Moscow University Bulletin. Series 12. Political Science. 2016. 2.

Concepts, images and pictures of the future in the minds of ordinary citizens serve as a sort of frame for comparison of reality with images of the possible and desirable, serving a normative function. The construction of future images is included in the mission and professional duty of the political elite. By its nature the elite is obliged to consider the risks that today’s decisions hold for the future. Scenarios with different time horizons play a role as an instrument of such strategy construction, most often in the social and political spheres. Prognoses are made on the bases of certain scenarios, as are certain strategies and specific policy decisions. The introduction of a humanitarian dimension into the scenarios (artistic, historical, psychological and moral elements) often facilitates a more precise prognosis than economic, sociological or strictly statistical parameters. The analysis of images of the future in people’s mentality not only indicates what qualities the citizenry finds lacking in the authorities of today — which makes it possible to correct certain decisions and actions — it also allows present-day planning to take into account societal expectations.

This article is devoted to analysis of the processes of development of modern information and communication technologies and the transformation of the modern information society that accompany a transition to the new paradigm of a network communications society. The author describes the fundamentally new role of online resources as a tool for the creation of social communication relations, which become a new form of socio-political and economic capitalization and acquire independent value. The article maintains that communication itself takes on independent meaning and political significance, affecting the perception of the information conveyed via communication technologies. The author concludes that the transformation of the socio-political structure of modern states is inevitable.
Challenges and threats associated with information technology and the inequality of modern states take on a new meaning in this context due to the fact that technologically advanced nations have significant opportunities for large-scale extraterritorial impact on the population of target states with lower technological potential.

This article substantiates the relevance assigned to the blogosphere at the regional level, highlighting its spatial borders and suggesting criteria for its selection as an independent unit of the communication space, including: the presence of private information and event-driven topics; the activities of a regional community that discusses this subject and creates new content on this basis; and awareness by the regional community of itself as a distinct social group. The authors also address the issue of the mechanisms of the blogosphere’s influence on the regional political process and its interaction with actors such as the media and the political elite. The dynamics of the formation of the blogosphere in the Krasnodar Krai as a communication space element are also examined. The authors conclude that the regional blogosphere is characterized by significant differentiation by place and topic of communication, and that the most popular discussions are those of social and political events. The political segment of the region’s blogosphere has a relatively low level of dissidence, notwithstanding the presence of significant critical potential in relation to the activities of the authorities.

This article presents a systematic analysis of the original bases of the Chinese political mentality, traditions of power and politics in the context of change. The phenomenon of the Chinese mentality is examined in its historical, theological, philosophical, political and psychological aspects. A model of the Chinese mentality is conceptualized by the authors as an anthropocentric, polytheistic (adogmatic), naturalistic, adaptive-imitative, reproductive and utilitarian system with high assimilative and regenerative potential, strategically set on borrowing vital innovations from the outside. The significance of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism as adogmatic, subjectless, orthopraxic and inclusive cults is addressed and legalism is described as a political doctrine in the positivist sense. The article discusses the legitimizing, prescriptive and protective role of traditions and the installation-programming value of the rituals and ceremonies system in the structure of the Chinese mental model. The authors advance the thesis that the absence of the foundations of transcendental, dogmatic thinking in China’s political mentality determines its inability to perform effective mental-political expansion on a global scale.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist camp, the political vacuum in Africa left by the major powers has been eagerly filled by China. This article presents an analysis of bilateral relations between China and the Republic of South Africa, one of the leaders of the continent and a member of the G20 and BRICS. The speedy transition to the status of comprehensive strategic partnership declared by the countries’ leaders raises a number of questions about the meaning and realization of such a relationship. The article examines the phenomenon of “strategic partnerships” in China’s bilateral relations with different countries. The author also examines the extent to which the proclaimed strategic partnership correlates with the actual state of relations between the PRC and the South African state. South Africa is valued by China for its role as a “gateway to Africa.” Cooperation between the two countries in BRICS, to which the RSA was invited as an informal representative of Africa, also constitutes an issue worth considering separately, in the author’s view.

At the scholarly conference “Images of Russia’s Future: Desirable, Possible and Necessary” held in June 2016 at Moscow State Pedagogical University, the Sociology and Psychology Program of Lomonosov Moscow State University’s Department of Political Science organized a scholarly-practical round table on “Political and Psychological Analysis of Images of the Future of Russia.” This round table was held to contribute to the study of problems associated with the formation and projection of images of the government and leadership of modern Russia, which is one of the political science department’s priority research topics. The discussion at the round table addressed images of the future in contemporary political reality and their influence on the formation of the political views of citizens and elites as to what this reality could be in the near future. This article presents the theses offered by the round table’s participants.