Izotov Vladimir Sergeevich

This article analyzes the relationship of integration, one of the defi ning trends of our time, with the political stability of countries and regions. An analysis of the events of the last several years leads to the hypothesis of a close relationship between integration as a process and stability as a category of the political process in particular countries and regions. One of the main conclusions is that integrated systems are able to create a much-needed “space of equilibrium” for the modern world and as a result contribute to the stabilization of national political systems. However, these processes are accompanied by a variety of different kinds of risk, including the integration strategy of aggressive contenders for regional and global leadership. The relationship between the dynamic of integration and political stability is analyzed using the examples of the modern Arab world and Latin America. The correlation of integration and stability is very important for modern Russia as the leader of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Strengthening the integration of identity and political stability of the EAEU member states is considered in the context of opposition to integration with the EU program “Eastern Partnership”. Finding a way out of the geopolitical deadlock is impossible without building a new post-confl ict platform trialogue of EAEU–EU–“Eastern Partnership” countries. A significant result of compromise strategies should be the stabilization of the political regimes, systems and the region as a whole. At the global level, the consolidation of new supranational pillars of the world’s political and economic architecture (EAEU, BRICS, SCO) is becoming a necessary condition for the formation of an anti-crisis model for the new world order.

This article examines the defi nition of political risk using the example of the Eurasian integration of the Republic of Armenia. The authors analyze the typology of the main political risks and their genesis in the current context, highlighting a wide variety of political risk factors and their subject-object relations. These create certain diffi culties, but at the same time open new opportunities for study. According to the authors, analysis of political risk may be in demand when optimizing Eurasian integration strategy via updated concepts of “multi-speed,” “asymmetric” and “flexible” integration.

This paper continues the series of articles published in the journal devoted to the analysis of the challenges of the current global crises in terms of their impact on world politics and international relations. The authors highlight several features of the pandemic crisis of 2020–2021, in particular the “global empathy,” violation of the spatial logic of globalization and the spread of “infodemics”. The paper presents an extensive overview of current research on the Corona Crisis through the prism of social science. The common understanding of all the risks and dangers generated by interdependence, the vulnerability of the transitional world order, democratic institutions, and the inevitability of the common fate of humankind are all elements dictating the need for transnational cooperation, reforms in global governance, regional integration, and greater legitimation of supranational factors. The authors emphasize the importance of the “global health” category in international relations and its growing influence on the world order. It is emphasized that global risks derived from the ongoing crisis are inherently political. Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic provides a compelling basis for bringing anti-crisis policy to the forefront of research in the whole range of “crisisology disciplines” like political science, world economy, global studies and environmental political studies, social psychology, international relations, political forecasting, and theories of sustainable development. Finally, the article focuses on the emerging opportunities for Russia, the implementation of which is associated with maintaining biotechnological leadership in the development of vaccines and its transformation into the increasing international authority, trust, and soft power.

The article attempts to improve the theoretical basis of the concept of the ‘Greater Eurasian Partnership’ (GEP) — a flagship continental-scale integration initiative. An analysis of the GEP through the lens of current theories of international political and economic relations shows, among other things, that this project is a key element in the process of forming a balanced and more just (for non-Western states) multi-polar globalization, limiting the dominance of any civilization, group of countries, or political culture. To describe modern integration processes in Greaterer Eurasia, the concept of ‘new transregionalism’ is proposed. It can be seen as a phenomenon driven by the rapid geopolitical and economic restructuring of the world, and simultaneously as a theoretical concept optimal for building and successfully developing the GEP. Such an approach reveals both traditional and completely new aspects of the interdependence of segments of the modern world in the face of unprecedented transformation of the world order. Concrete cooperation projects in specific areas (NTI, climate, eco-economics) are briefly considered, the algorithm and integration matrix of which can be scaled to other promising areas of cooperation. At the same time, the chances of effective integration of Greater Eurasia can be increased by implementing a convergent socio-economic model, which implies an optimal combination of market and state-regulated elements. The work contributes to the process of more in-depth elaboration of geopolitical and project scenarios of integration, including the construction of a unique transregional regime for the GEP.