Articles

On November 20, 2020, a scientific conference “State policy in the context of global challenges of our time” was held at Lomonosov Moscow State University. It coincided with the 10th anniversary of the Department of Public Policy of the Faculty of Political Science of Moscow University. During the conference, attended by both, domestic specialists and foreign researchers from the USA, Bulgaria and Kazakhstan, participants had a meaningful and fruitful discussion concerning cogent issues of public policy and challenges faced by the contemporary structures of public authority. The article overviews key materials presented during the panel “State Policy in the Context of Contemporary Globalization and National Political Transformations” bringing together research of scholars from Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University, Bashkir State University and other Russian academic institutions.

The article provides a detailed account of research concerning the issues of the existing architecture of world politics and international relations, the vulnerability of state sovereignty at the present stage of social development, political stability and regime transformations, as well as the topic of academic specialized support to public policy. Finally, the authors indicate the most important remarks and fundamental issues of the current dynamics of public administration.

The article presents an analysis of the deliberative approach applied to the long-term resolution of ethnic confl icts. Starting from an examination of the works by I.M. Young, T. Walzer and I. O’Flynn on the deliberative approach, the article demonstrates that the basic features of this paradigm are able to combine the main characteristics of more traditional methods in confl ict resolution, the consociational and integrative. By conceptualizing active political participation as a property belonging to individuals and not only to representatives of certain groups, the theory of deliberative democracy emphasizes the role of “publicity” and “tolerance,” instead of “inclusion” of representatives of ethnic groups suggested by the consociational approach, and “reciprocity” instead of “moderation” advocated by the integrative model. Finally, the article provides an analysis of the main deliberative strategies to reduce tension between ethnic groups in the process of confl ict resolution, concluding that specifi c deliberative practices can be successfully applied.

The article examines the Free Syrian Army, one of the largest Syrian insurgent group that takes part in armed confl ict against Bashar al-Assad’s government. The article reveals how the nature and characteristics of this insurgent group aff ected its development during the Syria Civil War. The fi rst part of the article provides a general background of the group and its principles. The following part sketches out the theoretical framework providing the necessary anchor for the main hypothesis explored in the article, namely that the nature and character of the insurgent group determine its subsequent evolution. Starting from the assumption that there are three diff erent types of insurgent groups: political, religious and ethnic, the article focuses on the diff erences between the creation of ethnic and non-ethnic groups and defi nes how the nature of the group aff ects the development of the Free Syrian Army. Furthermore, the article provides an analysis of how, between 2012 and 2018, this insurgent group was able to manage and control its territory, develop its military potential and infl uence the numbers of its members. Finally, the Free Syrian Army is compared with another insurgent group, the 19th of April Movement (M- 19), active in Colombia during 1970s–1990s. Through this lens, the article argues that by looking at the nature of an insurgent group, it can be possible to predict its capacity and chances of success.

Great powers can play a central role in the process of regional integration, as a driving force of the integration, a provider of international public goods, a rule-maker, an initiator of regional mechanisms and as the founder of specifi c regional organizations. Russia and China are playing such a central role in the integration process in Eurasia through a selective use of opportunities provided by the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Belt and Road Initiative. Where the EAEU contributes to an increase in trade volume between its members, the SCO ensures a safe and stable external environment, and the Belt and Road Initiative is primarily focused on infrastructure development. Russia remains the driving force of post-Soviet integration, especially in the security sphere. The trans-regional nature of Russia allows it to borrow and process the experience and economic resources of both Europe and Asia, bringing together these two continents. At the same time, Russia is the initiator of integration projects and the rule-maker. China seeks to strengthen its role as an initiator and rule-maker of regional integration. Cooperating with partners and free-riders, it is ready to take on the role of a provider of global public goods.

The article attempts to make a conceptual interpretation of the hybrid war phenomenon integrating it in the broader fi eld of political science. The authors consistently separate scientifi c and non-scientifi c interpretations of the phenomenon, define various disciplinary frameworks for its interpretation and analyze contemporary literature on the topic. Based on the historical and comparative analysis of diff erent cases of hybrid war through the lens of discourse analysis, the article provides a defi nition of the notion putting it in relationship with concepts of conventional war, smart power, “legal” and “political war.” As a result, hybrid war is defi ned as a combination of concrete military action and other tools able to infl uence political institutions, regimes and processes. Thus, hybrid war as a political phenomenon is part of the (geo)political strategy of an actor and consequently a conscious and goal-oriented action. Furthermore, the article notes that taking into consideration that communication is a system forming process in modern politics, the interpretation of hybrid warfare must look at the role of information and communication as key components of the concept. In fact, it is exactly the domination over the realm of information which determines the specifi cs of the modern confl ict as it appears more and more important not the victory as such, but rather how it is communicated and presented in the information fi eld. In turn, the infl uence on information processes is carried out through political technologies and refl ection management.

The article presents an analysis of the role played by the Conference on Interaction and Confi dence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), an international forum aimed at strengthening cooperation in ensuring peace, security and stability in contemporary international relations. The author provides a detailed analysis of the background, the history of this dialogue platform, its main achievements and problems of development at the present stage. The author concludes that, although the CICA is a unique regional forum in the fi eld of security in Asia, the results of its activity are rather modest. The forum indeed is not a full-fl edged regional supranational organization and its decisions are not binding on member states. Participation in the CICA dialogue is voluntary, and decisions are made on the basis of consensus. In many ways, the slow pace in the development of the Conference is due to the presence of a large number of contradictions between its participants. However, despite all the limitations, CICA has become part of the modern system of regional and global multilateral institutions, a real factor in international relations. The organization developed a consolidated vision of the member states on key security issues in the region and in the world, hand in hand with some practical steps. The Conference adopted specifi c action plans and concepts in order to introduce confi dence-building measures in diff erent spheres of action, such as the military-political, economic, environmental and humanitarian, hand in hand with the broader realm of new challenges and threats.

