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The Atlantic
March 29 2014
The World's Post-Crimea Power Blocs, Mapped
What does this week's UN vote say about Russia's new place in the world?
Matt FordMar 29 2014, 12:16 PM ET
The United Nations General Assembly voted to condemn Russia's
violation of Ukrainian territorial integrity this week in the first
vote by the body since Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
The non-binding resolution passed with 100 countries in favor, 58
abstentions, and a smattering of delegations not present. Fewer than a
dozen countries voted against it, including Russia. As the first test
of global opinion since the Ukrainian crisis began, what can we
discern from the tally about post-Crimea realignments in world power?
The vote gave Western countries a chance to demonstrate the unity they
have sometimes lacked as the Crimean crisis has unfolded. Every
European Union member state and most of its candidates for membership
voted for the resolution, as did the entire memberships of NATO, the
G-7, and the OECD, except for Israel.
Only 11 countries voted against the resolution: Russia, Armenia,
Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, North Korea, Nicaragua, Sudan, Syria,
Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. A veritable rogues' gallery of U.S. foreign
policy, the "No" bloc is scattered across the globe; only Belarus and
Russia share a border.
Among the Nos, all but Armenia are longtime U.S. opponents and
authoritarian or authoritarian-leaning states. Belarus, the last
dictatorship in Europe, unsurprisingly backed Russia, with which it
shares deep economic and political ties. Cuba, Sudan, and Syria are
listed as state sponsors of terrorism by the U.S. government. The
Reagan administration fought a proxy war against members of the ruling
Nicaraguan government in the 1980s, while Venezuela and Bolivia are
staunchly leftist opponents of American neoliberalism and
interventionism. North Korea, for its part, spent most of the Crimean
crisis conducting missile tests in an ongoing campaign to demonstrate
strength and deter the West.
Armenia's "no" vote is something of a surprise. The country recently
backed out of signing an association agreement with the EU and opened
negotiations to join the Russia-dominated Commonwealth of Independent
States' customs union instead. Ukraine recently recalled its
ambassador from Yerevan after Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told
Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call last week that the
Crimean referendum was "another case of exercise of peoples' right to
self-determination via free expression of will." In response, the
Armenian Foreign Ministry announced that the country would abstain
from voting on the UN resolution one day before voting against it.
What led to its change of heart is unclear.
Four of the five BRICS countries--Brazil, India, China, and South
Africa--chose to not take a side.
The abstentions are also worth exploring. Four of the five BRICS
countries--Brazil, India, China, and South Africa--chose to not take a
side on the resolution, as did many African, South American, and Asian
countries. Some observers argue that the abstentions show a wariness
among developing nations to choose sides in a confrontation between
Russia and the West. "India and China have deep reservations on
sovereignty and territorial integrity and in the past have not
hesitated to slam US for Libya, Syria etc.," wrote The Times of India
after the vote. "With Russia doing exactly the same thing, the dilemma
in the developing world is acute." Other countries avoided
participating in the vote altogether, including Iran, one of Russia's
closest allies, and Israel, one of America's.
While a 100-11 margin in favor of international condemnation might
seem damning, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's UN ambassador, doesn't see it
that way. "Many countries complained that they were subjected to
enormous pressure from Western powers to ensure that they vote to
support the resolution," the diplomat told reporters after the vote.
"Probably, this pressure tactic, which our Western colleagues use, has
produced a result, and some countries voted reluctantly."
<div><a
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But Russia also directed "political blackmail and economic threats" at
countries within its sphere of influence in the lead-up to the vote,
UN diplomats told Reuters, including Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan,
and a number of African countries. Moldova ultimately voted 'yes,'
while Kyrgyzstan abstained and Tajikistan did not appear at the vote.
"Nevertheless, I think the result is quite good for us," Churkin
added. "We have won [a] certain moral and political victory."
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/03/the-worlds-post-crimea-power-blocs-mapped/359835/
From: A. Papazian
March 29 2014
The World's Post-Crimea Power Blocs, Mapped
What does this week's UN vote say about Russia's new place in the world?
