Articles

The purpose of the article is to consider the theoretical problems of coexistence and interaction of the culture of the titular ethnic group and the cultures of ethnic minorities in the national state. To this purpose the author analyzes the phenomenon of the national state in a historical aspect, uses sociological data, and also analyzes international treaties, analyzes various points of view of scientists. It is stated that the common civil (political) culture in the national state (national culture) has a supra-ethnic character and does not express the interests of any particular ethnic group, including the titular one, at the same time it replaces ethnic cultures, calling into question their full development. A number of arguments are presented in support of the existence and domination of the national culture. It is argued that the national state inevitably protects certain concepts of the good, but this should not lead to anyone’s discrimination. The author concludes that the presence of a national morally colored policy can paradoxically be combined with liberalism, in particular, if such a policy is objectively necessary for ensuring rights and freedoms. As for ethnic cultures, the author sees the fair rules of their interaction in ensuring that each of them, through deliberative procedures, can infl uence the changing national identity.

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 author examines the political-philosophical and sociological aspects of the formatting of violence in international relations (IR). The study reactualizes concepts aimed at the advancement of the world community toward social justice and the absence of war based on the optimization of political and legal regulation of IR. The analysis connects the teleology of “social justice” with the functional and systemic approaches to the hierarchy of regulators of violence, which theoretically substantiates the prospects of international “pacifi cation.” The activation of the problem of progress towards social justice was stimulated in international-political theory both by the memory of the world wars and the Cold War and by modern changes in social reality — the turbulence of world politics. Such a hierarchy is an indispensable condition for overcoming the imbalances that arise in the anarchistic variety of regulators; it orders the subordination of regulatory complexes (formats) that determine the regulation of international relations.

This article addresses the issue of defi ning the determinants of electoral diff erentiation over the territory of a large city, with he city of Donetsk and the elections held in it from 1991 to 2012 used as the example. The characteristics of the electoral geography of a large city are described in detail, and the issues of their “causes” as well as markers of detected determinants are discussed. The following methods of mathematical statistics were used: the study of voting results and their comparison with socio-demographic indicators (especially with population census results) using the Pearson correlation coeffi cient; the determination coeffi cient; variance analysis ; and multiple regression analysis. The study maintains that there were two main determinants of the electoral geography of Donetsk: 1) a more signifi cant “Center — Periphery”; and 2) a less signifi cant “East — West.” In authentic elections these determinants have explained up to 99% of the variations in the main electoral indicators in the districts of the city. The demographic markers of these two determinants were the proportion of people with higher education and the ethnic composition of the population. Falsifi cation of election results causes a signifi cant decrease in the statistical reliability of the identifi ed links.

This article presents an analysis of the main contradictions in U.S. — European Union relations in the area of defense policy during the presidency of Donald Trump. The author examines the principal steps taken by the EU towards the formation of “strategic autonomy” in the military sphere and indicates the directions of the further development of an independent EU defense potential. The most important defense projects implemented by the EU independent of NATO are also considered. Particular attention is paid to existing disagreements between the parties on NATO funding. Questions related to the ongoing intra-EU discussions about the possible creation of its own army are likewise analyzed. This study allows us to identify, problematize and characterize the key features of the current stage of relations between the United States and the European Union in defense policy. The author concludes that despite attempts to create its own defense potential, the EU today is not able to off er a full-fl edged alternative to the existing system led by NATO. However, the actions and rhetoric of the American administration could push the Europeans to more decisive action.

This article examines aspects of the interaction between transnational elites and civil society in the modern world. The author focuses in the main on the infl uence 20 of transnational elites on organizations of the “third sector,” political parties and their leadership, and on the media. The articles sets out the principal content borne by the concepts “transnational elites” and “civil society.” The analysis shows that transnational elites tend to turn a well-developed “third sector” into an eff ective counterbalance to the national state. Thus they actively fi nance and support its activities, since the opposition of the “third sector” and the national state weakens them as the main competitors of transnational elites on the world stage. According to the author, political practice of the second half of the 20th century and the fi rst decades of the 21st shows that transnational elites have managed to bring their proteges to political leadership in a number of countries, thus increasing their infl uence on the adoption of many political decisions. In order to achieve their own goals, these elites use and indeed monopolize the media in various countries of the world community as a powerful means of infl uencing public opinion, in the process violating one of the fundamental principles of democracy: equal access to the media for all citizens.

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.