in any conflict zone or region owing to the prudent approach to selling military goods.

The supply of military equipment is not only a means of replenishing the national budget, but also a tool for promoting Russia's national interests on the world stage[3][4]. As it has been said, the country's place and role in the world arms market is evidence of its military-political power and international authority. Military-technical cooperation as a means of advancing national interests has another "consequence" - an improvement in the country's reputation image. As demonstrated in this paper, military-technical cooperation increases both the political authority of the importing country and the economic one, since high-tech weapons reflect the country's innovative and technological potential. Thus, it can be argued that the military-technical cooperation contributes to the development of the potential of "soft power".

The trade in military equipment is an important geopolitical factor for the Russian Federation in connection with the tough foreign policy pursued by the Russian leadership, due to the current conjuncture on the world stage. Russia de facto alone confronts the Western military-political bloc.

Today's realities dictate the need to strengthen the military power of the state, which is inherently connected with the activities carried out by Russia in the field of military-technical cooperation. After all, as already mentioned, the arms trade helps to strengthen the military authority and power of the country.

The sale of large consignments of weapons often shifts the relationship between the exporting country and the importing country from the economic sphere to the political plane[5], thereby predetermining their partnership relations for many years. Often, the interests of the states producing military equipment collide, which leads to contradictions in the framework of the struggle for political influence. This aspect largely determines the tough competition in the struggle for new markets[6].

The findings of the research

The article finds that the export of military equipment and its level largely depend on the political influence of the state in the region. At the same time, arms and military equipment trade is not the primary factor of political influence. However, it definitely contributes to the growth of the country's influence in a particular region. The results of the research also indicate that in modern conditions, it is necessary to apply an integrated approach in the implementation of foreign policy. The conducted research shows that Russia successfully uses arms sales to pursue its foreign policy to win the support of recipient countries and to strengthen its influence on the world stage.

Conclusion

The article concludes that taking into account the growing confrontation with the West, Russia must use all effective means, which is military-technical cooperation, to expand its influence in the world. International arms sales are one of the most effective tools by which the Russian Federation gets to continue displaying and proving its relevance in the current international security and defense environment, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.

References:

1. A. Trevor Thrall, Caroline Dorminey. “Risky Business: The Role of Arms Sales in U.S. Foreign Policy”. March, 2018. CATO Institute. URL: https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/risky-business-role-arms-sales-us-foreign-policy
2. Goreslavskiy S.S. Arms trade as an instrument of political influence in the international arena. Moscow, 252 p. (in Russian).
3. John Charles Daly. “Arms sales, a useful foreign policy tool?” 1982. URL: https://www.worldcat.org/title/arms-sales-a-useful-foreign-policy-tool/oclc/8431660
4. Morgenthau H.J. Politics Among Nations. The Struggle for Power and Peace. – N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, 1955.
5. Morgenthau, Hans J. “The Primacy of the National Interest.” The American Scholar, vol. 18, no. 2, 1949, pp. 207–212. URL: www.jstor.org/stable/41205156