Domestic Political Processes Research Articles

Վրաստանի աշխարհաքաղաքական տեղաշարժը. ներքին և արտաքին գործոններ / Georgia's Geopolitical Shift: Internal and External Factors

In the post-Soviet space, the South Caucasus has always stood out as the most conflict-ridden region. Three powerful neighbors of the region - Russia, Turkey and Iran - constantly monitor developments here, seeking to increase the dose of influence. As a result of the change of power, in 2012, the Georgian Dream party came to power in Georgia, and anti-Russian sentiments in the country began to decline. Despite all the pressure, the Georgian authorities did not join the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union against Russia. The «Georgian Dream» party put forward a legislative initiative on foreign agents in 2023, after which it faced mass protests. As a result, the bill was withdrawn, but already in the next year, 2024, the majority of members of parliament again introduced the bill and on May 28th it was adopted. In Georgia, in 2023-2024, domestic political processes are taking place around this law, including the issue of changing the foreign policy vector.

Diversity within universality: Explaining pandemic universal cash transfers in East Asia

AbstractThe response to the global COVID‐19 pandemic has prompted a surge in short‐term universal cash transfer programmes around the world. Notably, East Asian high‐income economies have been at the forefront of these initiatives. While the innovative nature of these universal cash injections has been emphasized, there is limited documentation regarding their characteristics, prospects, and underlying motivations. This article sheds light on the domestic political and institutional processes that led to the implementation and design of universal cash transfers in Hong Kong (China), Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore and Taiwan (China). Overall, the analysis reveals that, within the framework of universality, a nuanced, diverse and dynamic set of operational choices emerge. A range of factors shaped the adoption and evolution of these programmes, including, for example, political pressures stemming from political party competition and efforts to maintain political legitimacy. In general, design parameters are not only defined in technocratic terms, but are negotiated politically.

Out of sight out of mind? Voter attitudes about cooperation with radical parties in Europe*

ABSTRACT Do voters view cooperation between mainstream and radical parties differently when it occurs at the European as opposed to national level, and if so, why? Using an original survey experiment with over 8000 respondents from Germany and Italy, this paper explores how voters react to cooperation with radical political parties at the national and EU levels once they are made aware that such cooperation is occurring. Our results show that voters react negatively to cooperation with radical political parties. We find that when voters are aware of such cooperation, they express similar levels of disapproval regardless of whether it occurs domestically or in the EU. These results have implications for our understanding of domestic and EU political processes, and point to the role of information as a fundamental factor enabling accountability at the European level.

Relations between Sofia and Moscow against the background of domestic political processes in Bulgaria

The article analyses the development of Russian-Bulgarian relations after February 24, 2022. The author draws attention to the fact that in the post-socialist period Sofia has developed a practice of viewing bilateral relations with Moscow not as an independent direction of foreign policy, but as a secondary part of a more general task of integrating the country into Euro-Atlantic community. Because of that the reaction of the Bulgarian political mainstream to the beginning of a special military operation of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine does not represent anything fundamentally new, but rather looks like a logical development of the traditions of Bulgarian diplomacy of recent decades. At the same time, the article emphasizes the presence of political players in Sofia who are interested in adjusting the course of Bulgarian-Russian relations by reducing their dependence on ideological and geopolitical factors.

Теоретические предпосылки формирования концепта «политическая картина мира»

The rapidly changing political world can hardly be described within the framework of state concepts and strate-gies. The search for new tools capable of explaining and analyzing foreign and domestic political processes reinforces the notion of the political picture of the world. The aim of the study is to fundamentally comprehend this concept. It is analyzed through the theoretical prism of the concepts of leading political philosophers of the XX century and modernity: the phenomenological method of E. Husserl and A. Schütz, the subjective space of politics by M. Heidegger, the political distinction between “friends” and “enemies” by K. Schmitt, the correlation of the categories “world picture” and “life world” by J. Habermas. The author ascertains that the task of forming an independent concept of the political picture of the world in political science has not been raised so far, and the term “political picture of the world” has not been definitively defined. Conclusion dwells upon its plural and dynamic character. Plurality is manifested in the subject-object and communicative reflection of pictures of the world. The dynamic nature can be expressed both in the collision of different political worldviews and in the conflict of their internal elements, which can eventually lead to the transformation of pictures of the world. Based on the analysis of the discourse of a number of scientific studies, the author’s formulation of the concept of “political picture of the world” is proffered.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF BUSINESS IN THE CONTEXT OF JUSTICE

The issues of justice and responsibility form the core of most studies in philosophy and political science. In modern domestic political processes taking place in almost most countries of the world, these issues are the basis of state policy. For example, the Message of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the people of the country, announced at the third session of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was devoted to the strategy of ensuring a just state, the formation of a united nation, as well as a prosperous society. Until recently, researchers paid insufficient attention to the ideological, educational, and economic mechanisms that ensure justice and the social responsibility of society that is relevant to it today. In this regard, the article reviews the research on the mechanisms of attribution of responsibility and justice as a psychological and socio-political phenomenon in today's reality and in a comparative perspective and offers an analysis of their application and measures to improve them in modern Kazakh reality.

