On June 30, within the framework of the Meeting Russia Discussion Club, the presentation of the analytical report "Russia's Foreign Policy: The Internal-International Link" was held. The paper was published on the basis of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI).

The report is dedicated to the analysis of the decision-making process in the field of Russian foreign policy. Among the authors of the book are the Meeting Russia alumni Eleonora Tafuro Ambrosetti and Alexander Graef. On behalf of the Russian expert society, the lead researcher at the Center for Situational Analysis of IMEMO Sergey Utkin also took part in the discussion.

As part of the presentation, the authors gave a brief overview of the report and provided the views of European researchers on the foreign policy decision-making process in Russia, comparing it to a "black box". The speakers also spoke about the main features of the Russian foreign policy system such as the vertical structure of power and the existence of many internal actors influencing the Russian political course, including the Russian Orthodox Church.

Another topic for discussion was the review of the history and functions of Russian think tanks in the field of foreign policy, such as the Foreign and Defense Policy Council, IMEMO, and RIAC. The speakers noted the high degree of its professionalism, but at the same time, they outlined, that the influence of such institutions on Russian foreign policy is lower because of the consolidation of political power at the state level. Within the further discussion, the authors of the report provided a comparative analysis of Russian and European thinks tanks and examined their main characteristics. In the end, they also answered questions from participants and discussed the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russian foreign policy.

The report "Russia's Foreign Policy: The Internal-International Link" is available at the direct link: https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/russias-foreign-policy-internal-international-link-30506. Enjoy reading!