Articles

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.

The construction of international transport corridors connecting the Asia Pacifi c region and the European Union certainly contribute to integration processes as well as stimulate the development of states along these routes. At the same time, it is obvious that the international transport corridors pose a distinct threat to small states, since they are a tool of infl uence or control. In particular, plans to build a China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railroad, which have been discussed periodically for more than 20 years, may be considered in this light. This article addresses the main challenges and prospects for the Kyrgyz Republic related to the implementation of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railroad project. In addition, the author discusses the results of other international transport projects implemented in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. Two conclusions represent the main fi ndings of the study: (1) The construction of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railroad will give impetus to the development and modernization of the transport infrastructure of the Kyrgyz Republic, notably in the context of breaking out of possible transport isolation; and (2) Special attention should be paid to the ecological and security issues connected with the construction and operation of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railroad.

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.”

In this article the author examines the process of formation of a regional political order during the 17th–20th centuries in the territories whose population adhered (and adheres) to the traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. Analyzing the process of statehood formation in Bhutan, Tibet and Khalkha-Mongolia, the article traces the infl uence of Buddhism on the formation of state institutions and the determination of the head of state — the monarch. A provisional conclusion is advanced to the eff ect that, unlike the Theravada tradition, the monarch could fulfi ll both the role of head of state and the functions of a spiritual leader. This appeared particularly rational in Tibet, which since the middle of the 17th century was ruled by the Dalai Lamas. The institution pf the Dalai Lamas, which arose in the Gelug School of Buddhism, envisioned in the Lamas the embodiment of the Bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara, which organically fi t into the concept of theocratic power. At the same time, a civil administration was created in both Bhutan and Tibet, with powers corresponding to its status. The transfer of supreme power was associated with reincarnation, which subsequently caused serious problems and created political crises. The stabilization and achievement of the peak of power of Tibetan statehood is associated with the name of the Dalai Lama XIII, who, fl eeing the invasion by British troops, hid for two years in Khalkha-Mongolia and thereby ensured the legitimacy of the supreme power of Bogd Gegeen VIII, who became the last Great Khan of Mongolia after the fall of the Qing Empire. In 1912 an agreement was concluded between the two monarchs, and the tendency toward the rule of Buddhism in the region, not only in the spiritual but also in the secular sphere, was dubbed pan-Buddhism. The author also cites data on polities that did not receive full development: the Kudun state within one of the Buryat aimaks in 1919 and the theocratic movement in the Khorchin lands of Inner Mongolia in the 1930s. The article concludes that despite its significant encompassment of the population, Buddhism did not become a driving force that would compete with the two leading powers of the region — Soviet Russia and the Japanese Empire — which maintained more radical views on the political order in the region and more eff ective tools for its construction.

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.