The article attempts to provide a systematic analysis of the phenomenon of dogmatic thinking explaining its signifi cance for political and psychological research. The publication contains four relatively independent sections. First, the author discusses the dogma and dogmatic thinking concepts, their content, meanings, and functions. Dogmas have integrative properties and are considered as a factor of socialization, able to form a systemic model of the world in mass consciousness. The second part of the article deals with the “law of context,” the psychological mechanisms of contextualization, decontextualization, refl ection, and their importance in understanding political problems. The third part develops the thesis that dogmas can be seen as the dominant contextual system, a building block for the formation of mental matrices and the main paradigm of political thinking. Finally, the last part investigates the essence of dogma as the basis of political mentality. The author concludes refl ecting on the heuristic potential of the dogmatic principle in the study of global mental-political systems.

The article presents an analysis of the protest potential of self-organization among citizens in the context of the emergence of new social and technological opportunities provided by modern media structures and institutions. The analysis of the potential for protest of Russian citizens rests on the hypothesis that various network-based communication methods, hand in hand with specifi c internal and external factors, can result in a “gathering” and “conversion” of the public energy into virtual or real protest potential. Based on the case studies of public protests against the unifi cation of the Nenets Autonomous district with the Arkhangelsk region, local actions against the development of Shikhan Kushtau and a series of online rallies as new forms of civil activism, the authors partially confi rm their hypothesis. More broadly, the article analyses the existence of a “communication gap” between the government and society, the shift of the “energy” of the protest potential in Russian society to new online platforms. Finally, the authors refl ect on the general problem of identifying and solving a number of hidden “social issues” that can constitute the bedrock of online protests in the future. The methodological basis of the research relies on conceptual provisions developed within the framework of the theory of communication by C. Shirky, A.I. Solovyov, M.N. Grachev, and M.D. Rich. In particular, the theoretical framework provides tools to interpret causes, mechanisms, and consequences of network-based involvement of citizens in protest actions of various types and levels.

The article provides an analysis of the fundamental foundations of the anti- Russian discourse in the European Union, suggesting possible explanations for its escalation in contemporary European politics, in both the academic and expert community and in the mass media. The author suggests that the anti-Russian discourse in the EU should not be viewed as a series of random coincidences and not even as a coordinated one-time campaign, but rather as a part of an integral geopolitical strategy. This strategy has an impact on the social space (informational, ideological, semantic), within which the anti-Russian discourse is one of the tools of the European Union and NATO expansion to the East, closer to the borders of the Russian Federation. One of the most important reasons for the constant anti- Russian rhetoric is associated with European Union’s problems in achieving its own “strategic autonomy,” i.e. a unifi ed security and defense policy. The growth of European Russophobia is also associated with the desire to gain competitive advantages in the growing economic rivalry on the world stage. Furthermore, the incessant attacks on Russia are rooted in the erosion of the common European identity, the loss of the attractiveness of European values, as they are understood in the modern establishment of the European Union. Finally, the scope of the anti-Russian rhetoric is explained by the diffi culties experienced by the so-called “European solidarity,” the internal cohesion of the European Union as an integral entity.

The dying away of the world of the Modern in today’s Western countries and the triumph in them of postmodern principles are in fact the main source of the weakness of European civilization., generating advancing trends of Countermodernism and archaism. This variant of European civilization is demonstrating genuine powerlessness in the protection of its basic values. But that does not mean that this historical tendency should be abandoned in favor of other mythical paths of development that run counter to the Countermodern and barbarization. It only means that it is necessary to look for and off er a diff erent version of Modernism — an altermodern or a supermodern — that is able to bring new life to European civilization, fi ll it with a new reading and feeling of basic European values that can give progress a new impetus, making it strong enough to withstand not only the forceful but also the semantic challenge of the forces that have adopted post-terorism today.

The article deals with the main features of the development of state and church relations in modern Russia, discussions about the current model of state and church relations in our country. It is concluded that modern society has worked out a balance in the communication of secular and spiritual power, based on dialogue and cooperation, which is the most important guarantee of social and political stability and the provision of proper conditions for state building. It is emphasized that the established model of state and church relations in modern Russia is cooperative, within which the state and the church are treated as equal partners.

This article analyzes the dynamics of the development of Catholic political doctrine. The author considers the features of its periodization and proposes to classify the key periods of the formation of the political doctrine of the Catholic Church based on its substantive evolution. Describing the specifi cs of each stage, the author demonstrates that the development of Catholic political doctrine is a consistent process of elaborating and codifying the position of the Catholic Church regarding key issues of socio-political and economic organization.

This article presents an analysis of the interaction and cooperation of diff erent states in the Arctic region. The author examines the relationship between polar changes and the increase in geopolitical and geo-economic importance of the Arctic and, as a consequence, the increased interest in the region. Particular attention is paid to the fact that the clash of interests of diff erent states is a clash of diff erent environmental, economic and geopolitical approaches. The latter leads to complications in the search for common interests and the construction of models for their coordination in order to develop mutually benefi cial cooperation and minimize the risks of confl ict situations in this part of the world. The methodological basis of the research consists of analysis and synthesis, description and explanation, the dialectical approach, systematic and comparative analysis, and forecasting. The main conclusion of the study is that climate change and energy resources in the region are leading to increased geopolitical, economic and environmental activity, and as a consequence, closer cooperation in the economic, political and environmental spheres is likely to continue in the future to support the domestic economy and the local environment.

