Making the Best Out of a Crisis: Russia’s Health Diplomacy during COVID-19

Serena Giusti and Eleonora Tafuro Ambrosetti
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Serena Giusti: Institute of Law, Politics and Development, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, 56127 Pisa, Italy
Eleonora Tafuro Ambrosetti: Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia Centre, Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), 20121 Milan, Italy

Social Sciences, 2022, vol. 11, issue 2, 1-14

Abstract: The article considers how Russia has reacted to the pandemic, especially in terms of foreign policy. Although internally the management of the pandemic has led to a further limitation of citizens’ freedoms, externally it has been exploited to improve the country’s image and strengthen its leverage through tactical activism and political generosity. Russia’s strategy has been articulated in two phases: first, immediate aid to countries in need in order to channel the idea of a benevolent state, directly or indirectly discrediting other countries or organisations; second, the geopolitical use of vaccines. The article stresses the relationship between science and foreign policy and analyses Russia’s health diplomacy strategy, underscoring its opportunities and challenges through the analysis of two case studies (Italy and Belarus). From a methodological perspective, the article mainly refers to foreign policy analysis (FPA), using concepts such as soft power, health diplomacy, and geopolitics.

Keywords: COVID-19; Russia; foreign policy; soft power; health diplomacy; vaccines; geopolitics; Italy; Belarus (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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