Comparative Analysis of Interstate Summits as a Diplomatic Tool of Russia and the United States in Relations with African Leaders

The research consists in identifying the most effective strategy for supporting relations with the African continent via international summits building on comparing the approaches of Russia and the United States to this issue. The research methodology includes systemic and statistical approaches. Within the framework of the study, special emphasis is placed on the scaling method. The study has established the high importance of international summits as a foreign policy instrument. Within the framework of the comparative paradigm of Russian and American summits, a range of distinctive features of national approaches to organizing these events is given featuring their advantages and disadvantages. The practical application of the work lies in the possibility of applying its results to support the activities of Russian foreign policy institutions and furthering academic awareness of domestic educational and methodological materials of higher education institutions. The proposed method for comparing foreign policy strategies for holding international summits of Russia and the United States with African leaders is universally applicable.

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of interstate summits of Russia and the United States with African leaders. The study obtained data have been unifi ed in a summary table for their further comparison. The following indicators have been used to compile the unifi cation of the obtained data: “The number of participating countries”, “Percentage of participating countries to the total number of countries on the African continent”, “The number of African countries represented at the fi rst and second levels of government”, “Percentage of countries represented at the highest level to the total number of forum participants”, “Number of bilateral meetings of state leaders at the highest level”, “Percentage of African leaders with whom negotiations were held to the total number of leaders”, “The number of agreements concluded within the framework of summits”, “The number of contracts concluded within the framework of summits”, “The amount of promised investment by the host country”.

The study results in interpreting the signifi cance of interstate summits with African leaders as a relevant diplomatic instrument of foreign policy of world powers. The author highlights the reasons for organizing such summits by world powers, as well as the reasons for the participation of representatives of the Global South in such events.

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