This article analyzes Soviet and Japanese ideas of the phenomenon of buff er statehood. Russia (and later the USSR) and Japan were the main players in the international arena of northeast Asia in the fi rst half of the 20th century, and it is these countries which built up a chain of buff er states that were designed, on the one hand, to ensure their presence in the region and, on the other hand, to protect them from potential military threats. For Soviet Russia, the Far Eastern Republic, which existed in 1920–1922 with capitals in Verkhneudinsk (currently Ulan-Ude) and Chita, acted as an eff ective tool that successfully served these ends in the majority of the territory of the modern Far Eastern Federal District. For Japan, attempts to form a buff er state in the territory of Siberia remained at the planning level, while the policy for the occupied regions of northeast China proved to be more successful. The occupation of Manchuria and the creation of the “ideal state” of Manchukuo, the formation of buff er autonomies in 1935–1937 on the territory of northern and eastern China, and consolidation of the buff er states n 1940 into the alternative “Republic of China” allowed the Japanese to work out in practice a model of military and economic presence which was then extended to other Asian regions that were in their zone of occupation.

This article deals with the policy of national-territorial division of the Central Asian republics pursued by the Bolsheviks. The analysis of these events is very important, yet assessments of them have been ambiguous from the standpoint of political situations arising in the current period. Border confl icts related to the structure of settlement of various nationalities in Central Asia have occurred very frequently. In this regard, it is necessary to analyze the motives and objectives of the political initiative that divided the territory and peoples of the Soviet east. The author also treats the question of the development of a national idea by the Bolsheviks within the new multinational nation during the fi rst stages of the consolidation of the Soviet power. In a situation involving the coexistence of diff erent nationalities in one state, there is a need for a common strategy to create favorable living conditions for the entire population. During the Soviet period, the aim of the Party was to build a homogeneous classless Communist society. The justifi cation of party leaders was reduced to this model. The delimitation of the republics could partially solve this problem.

This article addresses a number of acutely debatable issues related to the terminology, defi nition of the subject, the subject itself, the tasks and the principles of ethnopolitics. When considering the terminological aspects of ethnopolitical discourse, primary attention is paid to the use of the terms “nationality policy” and “ethnopolitics.” Based on an analysis of the fi eld and the subject of ethnopolitics, the author concludes that giving ethnic groups the status of full-fl edged political subjects leads to the dismantling of the civil and political unity of the nationality group. The article’s fi nal section discusses some examples of the typological approach to the models of ethnopolitics. The author demonstrates the lack of validity of a dichotomy of traditionalist and modernist projections of ethnopolitics, as well as the need to adjust the concept of “ethnic regimes.”

This article analyzes the diff erences between legal and political approaches to the defi nition of the content of the category “subject of the electoral process.” The purpose of the article is to operationalize this category from the perspective of political science. The regulatory-legal approach prevailing in Russian political science does not allow for analysis of the political strategies of all possible participants of electoral interactions. The author proposes to understand the electoral process as part of the political process, and presents its subjects as agents implementing their own strategies. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the neo-institutional approach, which allows us to consider the political process as a system of interactions among diff erent actors in the electoral space.

This article is devoted to the study of the evolution of humanitarian discourse in the nations of the West after the Second World War. Analyzing the transformation of approaches to the interpretation of human rights, human security and development presented in the program documents and political practice of the European Union countries and the USA, the author addresses the relationship between the politicization of humanitarian discourse and the universalization of the Western political identity.

The appearance on the political arena of the peculiar fi gure of Donald Trump appears to be an accident only at fi rst glance. In fact, though unrecognized by many it represents a pattern stemming from radical changes in various countries of the world and relations between them that occurred mainly in the last decade and that signify a radical change in the world order: the transition from a unipolar to a multipolar world. It is clear that this could not but aff ect the position of the United States in the world and the situation in America itself. The burden of the sole and exclusive world leader, which the Americans have been striving for since the founding of their state, turned out to be, though voluntarily shouldered, more than their powers could bear. That is the reason the “Russiagate” scandal, with accusations against the incumbent president and his people of collaboration with Russia, has been promoted to the forefront in this war. All this is happening in an environment of a new Cold War, unexpected both for us and for the United States — and more dangerous for both countries and all of humanity than its predecessor. An additional complicating factor is the unpredictability and uneven governing style of Trump himself. In any case, with this president and under his leadership, the country has entered into a state of deep internal crisis, at the same time provoking an external crisis, primarily in US-Russian and US-Chinese relations.

This article analyzes the specifi cs and causes of migration processes in the era of globalization. Attention is focused on the eff ect of the introduction of digital technologies that allow modern immigrants to gain detailed information about the recipient country in advance as well as constantly maintain ties with the Diaspora. The application of the systemic method by the authors makes it possible to form not only a holistic view of migration movements in the Mediterranean, but also to reveal the specifi city of the example of Italy. The ambiguity and even concern in the perception of immigrants in the Italian environment is emphasized. Attention is focused on the formation of a rather negative image in the media of an immigrant, who is viewed as a competitor in the economic sphere, as an additional burden in the social sphere, as a potential lawbreaker in the legal sphere and as a “destroyer” of traditions in the realm of things spiritual. The features of the ascent to power of right-wing populists on the wave of antiimmigration rhetoric are likewise analyzed. The article states that Islam in Italy is the second religion. The necessity of legal regulation of the situation of Islam in the country, in order to maintain stability and ensure the security of the state, society and the individual, is particularly underscored The authors note that only joint eff orts by the state and civil society along with interreligious dialogue can condition the integration of migrants (in this case, Muslims) into the host community.

