National Self-interest Research Articles

Solutions to Displacement

As displacement increases due to conflict and climate change, it is vital to find permanent solutions to the global refugee crisis. Currently, refugees are predominantly hosted in less-developed states, to the detriment of both the refugees and the communities providing shelter, while developed states with the financial capacity to provide permanent resettlement restrict the number of refugees accepted. Despite anti-immigrant rhetoric, many developed countries are dependent on economic immigrants to provide population influx and economic growth. Examining this dependency while exploring the social factors which facilitate successful newcomer integration, this paper proposes an immigration system which balances the ratio of refugees and economic immigrants to encourage an equitable system of resettlement. Linking refugee resettlement with economic immigration addresses the needs of refugees, ameliorates pressure on less-developed states currently hosting refugees and serves the national self-interest of developed countries.

The Greening of Antarctica: Assembling an International Environment by Alessandro Antonello

Reviewed by: The Greening of Antarctica: Assembling an International Environment by Alessandro Antonello John McCannon The Greening of Antarctica: Assembling an International Environment. By alessandro antonello. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. 264 pp. ISBN 9780190907174. $78.00. A perennial challenge in the writing of polar history involves the need to push back against popular perceptions of circumpolar regions as unchanging spaces, largely (if not wholly) empty of human habitation and peripheral to the concerns of all but a few remote communities. And the scholars burdened most by this challenge are those who research the Antarctic, which—unlike the various sectors of the Arctic—lacks any indigenous population or any direct physical or socio-political ties with the nation-states of more temperate zones. Indeed, not until the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries did the continent even enter the bounds of human awareness. To combat the prevailing sense of Antarctica as marginal and timeless—in other words, to make it a truly historical subject—has never been an easy task. [End Page 727] Difficult or not, this is one of the several goals that Alessandro Antonello sets for himself in The Greening of Antarctica. This clearly written and cogently argued monograph effectively blends environmental studies and diplomatic history to show how treaty-making and scientific agenda-setting between 1959 and 1980 transformed Antarctica "from a cold, abiotic, and sterile wilderness [and] a lifeless and inert stage for geopolitical competition" into "a fragile environment and ecosystem demanding international protection and management" (p. 4). Nothing about this process, especially its outcome, was preordained: although Antarctica's near-inviolability is generally taken for granted today, thanks to the treaty system that safeguards it so closely, it did not come into being automatically, and the continent could just as easily—arguably, more easily—have met an entirely different fate. Antonello takes pains to show the decades of debate and negotiation it took to secure the continent's status as a protected ecosystem, free of claims to sovereignty. To alter, then stabilize, "the idea of what Antarctica is," as Antonello puts it, required the complex interplay of "ever-increasing knowledge of the Antarctic, a larger place for scientific voices, profound changes in concepts of the global environment, changes in international political economy, and the continuing reality of national self-interest" (pp. 3–4). The Greening of Antarctica is logically organized into five chapters, preceded by an introduction and followed by a short epilogue. In addition to describing Antonello's approaches to his topic, the introduction provides a useful thumbnail sketch of Antarctic history, leading up to and including 1959, when the Antarctic Treaty was brought into being by its twelve original signatories (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the USSR). The introduction also explains why Antonello has chosen to focus on the period between 1959 and 1980: although much of the scholarly consensus identifies 1991—when the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty opened for signature—as the pivotal moment in the history of Antarctic conservation, Antonello wishes to draw attention to earlier moments that are, in his view, not just equally decisive, but foundational. The "seeds" of today's "comprehensive environmental protection and management regime," he argues, "can be found in the 1960s and 1970s" (p. 17). With one exception, each of the book's core chapters examines a key protocol or agreement, illustrating along the way how diplomats and politicians from over a dozen countries, scientists from numerous [End Page 728] disciplines, commercial interests from all over the world, environmental NGOs, and the general public all exercised various degrees of influence over the eventual "greening" of Antarctica—sometimes in support of that goal, sometimes in opposition to it. Chapter One traces the emergence of SCAR, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, and the way it claimed a role for itself in shaping the continent's fate, alongside (and often in conflict with) the official delegations that negotiated and refined the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. Several of SCAR's biologists, particularly Robert Carrick of Australia, campaigned against the utilitarian impulses that threatened to dominate Antarctic policymaking and brought conservation...