The International Recognition of Governments in Practice(s): Creatures, Mirages, and Dilemmas in Post-2011 Libya

Abstract The international (non)recognition of governments is a composite macro practice that has grown in visibility in recent years in response to contentious domestic political processes such as coups d’état, revolutions, and civil wars, yet it remains understudied in international relations. Doctrinal debates in international law and foreign policy reveal the normative vacuum and normative competition that have long surrounded this phenomenon, but say little about its specific operation and effects. This article brings together insights from recognition theory and international practice theory, and uses post-2011 Libya as an in-depth case study, drawing on elite interviews with diplomats, international officials, and other practitioners. The aim is to sketch a new research agenda by building a generalizable typology of smaller-scale government recognition micro practices (declaratory, diplomatic, informal engagement, intergovernmental cooperation, and support practices), and uncovering their guiding logics and consequences. I argue that, first, the international (non)recognition of governments is endowed with a distinct generative power, as it produces its own creatures through a range of micro practices that have identity formation and change, material empowerment, political legitimation, and sovereignty line-drawing effects. Secondly, it is geopolitically inevitable, as external actors involved in a country cannot ultimately avoid engaging with territorially grounded domestic political actors. Thirdly, it is not a black-and-white situation, as it involves a broad variety of practices guided by different, often contradictory logics. Finally, international government recognition practices are likely to run into three dilemmas stemming from three tensions: international versus domestic recognition, legitimacy versus effectiveness, and coherence versus inclusivity in conflict mediation.

Ukraine and Lithuania: A comparative study of early military-political integration trajectories in the Post-Soviet Era

This article presents a comparative analysis of the initial vectors of military-political integration of Ukraine and Lithuania following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, offering a novel scholarly examination of the topic. The authors draw upon historical context, analyze international and domestic political processes, and consider institutional and geopolitical factors. The article explores the causes, strategies, and challenges faced by both countries in their attempts to integrate into NATO, the European Union, and other international military-political structures. Specific features of each country are analyzed, revealing their unique characteristics for comparative study and contribution to the field. The significance of the research lies in identifying and comparing the key drivers of military-political integration in Ukraine and Lithuania in order to discern similarities and differences, as well as to understand the developmental peculiarities of each nation within the post-Soviet space. The findings and conclusions of the article contribute to a better understanding of the vectors of military-political integration of Ukraine and Lithuania and may also be useful for studying and comparing integration processes in other post-Soviet states, therefore contributing to the development of scientific understanding of integration processes within the context of shifting geopolitical realities.

TRANSFORMATION OF THE UKRAINIANS’ PUBLIC OPINION REGARDING DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLITICAL PROCESSES OF THE COUNTRY

Objective of the article is to investigate the transformation of public opinion of Ukrainians regarding the domestic and foreign political processes of the country by comparing sociological surveys on the attitude of Ukrainian citizens to various politicians and states. Methods. The main scientific results are obtained by analyzing the statistical data of surveys of various sociological institutes in the period from 2011 to 2022, based on the survey data conducted by the sociological service of the Razumkov Center together with the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, Forbes magazine. Results. Considering that the process of European integration of Ukraine takes place in rather difficult conditions of the struggle for independence, the purpose of the study is to transform the public opinion of Ukrainians regarding the country’s domestic and foreign political processes by comparing sociological surveys on the attitude of Ukrainian citizens to various politicians and states. In the process of analyzing the results of polls from different years, it is found that the main criterion for the attitude of Ukrainians towards foreign countries, politicians and international organizations is their support for Ukraine in the fight against the aggressor. The leader country that most supports Ukrainians in various fields is Poland, however, among personal preferences, the President of Poland takes an honorable second place after Boris Johnson. This indicates that the interdependence “country – aid – individual” is not always the same, that is, the human qualities of specific individuals, their statements and activities have a greater influence on the formation of the rating of Ukrainian society’s preferences. Despite everything, the analyzed data indicate that defense and preservation of the integrity of the state are vitally important for Ukrainians at the moment. At the same time, the change in attitude towards many countries during the entire period of aggression since 2014 is noticeable. In the future, we have in mind to investigate the level of trust of Ukrainians in international organizations that passively reacted to the environmental and humanitarian disaster after the terrorists blew up the Kakhovska hydroelectric power station.