Alongside globalization regionalization is considered the most important socioeconomic and political process of our time. The emergence of regional studies as a new scholarly fi eld for the study of internal and external factors in the development of territorial communities was a response to the need for studying the nature of regional processes and their infl uence on many aspects of international life and international relations. In the part of the subject fi eld designated as political regionology, where internationalized actions of regional social actors are considered, this area of knowledge is closely intertwined with the problems of the regional sociology of international relations. The relevance of research in this area is determined by several factors, including the increased activity of social processes at the regional level; the emergence of new social actors reaching the regional level; a non-linearity of global processes that requires regional instruments to counter global crises; and an understanding of the signifi cance of all aspects of spatial development.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is one of the most important international institutions ensuring the protection of Central Asia. One of the key areas of its work is countering the terrorist threat. The priority issues of the CSTO are suppressing the activities of terrorist and extremist organizations, countering terrorist recruitment and countering terrorist propaganda. The purpose of this article is to identify the features of the CSTO anti-terrorism strategy, primarily in the context of ensuring security in Central Asia, and especially under the threat of the movement of militants from defeated terrorist groupings in the Middle East to the Central Asian states. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the regulatory and legal basis for the cooperation of the organization, including in the context of reconciliation of the legislation of the participating states in the fi eld of countering terrorism. In particular, the signifi cance of adopting a single list of terrorist organizations is underscored. The features of the functioning of key institutions ensuring the implementation of CSTO anti-terrorist policy, as well as permanent operations and anti-terrorist exercises are considered in detail. The author comes to the conclusion that the CSTO has established itself as an eff ective mechanism for countering terrorism. However, there remains a need to work out such activities as countering the fi nancing of terrorism and combating the propaganda of terrorist ideology.

Experts claim that more than 60 states are currently developing military cyber capabilities. At the same time, there are no internationally recognized frameworks that could regulate the information and communication technology (ICT) environment as a sphere of confrontation. The purpose of this article is to fi nd an answer to the question of whether it is possible to conduct meaningful and substantive Russian-American negotiations — given the current state of relations between the two countries — on the reduction of military cyber threats and to achieve positive agreements in this area. To answer this question the authors propose to use analogies from the existing bilateral agreements in the fi eld of strategic stability. They consider three aspects pertaining to any negotiation process: 1) the subject of potential negotiations and general ideas about it; 2) the objectives of the negotiations pursued by both parties; and 3) the presence of political will. They also search for an answer as to whether it is possible to use the existing frameworks for regulation and reduction of the nuclear threat, and, if so, to what extent and in what way. Despite the fact that there is an existing positive groundwork for overcoming bilateral differences in the sphere of strategic confrontation, in the current political atmosphere it is still premature to talk about an analogous treaty between Russia and the US on the reduction of the military cyber threat. Despite this, certain steps can be taken to bring the two countries closer to the conclusion of such an agreement — for example, the resolution of issues of the practical application of international law to incidents in the ICT environment.

The digitization of all spheres of state activity and the availability of network technologies led to the development of the information society. The traditional economy began to acquire new features and forms of economic activity and began to focus on innovative development and the implementation and use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The subject area of this study required an interdisciplinary approach and work with a variety of sources. Explicative methods, the scenario-building method, a functional institutional approach and commonly accepted methods of analysis and synthesis were important for the study. An acknowledgment of the importance of the role of the digital economy is the annual increase in its share of the GDP of the developed countries of the world as well as the development of appropriate programs and initiatives within the framework of state development strategies. The BRICS countries should use their technological capabilities to appropriately digitize their economies in order to neutralize the existing gap between themselves and the most highly developed countries. This study showed that the use of modern ICT is a global trend and greatly simplifi es and automates the procedures of international trade. The BRICS countries are in fairly strong positions according to various indicators and indices of readiness for the transition to the digital economy.

This article reconstructs the logic and direction of the sanctions against Russia of a number of countries in Europe and North America. The restrictive actions of these states are a joint coordinated strategy of containing the social and economic development of Russia. At the same time, the implementation of this strategy causes serious disagreements in the political elites and societies of Western countries, creating new lines of disengagement in the fi eld of security, the development of trade, and in cultural and humanitarian relations. Sanctions policy is represented diff erently in the countries in question. The American course is focused on long-term consolidation of restrictions with respect to Russia and is part of the domestic political process of rivalry among elite groups. The European choice in this case varies across a wide range of possible scenarios: from gradual normalization of relations to building more constructive cooperation based on economic interest and, possibly, creating a common security space, to a policy of increasing tensions with escalating threats and breaking existing economic ties.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential of the video game “People Power” as a means of training civil society activists for the deployment of political campaigns involving the use of the technology of nonviolent struggle. The article’s methodological research is based on the use of descriptive political analysis. The theoretical basis of the work is a synthesis of elements of the concepts of relative deprivation (T. R. Gurr), social identity (Henri Tajfel and John Turner) and the model of mass consciousness (D. V. Olshansky). The authors conclude from analysis of the use of the game that “People Power” has great potential as a means of training civil society activists for the deployment of nonviolent struggle campaigns. It serves simultaneously as an interactive textbook, an instrument for reformatting consciousness, a means of recruiting civil activists potentially capable of forming the core of protest, and the basis for the formation of a constantly functioning “brainstorming” center aimed at improving the technology of nonviolent struggle.

This article is devoted to the study of the problem of ubiquitous informatization and electronization, which has caused the formation of a peculiar virtual reality as an integral part of actual reality. The author analyzes the features of virtual reality and their infl uence on the political space. The term “post-reality” is used to designate the environment created by the features of the virtual space. The article views in detail such phenomena generated by post-reality as the post- truth created by the merging of politics with the virtual environment and the post-values that directly aff ect the political information agenda. In turn, post-values are divided into simulations of popularity and simulations of achievements because of which real personalities and actions, including those related to politics, are devalued. In turn, they are replaced by virtual analogues, which often do not register in actual reality. At the end of the article the author analyzes the reaction generated by the post-reality, off ering examples of this reaction in politics.

