Dr. ASLI VAROL
As the world overcomes the COVID-19
pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has emerged a new international crisis.
In the early morning hours of February 24, 2022, Moscow declared its invasion
of Ukraine as a special military operation. The USA, European countries and
their allies responded to this invasion with sanctions against Russia. However,
the effects of these sanctions on both the regional and global economy should
be taken into account. The trade war, which started a few years ago between the
USA and China, seems to spread to a global scale as an economic war with the
Russia-Ukraine war. Here, the European region has an important role to play in
reducing the tension between Russia and the USA.
In response to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we see that many European companies have made decisions regarding their business and investments in Russia. For example, Swedish Ikea announced that it will suspend operations in Russia and Belarus. British BP and Royal Dutch Shell also announced that they have decided to withdraw from the projects in Russia. In response, France's TotalEnergies said it would remain in Russia but would not invest more. Germany's Siemens also has significantly suspended its activities in Russia. Danish shipping company Maersk has temporarily suspended all container shipments to and from Russia. German automotive companies Volkswagen and BMW said they have stopped production in Russia and also suspended their exports to Russia. Deutsche Bank, on the other hand, emphasized that it has its own contingency plans instead of stopping its operations. There are also European companies that have announced that they will continue their activities in Russia. For example, Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch Group said it will continue its operations in Russia but will suspend exports.
In times of international crisis, the private sector should act proactively instead of being reactive. Representatives of private sector companies should play the role of mediator between states, instead of reducing employment opportunities and economic welfare in a country and increasing the crisis. In this context, the top managers of multinational companies, as corporate diplomats, must make an effort to reduce the tension in the country where there is a crisis or conflict. Especially Europe, which has experienced the destruction of the Second World War, must play a role in reducing the tension between Russia and the USA. Corporate diplomacy must be activated when interstate diplomacy cannot find a solution.
Efforts to isolate Russia from the world through sanctions and thus to end the war make it difficult to maintain trade and economic relations. Furthermore, Russia's response to technology sanctions by planning to shut down the Internet to the outside world should be taken into account. In this period, where the state diplomacy has not come a long way for now, private sector companies must act to restore international relations instead of resorting to sanctions.
Chairman of the board, CEO and various employees of the companies operate as diplomats in the global arena. Corporate diplomats work internationally on behalf of their companies (Varol, 2020). Senior managers of European companies must establish a dialogue with the Russian government, Russian companies and non-governmental organizations.
Corporate diplomats aim to help multinational corporations meet the new challenges emerging in the world and at the same time achieve the company's goals in the market, government and social context. Corporate diplomats are responsible for relations with governments and organized civil society, as well as international business strategy and implementation (Sarfati, 2012: 143). Corporate diplomats can also effectively use all the resources necessary to establish strategic communication with the foreign public (Dašić, 2011: 23).
In summary, Europe must act as a bridge between the USA, its allies and Russia. In this context, corporate diplomats from European companies must play an active role in ending the Russia-Ukraine war, and support the states in preparing the appropriate ground for the company to overcome the political uncertainties affecting its relations with its stakeholders.
References
Dašić, David Đ.: “Global Corporations and Diplomacy”, International Journal of Economics & Law, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2011, 21-26.
Sarfati, Gilberto: “Corporate diplomats: global managers of 21st century”, Revista de Economia & Relações Internacionais, Vol.11 (21), 2012, 137-148.
Varol, Aslı: Kurumsal Diplomasi, Cinius, Istanbul, 2020.