ОБРАЗ "СВОЕГО" И "ДРУГОГО" ВО ФРАНЦУЗСКОЙ КАРИКАТУРЕ НАЧАЛА XX ВЕКА (НА ПРИМЕРЕ ИЛЛЮСТРАЦИЙ САТИРИЧЕСКОГО ЖУРНАЛА "L’ASSIETTE AU BEURRE")

The article is devoted to the study of tools for constructing images of «one’s own» and «the other» through caricature of thefirst decade of the 20th century. The study is based on the analysis of satirical plots of the comic magazine L’ assiette au Beurre. The author considers the distinctive features of an illustrative publication, analyzes the main forms of displaying the key elements of comic plots, identifies the basic artistic techniques and methods for conveying the semantic component of visual material to the viewer. On the basis of the studied materials, an attempt is made to determine the influence of the domestic political process and the international situation on the transformation of caricature images of the era.

Neoclassical Realism as a Theory for Correcting Mistakes: What State X Should Do Next Tuesday

Abstract Neoclassical realism has carved a unique niche by offering a theoretically derived and empirically rich foreign policy analysis framework. Over the years, it has branched out as a theory of mistakes (Type I), a theory of foreign policy (Type II), and a theory of international politics (Type III). This article proposes another challenge to consolidate its offer of a progressive research agenda to position it as a theory for correcting mistakes. The theory of mistakes version differentiates ideal from actual foreign policy. The ideal corresponds to foreign policy that follows the pressures and incentives of the international system; structural realism, the basis for this optimal baseline, is here viewed as a normative theory. If there is a gap between the ideal baseline and the actual outcome, then foreign policy is sub-optimal and therefore costly. According to neoclassical realists, this is the result of the intervention of domestic political processes hijacking foreign policy. It follows that pointing out how to reduce the distorting impact of these domestic variables should help steer foreign policy toward optimality. By identifying the negative consequences that follow from a sub-optimal foreign policy, a theory for correcting mistakes also opens the door to developing prescriptions to manage the inevitable fallout.

"Soft power", "color revolution" and "hybrid war": public diplomacy vs political technology

"Color revolutions" are a form of "hybrid war" unleashed by the global hegemon against uncontrolled states in order to maintain its dominance in the world. Today they are becoming the main destabilizing factor both for a single nation and for the system of international relations as a whole. A comparative analysis of the "color revolutions" since the collapse of the USSR allows us to conclude that the theses spread by Western propaganda about the positive impact of the "soft power" on the "progress of democracy" are unfounded. Despite the presence of real socio-economic diffi culties and the so-called "protest potential” in the impacted countries "color revolutions" are primarily staged and controlled from abroad. As a rule, the main object of infl uence in the preparation of "color revolutions" are traditional family values, historical memory and the country's top political leadership as a guarantor of national sovereignty. The key actors of color revolutions are foreign-funded NGOs and the media which broadcast values and meanings alien to national self-consciousness into the information space and also “heat up” protest relations in the society. The point of application to seize control within the "color revolution" is the election of the country's national leadership or referendums on socially signifi cant issues. Accordingly, the most crucial task of sovereign states is to protect the electoral process from external interference, the spread of false information about elections and their discredit. An important factor in protecting the electoral rights of citizens and legitimizing state power is public observation of voting. Tools and resources of “soft power” are underestimated and poorly used by the post-Soviet states to defend national interests, protect the sovereign choice of the people and counteract attempts of external interference into domestic political processes. Promising directions for expanding infl uence on international relations are concentrated in the information, communication and political fi eld of the Internet which is still a territory of relative legal “freedom”. Among the main areas of protection "information sovereignty" are the following: expansion of Russian jurisdiction to representative offi ces of foreign IT platforms operating within the Russian Federation, development of media literacy and critical thinking of citizens, the need for constant refutation of "fakes", introduction of special programs that can recognize them and determine their distributors, prohibition of anonymity in social media, increasing legal liability for the production and distribution of "fakes".