The question of the ratio of economic and political freedom is considered in this article through the analysis of the actual values of the Index of Economic Freedom (IEF) and the Democracy Index (DI) for 162 countries. Despite the rather high correlation of both indices, the study reveals a signifi cant degree of their variability: there are enough countries that do not quite fi t into the expected model “countries with a high IEF have a high DI, and countries with low IEF — a low DI.” In countries with equivalent IEF values, the values of the DI can vary 2-3 times; likewise, countries with the same DI can vary signifi cantly in IEF. In practice, it is clear that economic freedom does not always require political freedom (United Arab Emirates), and political freedom can be realized in conditions of limited economic freedom (India). A country’s ability to deviate from the expected global trend line is infl uenced by the size of the population and the size of the territory. Among countries that deviate signifi cantly from the trend, a signifi cant proportion are countries with small populations and small territories. As an alternative to the traditional method of analysis, the article proposes an approach that takes into account the size of the population of countries and is based on the recognition that the subject of political and economic freedoms is not a country, but an individual. This approach shows that only 11 % of the population lives in “ free” countries, and the relationship between economic and political freedoms is less obvious than one would expect in theory.

Public diplomacy (PD), as a communication policy between societies of different states, is a relatively new tool in the foreign policies of Russia and Armenia. The culturological aspect is the most important element of public diplomacy, as it defi nes a set of values and cultural policies aimed at transmitting a state’s position to a foreign audience. Although the very objectives of public diplomacy diff er for Russia and Armenia, both states face the necessity of adjusting their policies, focusing not on comparing themselves with anyone or in opposition to anything but rather on the crystalization of their own cultural, ideological and integrational position (in the Russian case) and on preservation of the historical and spiritual unity of a state with communities living abroad (as is the case with Armenia). In light of the absence of a state concept of PD, it is especially important for Armenia to form a Council for Public Diplomacy to bring together theoreticians and practitioners specializing in the fi eld from the Republic of Armenia and unrecognized Republic of Artsakh, giving them an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the experience of public diplomacy in states that are among the most active initiators of this policy in international area.

This article examines problems of Russian-Polish cooperation in the preservation of the historical memory of the Second World War. The author analyzes attempts to build a dialogue and problems arising in the matter of preserving the common memory of the war, while also estimating the possibility of overcoming them. The issues of cooperation in this sphere at the interstate and interregional level are considered separately. Attention is drawn to the methods of interaction that give the greatest result: academic, intercultural cooperation, and the implementation of the projects of “people’s democracy.” The author also pays attention to the institutional aspect of the issue, considering the history of the formation and activities of the Polish state bodies concerned with the preservation of historical memory. Problems of the work of interstate bodies on interaction in this sphere are likewise examined. This work brings to bear information from the Polish and Russian press, archival sources and decisions of the current state authorities of the two countries.

This article attempts to analyze the evolution of the political identity of the Soviet Union in the context of the transformation of humanitarian discourse. This discourse can be defi ned as a set of ideas transmitted in a political language about the sociopolitical identity of a person, his rights and freedoms. Analyzing the development of the system of ideas about man, rights and freedoms in the offi cial Soviet discourse, the article demonstrates how such ideas formed the collective political identity of the Soviet state at various historical stages. The author concludes that Soviet ideology and offi cial political discourse throughout the entire period of existence of the Soviet state reproduced the concept of humanitarian universalism, which was an alternative to Western humanitarian discourse and constituted both the Soviet strategy of foreign policy and the international identity of the Soviet state overall.

This article discusses the formation of the Christian Democratic movement in Europe after World War II. Despite the existence of objective conditions for the success of either left-wing political parties or at least the left wing of the Christian Democrats, only conservatives could take over the leadership of post-war European countries for many years. Moreover, their coming to power allowed the implementation of the largest integration project on the European continent, ultimately leading to the creation of the European Union. Examining the main reasons for the success of the Christian Democrats, the author concludes that chief among them were Christian values as such — in contrast to previous people’s parties more signifi cant reliance on the Catholic Church and its teachings — and the absence of obstacles from the Holy See towards the participation of Catholics in political activities.

In the early 1990s in the Soviet Union, legislation was changed regarding the procedure for emigration abroad. This led to an increase of the fl ow of immigrants to the territory of Germany, where appropriate legal and social conditions for Russian-speaking immigrants were created in the 1980s. Publishing operations among the group became increasingly active in the “new” homeland. Currently, the Russian-speaking segment of the German media is one of the most numerous. A study of these Russian-language media shows that the ideological and political views of the Russian-speaking ethnic group in Germany have not fundamentally changed since the 1990s. The evaluations of political events have remained quite manipulative throughout the period under examination. Furthermore, the essence of this manipulation of the consciousness of the Russian-speaking population of Germany lies in shaping the image of Russia as a potentially aggressive extra-legal national entity with a weak economy — a state that represents a danger to other countries and to Germany in particular.

This article is devoted to the identifi cation of the specifi cs of blogging as a technology of public and political communication at the level of the Russian region. The authors address three research tasks: a comparison of the use of blogging as a tool and as a socio-communicative technology; identifi cation of the features of the event-thematic agenda in the blogosphere of the region; and a segmentation of the audience of political blogs in the province. Blogging in the region is characterized by identifying and analyzing the activities of the subjects that most shape the eventthematic agenda online. The authors demonstrate that the tendency of using blogging as a technology of political communication is becoming increasingly characteristic for Russian regions; this implies a signifi cant expansion of the tools used. The article further maintains that elections are becoming a kind of “growth point” for the political blogosphere of the region, a platform for testing new formats of political communication in the online environment. Further, the limitations of blogging as a socio-communicative technology in terms of the impact on regional communities are discussed and a defi nition of blogging is off ered that accounts for the subjective interests of bloggers.