Matt FordMar 29 2014, 12:16 PM ET
The United Nations General Assembly voted to condemn Russia's
violation of Ukrainian territorial integrity this week in the first
vote by the body since Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
The non-binding resolution passed with 100 countries in favor, 58
abstentions, and a smattering of delegations not present. Fewer than a
dozen countries voted against it, including Russia. As the first test
of global opinion since the Ukrainian crisis began, what can we
discern from the tally about post-Crimea realignments in world power?
The vote gave Western countries a chance to demonstrate the unity they
have sometimes lacked as the Crimean crisis has unfolded. Every
European Union member state and most of its candidates for membership
voted for the resolution, as did the entire memberships of NATO, the
G-7, and the OECD, except for Israel.
Only 11 countries voted against the resolution: Russia, Armenia,
Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, North Korea, Nicaragua, Sudan, Syria,
Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. A veritable rogues' gallery of U.S. foreign
policy, the "No" bloc is scattered across the globe; only Belarus and
Russia share a border.
Among the Nos, all but Armenia are longtime U.S. opponents and
authoritarian or authoritarian-leaning states. Belarus, the last
dictatorship in Europe, unsurprisingly backed Russia, with which it
shares deep economic and political ties. Cuba, Sudan, and Syria are
listed as state sponsors of terrorism by the U.S. government. The
Reagan administration fought a proxy war against members of the ruling
Nicaraguan government in the 1980s, while Venezuela and Bolivia are
staunchly leftist opponents of American neoliberalism and
interventionism. North Korea, for its part, spent most of the Crimean
crisis conducting missile tests in an ongoing campaign to demonstrate
strength and deter the West.
Armenia's "no" vote is something of a surprise. The country recently
backed out of signing an association agreement with the EU and opened
negotiations to join the Russia-dominated Commonwealth of Independent
States' customs union instead. Ukraine recently recalled its
ambassador from Yerevan after Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told
Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call last week that the
Crimean referendum was "another case of exercise of peoples' right to
self-determination via free expression of will." In response, the
Armenian Foreign Ministry announced that the country would abstain
from voting on the UN resolution one day before voting against it.
What led to its change of heart is unclear.
Four of the five BRICS countries--Brazil, India, China, and South
Africa--chose to not take a side.
The abstentions are also worth exploring. Four of the five BRICS
countries--Brazil, India, China, and South Africa--chose to not take a
side on the resolution, as did many African, South American, and Asian
countries. Some observers argue that the abstentions show a wariness
among developing nations to choose sides in a confrontation between
Russia and the West. "India and China have deep reservations on
sovereignty and territorial integrity and in the past have not
hesitated to slam US for Libya, Syria etc.," wrote The Times of India
after the vote. "With Russia doing exactly the same thing, the dilemma
in the developing world is acute." Other countries avoided
participating in the vote altogether, including Iran, one of Russia's
closest allies, and Israel, one of America's.
While a 100-11 margin in favor of international condemnation might
seem damning, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's UN ambassador, doesn't see it
that way. "Many countries complained that they were subjected to
enormous pressure from Western powers to ensure that they vote to
support the resolution," the diplomat told reporters after the vote.
"Probably, this pressure tactic, which our Western colleagues use, has
produced a result, and some countries voted reluctantly."
<div><a
href="http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?iu=%2F4624%2FTheAtlanticOnline%2Fchannel_inte rnational&t=src%3Dblog%26by%3Dmatt-ford%26title%3Dthe-worlds-post-crimea-power-blocs-mapped%26pos%3Din-article&sz=300x185&c=495107144&tile=3"
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alt="" /></a></div>
But Russia also directed "political blackmail and economic threats" at
countries within its sphere of influence in the lead-up to the vote,
UN diplomats told Reuters, including Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan,
and a number of African countries. Moldova ultimately voted 'yes,'
while Kyrgyzstan abstained and Tajikistan did not appear at the vote.
"Nevertheless, I think the result is quite good for us," Churkin
added. "We have won [a] certain moral and political victory."
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/03/the-worlds-post-crimea-power-blocs-mapped/359835/
From: A. Papazian