Linking Word Use and Personality Characteristics: A Contrastive Study into Parliamentary Communications of Labour Leaders Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer

Over the past thirty years, Russian linguistic studies have noted terminological heterogeneity in the concepts of “jazykovaja lichnost” and “kommunikativnaja lichnost”, literally “linguistic personality” and “communicative personality”, however, in the field of political communication, due to the inextricable connection of political discourse with the socio-cultural, historical, or political context that constructs it, their differentiation was observed rather than interchangeability. This research seeks to characterise “kommunikativnaja lichnost”, a key concept in linguopersonology. The evidence base is parliamentary speeches of Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer, previous and current leaders of the Labor Party of Great Britain. The results of a qualitative analysis have been verified through the Sketch Engine content analysis program, and they demonstrate how a politician’s rhetoric can change depending on situational factors - in this case, the foreign political situation and domestic political processes. The overarching theme of the politicians’ communications is the termination of the UK’s membership in the European Union and the protracted coronavirus pandemic, which is the root of all social and economic ills. The words frequently used by Corbyn and Starmer are predetermined by the communicative behaviours of the politicians. The article attempts to determine the ‘communicative personality’ of Corbin and Starman using the leadership typology proposed by Harold Lasswell. This work thus contributes to the development of linguopersonology provisions and raises the necessity to develop types of the ‘communicative personality’ of a politician. Given the analysis results, the article suggests interpreting the Russian concept ‘kommunikativnaja lichnost’ as ‘linking word use and personality characteristics’.

THE SECURITY OF SWEDEN AND NATO: ROAD WITH OBSTACLES

The article analyzes a set of problems related to Sweden’s planned accession to NATO. The author examines the impact on this process of various factors, both foreign and domestic, analyzes the processes of public opinion formation (pages dedicated to the annual representative security conference in January 2023 in Stockholm). Among them, Turkish-Swedish relations occupy a special place, since Turkey, as a NATO member, puts forward to Sweden a number of conditions dictated by the interests of the Turkish Republic itself and affecting Sweden’s immigration policy. They concern both the fate of the Kurdish community in Sweden, and the willingness or unwillingness of the Swedish authorities to adjust their actions against Muslim communities in this northern country under pressure from Turkey (in this regard, the immediate and long-term consequences of such provocative acts as the public burning of the Koran in Stockholm are being considered). The article also shows how the topical problems of Sweden’s foreign policy affect domestic political processes. The author comes to the conclusion that it is possible to analyze the problem of Sweden’s accession to NATO only in the context of analyzing the processes in the entire system of modern international relations

Союзное государство Беларуси и России: идентитарная политика как ключевой фактор интеграции

The purpose of the article is to analyze the identity policy implemented within the Union State of Belarus and Russia and determine the ways of its improving. Methods and materials: materials include acts of the Union State of Belarus and Russia and materials from Russian and Belarusian media; the methodological basis was laid by general scientific methods (system analysis, ascent from the abstract to the concrete, ascent from the individual to the general, synthesis, comparative method) and special legal and political science scientific methods (formal legal method, method of legal hermeneutics, institutional-functional and system-structural approaches, content analysis method). Results and conclusions: the formation of the Union State of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation is inscribed in a complex multilevel context of international and domestic political processes, which co-determine opportunities and settle limitations for the unification strategies. The authors analyze the international and domestic factors that determine the slow character of the integration process. The authors propose one of the possible integration vectors. This vector assumes implementing a multi-level identity policy, which aims at forming a coherent political community at the heart of the Union State and needs today comprehensive development and legal and institutional support. The authors show that implementing this policy is possible only within the framework of the citizenship development. The article formulates some directions of this policy, which currently have not fully revealed their unifying potential and need further improvement.

Position of the Russian periodical press at the beginning of the 20th century estimated by «The Times»

At the turn of the XIX–XX centuries periodical press is becoming more and more popular. Its influence on public opinion, the course of domestic political processes and even the development of international relations is increasing. The press becomes an instrument of state policy in the formation of positive, friendly or negative, hostile images of the allies and rivals. At the same time, the content of national newspapers and magazines is under close attention not only of the domestic audience, but also of the foreign ones. Thus, the leading British newspaper «The Times» regularly analyzes the publications of foreign periodicals, including Russian. In this regard, the general assessment given by «The Times» to the position of the Russian press, the impact of censorship restrictions on it, its representativeness as a mirror of public opinion and a translator of the government position becomes interesting. The article concludes that the Russian press was carefully read in Britain. «The Times» was quick to note the Anglophobia or the opposite friendly disposition of Russian newspapers. At the same time, the Russian press was considered biased, tendentious, not reflecting an objective picture of public opinion. The attitude of «The Times» is changing as the British image transforms in Russian periodicals. The change in rhetoric from hostile to allied occurs in the periodicals of both countries during the Anglo-Russian rapprochement and the formation of the Triple Entente.