Liberal democracy theory allows for the existence of the dominant party in the system recognized as a competitive democracy. Being an integral part of actual liberal democracies, dominant parties make a considerable impact on the theoretical underpinnings of such systems and their functioning, which is a justifi cation for studying their features and behaviour patterns with the aim of uncovering their emergence, development and decline mechanisms. The article looks into the phenomenon of the dominant party drawing on the seven widely acknowledged and signifi cant cases (Italy, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, Ishuv-Israel, Sweden) and puts forward a new defi nition of the dominant party grounded in empirical data. The article also provides an analysis of the internal structure and the essential features of the functioning of dominant parties and presents conclusions about the causes of the emergence and development of dominant parties and the reasons for them retaining this status.

This article is devoted to the study of the food regime, a concept little known in Russian academic literature. The author identifi es the “theoretical and methodological platform” of the concept using a comparative approach and retrospective analysis. The ensemble of a comparative-historical approach, a method of analyzing secondary data and a forecasting method contributed to the consolidation of the concept of the food regime as a tool capable of streamlining the global stages of production, consumption and distribution of food in historical retrospect as well as in the foreseeable future. The author demonstrates that the consistent transformation of food regimes comes about due to the confl ict between two principles, “protectionism” and “ free trade,” which are eff ectively adapted to diff erent political and economic realities. The identifi ed “sequence” is consistent with the general position of the theory of Karl Polanyi (the Double Movement) and allows us to assert that the foundation of the Fourth Food Regime will be based on a modifi ed version of protectionism. This is confi rmed by the growing popularity of the transnational movement La Via Campesina and the growing demand for its revolutionary strategy of Food Sovereignty.

The purpose of this article is to clarify the term “historical myth” and to defi ne its relation to the notion of “political myth.” The goals of the research are to determine the content of the concept “historical myth,” to understand the essence of the concept “political myth” and to compare the meanings of the two terms. The author uses traditional and typological analysis, and also applies the method of expert interview. The article argues the position that the historical myth is a particular form of the myth of the political. Accordingly, the historical myth initially represents an artifi cially constructed form of perception of the world, based on an appeal to the sphere of emotions and aimed at manipulating the public consciousness. At the same time, it has the property of acquiring autonomy over time, infl uencing its own creators. The specifi c factor diff erentiating the historical myth is that it is constructed with the help of historical facts and changes the perception of reality by changing the model of perception of events of the past.

The historical events of May 1968 have a rich intellectual history. A reexamination of the theoretical discussions that preceded the famous slogans allows us not only to explore the socio-cultural context of the student protests but also to critically revisit the foundations of their means and ends. In this article the author reconstructs key premises of the theory of Henri Lefebvre, who actively participated in the intellectual and political life of the Gaullist France. Representing heterodox Marxist philosophy, Lefebvre was also a close ally — as well as a critic — of the Situationist movement. While today Lefebvre is mainly associated with urban studies, the main subject of his interest was always the socio-critical theory that exists without separation from political practice. So the critique of everyday life, the theory of its temporal organization and the reinterpretation of romanticism allowed Lefevre to formulate a critical and positive program in line with “phenomenological Marxism” — a program for changing those historical circumstances, the answer to which was the student revolution.

The article examines the philosophical bases and utopian features of transhumanism. Transhumanism is considered by the author as an ideology. The author sees the transhumanism as a kind of late humanism including the characteristics of the secular worldview of Modern times: materialism (immanentism), progressivism, technologism. The article also shows how the birth of transhumanism was promoted by the aesthetic principle that has dominated the culture of the Western world since the Renaissance. The author characterizes the transhumanist utopia, that is used as a motivating force to transforms philosophical ideas of transhumanism into transhumanist ideology. It is noted that the discussions about the realization of the transhumanist utopia is not so important for modern society, because transhumanism at present does not create a world of transhumanoids (beings physically and biologically diff erent from modern people), but a world of transhumanists, i.e. individuals committed to the transhumanist worldview. Like any ideology, transhumanism forms its supporters. Therefore, the study of the infl uence of the ideology of transhumanism on the human worldview should precede the criticism of specifi c “transhuman” technologies and the discussion of bioethics.

The new state formations of Eurasia at the turn of the millennium were faced with a number of problems, with the periodization of their recent history fi guring prominently among them. Political processes in the newly independent states played an important role in their transition to a market economy and the development of interstate contacts, primarily in foreign policy orientation. In the Republic of Kazakhstan, one of the largest Eurasian states, these problems developed in a particular way as the republic gradually moved from a parliamentary administration to a presidential one. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has repeatedly published books in which he expresses his views on current changes in the political landscape. In his latest volume, The Age of Independence (2017), Nazarbayev proposed a new concept for the evolution of an independent republic, suggesting that it be viewed as a three-stage modernization. Scholars deemed the appearance of the book “a methodological breakthrough in modern Kazakhstani historical science.” This article examines the fi rst part of the work by comparing the proposed ideological bases of modernization and practical solutions adopted by Nazarbayev in the process of ensuring the sustainable development of independent Kazakhstan. The author of the article, emphasizing that the ideology of modernization helps in understanding the realities of Kazakhstan’s political life, maintains that it is necessary to use alternative methods of historical and political studies.

Analyzing China’s energy security strategy in the framework of its national development goals and the modern system of international relations is extremely important in understanding the future course of international developments. This article presents a comparative analysis of the Chinese and American energy security strategies, an analysis of offi cial Chinese documents in the sphere of strategic planning, as well as an examination of existing forecasts regarding China’s energy system. The facts show that China has a comprehensive vision of its own positioning in the world energy system and the system of international relations in general. In contrast to the ideologically motivated approaches of the dominant power, China off ers cooperative solutions that allow it to reach its national goals and can become the key to a truly balanced multipolarity.

