Articles

This article examines revolution as a socio-political phenomenon through the prism of the views of two outstanding Russian social thinkers — V. V. Rozanov and P. A. Sorokin. Despite the obvious differences in their personal and professional biographies, they both, having offered in their own way a deep and comprehensive analysis of the causes, nature and consequences of the revolution from the point of view of individual, social and historical development, coincided in essential assessments that sound relevant later more than a hundred years. A common feature of the work of Rozanov and of Sorokin is the antinomy, contradictoriness of one’s views, which modern researchers pay attention to. Using the personal biographies of the presented scholars as an example, the article examines the phenomenon of revolution and the social and political context in which it was matured over many years. Rozanov was a direct witness to the revolutionary events, and Sorokin was even a participant. Such close acquaintance with this phenomenon allowed both authors to conclude that, as Sorokin put it, “the real nature of revolution is very different from these romantic representations of it which are usual among its apologists.” Both of them initially shared common inspiration and hopes, and both authors saw a common inevitable pattern in the development of this process — disappointment in ideals, the aggravation of all problems and revolution’s eventual reversal into its opposite.

Central Asia as an important subject and actor in the emerging world order draws attention of regional and global powers. Since the beginning of the 21st century, China and India have also initiated a more proactive foreign policy towards the Central Asian states. This article explores the specificities of the implementation of China’s and India’s foreign policies in the Central Asian countries in the political and economic domains. It also conducts a comparative analysis of China’s and India’s foreign policy approaches, priorities, similarities, and differences in Central Asia. It is pointed out that “soft power” constitutes an essential instrument in the implementation of the foreign policies of both countries in Central Asia. It is noted that the main differences in the formation of the Central Asian policies of the two countries include the disparity of trade and economic presence and the difference in the degree of autonomy of the Central Asian policy vector.

The article focuses on the main meanings of India’s modern foreign policy, which form the basis of the country’s soft power messages and appeal to its civilizational identity. It highlights the significance of India’s foreign policy vision, which is rooted in the idea of development and heritage, appealing to the harmonization of the past and the future.
Therefore, along with the government’s ambitious Viksit Bharat (Developed India) concept facing the future, the main foreign policy semantic guidelines and substantive elements of the soft power campaigns of modern India are formulated with references to the historical and cultural heritage, demonstrating not only the connection of times, but also the relevance of ancient messages to all humanity for the modern world.
8 experts specializing in various aspects of New Delhi’s foreign policy were interviewed in 2024. The article provides an overview of expert interviews on topics related to the perception of the concept of ‘soft power,’ as well as the semantic foundations and attitudes of Indian soft power, including opinions on the influence of the Hindutva ideology on the content and formats of Indian soft power campaigns after 2014.

This article provides a theoretical and practical justification for the concept of the fifth freedom (the freedom of knowledge) for the Eurasian Economic Union as a necessary stage in the development of integration in the context of intensifying geopolitical competition. The authors argue that modern regional integration goes beyond purely economic logic and incorporates humanitarian, normative, and value-based dimensions. A comparative analysis of the approaches of Turkey, China, and the United States to interaction with post-Soviet countries demonstrates that leading external actors utilize tools of humanitarian influence to advance their interests. The US approach relies on the network of loyal NGOs and media outlets established in the post-Soviet space over the past decades, China is developing its own infrastructure of humanitarian influence, and Turkey is developing a common value-based and ideological space. The further development of the Eurasian Economic Union and the successful technological modernization of its member countries are impossible without the formation of a common scientific and educational space. The fifth freedom initiative could become an adequate response to new challenges in global politics and the competitive environment of regional integration.

The article is devoted to the problems of triangulation in political science. The authors use the concept of “triangulation” in the analysis of balancing forces in international relations. The article summarizes the data of domestic and foreign authors to re-actualize the importance of triangulation for analyzing the impact of “triangles” on international security. “Triads” (“triangles”) is an analytical model for the study of minilateral interstate coalitions or partner dialogue platforms in the heterarchical environment of the international relations. The concepts of heterarchy explain the dialectic of anarchy and hierarchy. Heterarchy is a state, unlike hierarchy, that is not associated with a single “higher level” of regulation, taking into account relational dependencies and coordination interactions. When considering the types of “triads” and the options for interaction in them, the authors apply a systematic method, including hierarchy analysis, network and coordination analysis, and also turn to structural-functional, relational and scenario analysis. Special attention is paid to the “triads” in Asia, including Russia–India–China, as well as the strategic “triad” of the USA–China–Russia. 