СИМВОЛИЧЕСКИЕ РЕСУРСЫ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОГО ЛИДЕРСТВА ТУРКМЕНИСТАНА

The research article aims to explore the role that symbols of Turkmenistan play in the process of constructing national identity. National symbols, such as flags, official emblems, historical monuments, and cultural symbols, serve as potent instruments in the construction of collective identity and the fostering of a sense of belonging among a country’s citizens. In the case of Turkmenistan, symbols have played a pivotal role since the country’s independence in 1991, as it sought to establish its distinct identity amidst the rapidly evolving socio-political landscape. This research article employs an analytical approach to examine the role of historical and contemporary symbols in the formation of a unified national identity in Turkmenistan. The article examines the various forms of national symbols, including state symbols, traditional national symbols, state events, and propaganda, in order to ascertain the methods employed by the regime to legitimate itself and to enhance its control over society. The author examines the relationship between symbolism and political power in Turkmenistan, noting the direct dependence of the symbolic tools used on the political figure of the leader of Turkmenistan in the post-Soviet period. This is particularly evident in Turkmenistan’s efforts to assert its uniqueness in the context of ongoing political and social change. The symbolic resources analyzed in the article are employed to demonstrate the cultural and national consolidation of the population in the context of foreign policy representation. The symbolic resources utilized also facilitate the domestic political process of legitimizing the regime and consolidating control over the titular nation of the state. The study integrates historical research, cultural analysis, and conclusions derived from Murray Edelman’s theory of symbolic politics.

Профессия «историк науки» в российском социокультурном и научном контексте первой половины XX века

The formation of the profession of historian of science in Russia in the first half of the 20th century is considered in a wider context of the institutionalization of history of science and technology as a special research field. The views of A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky, V.I. Vernadsky, S.I. Vavilov, V.P. Volgin and other scholars on the specifics and parameters of the profession of historian of science are analyzed. The study demonstrates the impact of disciplinary development and emergence within the Academy of Sciences of the first specialized research centers – “Russian Science” Subcommission, Commission for the History of Knowledge, and Institute for the History of Science and Technology (IHST) – on the process of professionalization of the history of science. The functioning as well as the very existence of the first academic centers for the studies on the history of scientific knowledge was strongly dependent on the domestic political processes in the 20th century. The IHST elimination in 1938 and tragic deaths of some of its leading staff members were followed by the destruction of the nascent community of historians of science. As a result, the idea that disciplinary histories of sciences were part of these sciences themselves became predominant for many years to come.

Political Stability of the Latin American Region in the Context of the Politicization of Religious Institution

Introduction. The research topicality is determined by the necessity of interior political proving of regions stable development in the conditions of religion institute politicization in 20th – 21st centuries. The purpose of the work is to analyze the influence of the confessional factor on the domestic political process in the Latin American region in the context of global trends of our time. Methods. The work uses methods of theoretical and applied political science analysis, methods of forecasting and modeling. The methodological basis of the work was the principles of systemic and constructivist approaches. Analysis. In the result of political science analysis of stable social and political issues development questions the explicative model of religion institute politicization processes influence to the sustainability of the Latin American region was offered. The theoretical importance of the research is in the reasons and tendencies revealing of religion institute politicization in the Latin American region. The practical importance of research is determined by the possibility of recommendation output of interior political support of the Latin American region in the conditions of social and cultural uncertainty. Authors’ contribution. E.V. Efanova – the concept of the study, collection and processing of materials; E.M. Drinova – research methodology, writing of the main text; N.Yu. Veremeev – analysis and translation of foreign sources.

Human rights institute under english law

The article examines the human rights issues, especially citizenship institute based on the experience the United Kingdom. An analysis of the scientific views of domestic and foreign scientists; reveals the problematic aspects of protecting human rights institute. In the era of globalization, the role of the human rights in solving urgent problems of human civilization is growing. In recent years, dramatic changes have occurred in the global legal system and the legal system of the UK. These changes will serve as the basis for the protection, enforcement and development of human rights. On the one hand, it is a process of integration and regionalization based on world globalization; on the other hand, domestic political and liberal reform processes in the UK. The main focus of the article is to study the legal status of individuals in the UK in the context of globalization, to develop proposals for improving the legislation on human rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The article provides for the disclosure of the legal status of the individual through global processes and author's interpretation of it, the legal basis for the protection of human rights, the definition of the features of the formation of human and civil rights and freedoms in the UK, proposals were made for its further development in Kazakhstan. Keywords: human rights, freedoms, citizenship, legal status of individuals, enforcement, government.