Transnational corporations (TNC) are today increasingly intensifying their infl uence on the shaping of world politics. Their status as non-state actors in international relations makes it possible for them to actively join in the resolution of the most important issues and problems of world politics — functions that were previously left to the competence of nation-states. TNCs sponsor, lend to and invest in national economies, and in some cases manage them directly. Russia hosts both its own TNCs, which consider the Russian Federation their country of origin and home base, as well as representations of foreign transnationals. The activities of these cross-border entities, which have extensive capabilities and resources with which to infl uence the national economy and policy, need special forms and methods of state regulation. In order to eff ectively regulate the activities of TNCs in the political system of Russia, a system of institutions or specialized bodies is required to perform these functions.

This article analyzes the emergence and operation of the Tripartite Maritime Safety Cooperation initiative (TMSC). The fi rst mechanism in the history of the Indian Ocean region involving interaction at the level of security advisers of India and its key security partners — the Republic of Maldives and Sri Lanka — existed for three years; at the moment its activities are frozen. The author sets himself the task of analyzing the reasons for the creation of this initiative, the interests of the participating countries, the activities carried out in the framework of the TMSC and their results, and fi nally the possible reasons for the termination of the TMSC’s functions. The author concludes that the reasons for the failure of the TMSC initiative in their current form are objective, and that India, if it intends to create an eff ective alliance, will have to either change the approach to the formation of such mechanisms, formalize them even more, or negotiate with China as an alternative security provider.

This article analyzes the results of a study conducted in 2017–2018 by the Program of Sociology and Psychology of Politics of the Political Science Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University. The study examined the features of the perception of foreign countries (of Western Europe, BRICS and the former Soviet Union) by Russian citizens. The results of the study lead to a number of conclusions. First, the perception of a number of other countries — the images of the “signifi cant other” — are the backbone structures of Russian political consciousness. Their importance and relevance is explained by the desire, through an appeal to “others,” to see the cultural and historical specifi cs of Russia and the Russian national-state identity more clearly. Secondly, the hypothesis put forward by the authors was generally confi rmed: the images of foreign countries in the minds of Russians are shaped under the decisive infl uence of socio-political discourse — a situational factor that broadcasts certain semantic patterns through various mass media. At the same time, the infl uence of prolonged socio-cultural and generational factors on the system of ideas about a foreign country is less pronounced. The most vivid example of such infl uence was the total negativization of the image of Ukraine, a transition from the category of “ friends” to one of “aliens.” In the structure of Russian perception of other countries, the “ friend — alien” scheme likewise occupies a central position. States perceived as “ friends” (for example, Belarus, Kazakhstan) are deemed, a priori, to possess more positive characteristics. These positive evaluations are usually emotionally tinged and fairly weak from the point of view of cognitive justifi cation. This also characterizes the images of those states that are viewed by Russians as “allies,” conventionally “ours” (e.g. Brazil, China). At the same time, Western countries perceived as “aliens” are endowed with mostly negative emotional characteristics.

This article presents a systematic analysis the motivational profi le of the political participation of young people in the activity of contemporary Russian parties, using research conducted by the Sociology and Psychology of Politics Program of the Political Science Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University. Particular attention is paid to the psychological foundation of youth political activism among contemporary Russian citizens, the characteristic features of the political behavior of the younger generation, and comparative analysis of the motivational aspirations of the young activists of Russian parties. The article also analyzes the infl uence of the basic institutions of political socialization on the formation of the personality of young Russian politicians. The author examines the basic motives that contribute to the the choice of by young people of the sphere of politics as a profession for the formation of one’s own personality. Judging by the results of the study, the author concludes that the motivation of young people going into politics depends, in many respects, on the generational specifi city of their political socialization, in which a desire for their own self-realization is clearly expressed.

This article examines the forms of public communication and public selforganization in Russia in the fi rst half of the 19th century. Such forms of public socialization as circles, salons, clubs, scientifi c organizations, and others are analyzed. The purpose of the study is to shed light on particular features of public communication and public self-organization in Russia during the period. Complex and contradictory processes were under way in both the society itself and in the relations between society and the state. On the one hand, the government contributed to social modernization, the development of new forms of self-organization by society. On the other hand, the government also tried to be as vigilant as possible in monitoring any manifestations of public activity, both by normative acts and by creating various control bodies.

This article examines the development of the Russian concept of politics during the period in which the modern Russian literary language was emerging. The semantic analysis is based on dictionary entries, translations, government publications and journalistic writings that dealt with the topic of the political. Russia’s political vocabulary expanded and became more diff erentiated over the course of the 18th century. The traditional term “state matters” (gosudarstvennye dela) was supplemented by the foreign term “politika” and its derivatives, and Aristotelian and Machiavellian semantics of politics entered into Russian discourse. This adoption signalled the orientation of elite discourses towards Western categories of thought and Russia’s membership among the nations of Europe. This article presents the specifi c semantic contexts that were created through this transfer and the lexical means that were used in Russian to talk about the domain of politics.

This article provides a review of theses presented at the round table “The Strategy of Sustainable Development in the Context of 21st c. Political Processes,” held at the Lomonosov Moscow State University Department of Political Science in conjunction with the V International Scholarly Congress “Global Studies-2017” (Moscow, September 25–30, 2017). Participants focused on the complex of political, philosophical, social and economic problems connected with the “sustainable development” category.

This article focuses on corruption cases in the area of military-technological cooperation between India and other countries in the context of Indian political development from 1947 to the present. Among the biggest scandals that changed the political landscape of the nation were the cases of HDW and Bofors (both 1987), “Operation West End” (2001), Scorpene (2006) and AgustaWestland (2014). All of these contributed to political crises and aff ected the balance of political forces in India. The struggle against corruption has been and continues to be complicated by the fact that strong ties have emerged between government, business and the armed forces over the years of Indian independence. At the same time, in modern conditions politicians fi nd it increasingly diffi cult to hide their participation in corruption schemes thanks, on the one hand, to the increased capabilities of the media and public organizations and, on the other, to competition within political elites.

