Description
This paper explores new Russian thinking on international order in the context of the war against Ukraine and Russia's political, economic and diplomatic break with the West. It explores different schools of thought in Russia after the war, all of which in different ways build on the concept of civilisationism. Two major trends are identified. The first school, which has been dominant since 2022, can be termed 'Offensive civilisationism'. It offers a radical revisionism in international relations that combines the anti-liberal geopolitics of Carl Schmitt with Soviet-era narratives of anti-hegemony and anti-colonialism. Its ultimate aim is to end 'US hegemony' in international relations. A second school - 'defensive civilisationism' - which is popular among some Russian conservatives, also views Russian civilisation as under threat from the West, but favours a semi-isolationist stance that seeks to divide Russian civilisation from Europe but sees little prospect of challenging the West globally. Official discourse combines elements from both these schools of thought, but has not yet fully articulated a Russian doctrine of civilisational thinking in international relations.