In the digital age, neighborhood communication has shifted to the online space, altering the traditional nature of interactions. This raises questions about the applicability of traditional knowledge about neighborhoods to their online counterparts. This study examines the impact of social capital within online neighborhood communities on political communication among their members. To do so, we analyzed the digital footprints of online neighborhood communities in the city of Volgograd, including all districts and types of buildings. Using machine learning techniques for natural language processing and network analysis, we examined over 79,000 posts over a 17-year period to evaluate the impact of both structural and relational dimensions of social capital. The results indicated that the characteristics of social capital in online communities influence political communication in a similar way to traditional interactions. A sense of community, high density, and the clustering of the network, as well as the presence of key intermediary nodes, contribute to discussions about political topics. This suggests that digital platforms can replicate the social mechanisms found in offline environments, and that previously accumulated knowledge about the impact of neighborhoods on political participation can be applied in a digital context.

The article contains the results of the study of political mobilization of protest communities in the social network VK. The set of such communities (network cluster) was mapped in winter — spring 2021. The state of the same cluster was studied in late 2023 — early 2024. The comparison of the two sub-periods allowed us to propose an answer to the key research question: how the change in the political situation affected the activity of protest groups. To calculate the level of mobilization, a new indicator was imported from the theory of self-organized criticality, which is a natural science concept. This indicator allows us to identify (through the analysis of dynamic series of network activity) communities that are characterized by high user involvement and are able to influence the behavior of their members. The author showed that the cluster was partially mobilized in 2021, but shrunk by more than two-thirds by 2024. Few communities show high levels of mobilization during the second sub-period. The cluster, however, is likely to recover as new nodes and links emerge.

The article is devoted to defining the digital revolution in the development of communication technologies as a key factor in the evolution of state–confessional relations. It demonstrates the risks associated with the popularization in social media of a simplified interpretation of the principle of secularism and the spread of critical, distorted, and biased media representations of the socio-political interaction between the state and religious denominations. A negative attitude toward the role of religion in the socio-political sphere may be used by pro-Western activists as a resource for opposition mobilization. Technologies of protest politicization of state–confessional partnership are analyzed using specific cases such as the conflicts surrounding the transfer of St. Isaac’s Cathedral in Saint Petersburg to the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church and the construction of a church in Yekaterinburg in a public square area. The application of post-secular theory and the concept of the “smart mob” makes it possible to conclude that a new technology of informational influence has emerged — religious labeling. The development of the information infrastructure of the Russian Orthodox Church, including the use of social networks, bloggers, digital platforms, and Telegram channels, makes it possible to ensure the dissemination of positive media representations of state–confessional interaction and social partnership. The article provides examples of successful practices in the development of charitable platforms, the implementation of educational programs, and the promotion of Russia’s traditional spiritual and moral values.

The article is devoted to the consideration of deplatforming as a new method of digital control and digital cancellation culture. In the context of widespread digitalization of government policy and large corporations are faced with the need to adapt to unusual models of political and managerial decision-making, in which digital platforms and neuroalgorithmic tools for content moderation play a significant role. The digital power of media corporations is implicitly linked to network algorithms, which universally implement adaptive rules that are mandatory for all participants in network interaction. These rules are often restrictive. In this regard, from the point of view of practical policy, the issue of the application of digital deplatforming is important. The author provides examples of digital deplatforming, which show the ambiguity of using this technology. The article reveals the fundamental issues of deplatforming: who is deplatforming? what is being deplatformed? why are they being deblatformed? how exactly do they de-platform? is replatforming possible? As a result of the research, the author identifies the dominant.

The concept of ‘consent engineering’ developed by social psychologist and technologist Edward Bernays in the first half of the 20th century, has become a cornerstone of modern public relations, political communication, and social governance. This article deconstructs the paradox of the Bernays’s model: how the desire for rational governance of people gave rise to manipulative technologies of mass influence on society as a whole. This article analyzes how Bernays’s classic ideas anticipated the era of modern post-truth and digital algorithms, transforming the understanding of public policy democracy. The authors examine the emergence of a new version of consent engineering in the era of algorithmic power and other digital circuits This article also analyzes the transformation of consent-building methods — from classic mass communication tools to algorithmic platforms using big data and artificial intelligence.