This article discusses the concept of global design in the USSR, focusing on the Soviet artistic futurology of the 1950s that contrasted Soviet ideals — the “Soviet man,” the Soviet system of interpersonal relations and ideas about communist society — with individualistic ideals of the Western type. Using the example of the novel “The Nebula of Andromeda” (1957) by Ivan Antonovich Efremov, the author examines the value foundations of ideal design — anthropological, ethical and ontological — that correspond to the level of a person, to interpersonal relations and to society as a whole. Efremov set himself the task of modeling the political system of the future and determining the ways in which it would be formed. The writer’s political project exists at the intersection of the interests of government and society, refl ecting both the offi cial guidelines of the Central Committee of the CPSU ( formulated in the text of the third party program of 1961) and the hopes of society inspired by scientifi c and technical romanticism.

This article describes the mechanism of the behind-the-scenes displacement of N. V. Podgorny from the post of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to facilitate the installation in that position of L. I. Brezhnev. First Podgorny received 56 negative votes at a Kharkov Regional Party Conference; then at the XXV Congress of the CPSU (February 24 — March 5, 1976) he lost his post. The displacement was carried out by a troika of fi rst secretaries of the Dnepropetrovsk Regional Committee of the party from diff erent periods who, over time, came to occupy time major posts in the party and the state: L. I. Brezhnev, A. P. Kirilenko and V. V. Scherbitsky. These three personally developed the removal operation and carried it out indirectly through a narrow circle of proxies, bypassing the offi cial procedures for resolving personnel issues that existed then in the party.

This article presents the fi rst study of special electoral bodies that combine the functions of electoral administration and the highest court in the consideration of electoral disputes. Using cross-case analysis, the author examines the functional experience of electoral tribunals in 17 countries of the world. Distinctions between electoral tribunals and election commissions and electoral courts are discussed. The phenomenon of the electoral tribunal is characterized as historically the fi rst and most radical form of realization of the idea of the autonomy of electoral management. In terms of scope and concentration of powers, electoral tribunals are the strongest electoral bodies. Formally having the status of a fourth branch of government in some countries, the electoral tribunal actually violates the principle of separation of powers in a system of public administration of elections. The lack of opportunity to appeal against the actions of the supreme electoral body is a source of internal political tension and prevents the electoral tribunal from gaining recognition from international organizations.

The article analyzes the phenomenon of “hybrid wars” and “hybrid threats” in the context of military-political strategies of the USA and through the lens of military, political and informational environment between Russia and the West. The authors note that there is no common approach among foreign military experts to understanding the problem. Some of them view Russia as a state that has created its own “hybrid war” strategy, and assume that “hybrid threats” to sovereign states posed by Moscow are real, while others reject as erroneous the assumption that Russia has created and pursued a “hybrid strategy” in a purposeful way. The authors conclude that, in the absence of a clear and consistent defi nition of these phenomena, the understanding of “hybrid wars” and “hybrid threats” depends on ideological perception of international political processes and experts’ interpretation of relations between Russia and the West.

Development of contemporary informational society embraces all the spheres of human social activities. The sphere of military-political interaction traditionally rested beyond the framework of mainstream in the communications system and included a number of specifi c rules, forms and rituals that served as a sort of guarantees from a destabilizing infl uence of propaganda upon foreign policy decision-making process. But the development of the technologies of integrated communications that are based upon the ability for unlimited transformation of a digitalized content together with the potential of instanteneous and nearly simultaneous impact upon the primary audiences, including decision-makers, creates a new model for the infi ltration and mutual infl uence information society and the sphere of international security. Now we witness active diff usion of the social and technological specifi cs of contemporary integrated communications into the areas of foreign policy and military-political interaction. This is an objective trend but in creates serious new challenges. And the results of their implementation are yet to be understood completely. But at this point it is already clear that their infl uence go far beyond classic propaganda and use of informational manipulation technologies in the military confl icts. A new socio-political phenomenon emerges and it has a potential to alter the specifi cs and algorithms of employment of the key institutes of international security.

The problem of studying informal institutions of power has existed as long as political relations have, but only in the last quarter-century has this problem begun
to reach the level of scholarly conceptualization. Informal institutions of power exist well beyond the borders of developing states; they are an integral part of the
political process of both Western countries and modern supranational political structures. This article is devoted to the problem of linkage between of the theory of informal institutions and lobbyism, an issue not widely treated in the Russian political science. The activities of interest groups are a key element of the functioning
of modern political systems, including in Russia, but only in a small number of countries does the interaction of interest groups and authorities take the form of a
formal institution. Drawing on the approach of American authors Gretchen Helmke and Stephen Levitsky, the article attempts to analyze the relationship between the
formal and informal aspects of the institution of lobbying.

This article is devoted to the analysis of democratic values in contemporary Russian society. It is based on data from the research project Political Values and their Perception in Modern Russian Society, conducted by the Department of Sociology and Psychology of Politics of the Faculty of Political Science of Moscow State University in 2013–2016. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research was the political-psychological approach.

The author discusses the hierarchy of democratic values in the minds of current citizens, paying particular attention to the socio-demographic factors (gender, age, education, region of residence) and party affi liations that determine citizens’ democratic orientation.

As a result of the analysis, the author reaches the conclusion that democratic values in Russian society are suffi ciently well understood and determine the citizens’ ideas that the democratic type of social structure is the best — the optimal variant. At the heart of a democratic society should be the values of freedom, human rights, legality and a strong state, the author concludes.