Catholic Monroeism: U.S. Support for the Catholic Church During the Mexican Revolution, 1914–1929

In 1823, President James Monroe declared the Western Hemisphere off-limits to European powers, and in 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt offered a corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, claiming a role for the U.S. in policing Latin America. The term Catholic Monroeism describes the application of the Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary to support the Catholic Church in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. Facing anticlerical rhetoric and policies that restricted the Catholic Church's freedom in Mexico between 1914 and 1929, the U.S. government intervened on behalf of the Church. State Department records show the church-state conflict in Mexico was at the forefront of diplomatic discussions between the two countries. The U.S. government, in weighing intervention in Mexico, believed that the Church could promote harmony and order during a time of national upheaval and violence. Defending Catholicism in Mexico served as a vital component of American foreign policy and a matter of national self-interest for U.S. Catholics, whose previous attention to foreign relations focused on their European homelands.

Dış Politika Olarak Göç Politikası

Immigration policy has taken centre stage in the social sciences over the past 20 years. Despite the proliferation of articles and books in this field, very little attention has been paid to immigration policy as foreign policy. It is domestic policy that prevails in the literature, most notably about the effects of immigration on destination societies. This article distinguishes the domestic and foreign policy aspects of immigration policy, acknowledging as it does so that foreign policy is virtually always an expression of national self-interest. It concludes with observations on the realist and idealist/liberal approaches to international relations theory including with respect to the recently adopted United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration and the United Nations Global Compact on Refugees. Its purpose is to draw attention to this neglected aspect of immigration policy and to encourage others to explore it in greater detail, from the perspectives of both individual states and the world’s international institutions.

United States: “National Egoism” Policy under the COVID-19 Pandemic

The rising “national egoism” in the US economic policy has been taken place since D. Trump’s inauguration (January 20, 2017), with focus on protectionist measures, priorities for domestic production; on encouraging US companies to invest at home instead of foreign markets; control the fields of foreign investors in the American economy, etc. Covid-19 pandemic seems to have a massive impact on global diffusion of “national egoism” practices, making states more isolationist. The outbreak of the coronavirus has already become an important factor of influence on the national economies and relations between them. The article reviews the ways COVID 19 pandemic is intensifying the economic policies of President D. Trump based on nationalism, pointing out the trade and investment restrictions, their global effects. In light of the uncertainty about the pandemic’s duration and its economic impact, the paper is focusing on the immediate and more long-term global consequences of the US economic policy. All sorts of US government policy innovations during Trump’s presidency, including imposing and threatening to impose sanctions (which become usual, as to the US policy, before pandemic), tariff protections have their effects, spreading around the globe. Most of the new policies have become even more important under coronavirus pandemic, particularly concerning major strategic competitors of the United States. The American approaches to developing new rules and updating existing ones for the international connections, new import and export control actions are designed to promote economic objectives and political objectives as well. Being a powerful political and economic actor US have many instruments to influence the relations between countries. At the same time reinforced “national egoism” practices can make the economic and international trade recovery even more sluggish in the post – pandemic world.

“Kenotic” messianism. About the Russian Idea by Vyacheslav Ivanov

The paper presents the key theses of Vyacheslav Ivanov’s concept of the national idea, both in a general (concerning every nation) and a specific (concerning the Russian nation) perspective. The starting point are the youthful intuitions of the philosopher, who from the very beginning was not able to accept nationalist views of the great minds of his times. This rejection of nationalism (understood as national egoism) becomes the basis for formulating the religious national idea (for every nation); against this background Ivanov perceives Russia as an exceptional country at the beginning of 20th century. The philosopher claims that Russia has an extraordinary historical mission, but he also sees potential obstacles in realizing this mission.

The 1945 World Order – Process with «Open» Continuation

The Yalta-Potsdam system of international relations, established by culmination of World War II, was created to maintain the security and cooperation of states in the post-war world. Leaders of the Big Three, who ensured the Victory over the fascist-militarist bloc in 1945, made decisive contribution to its creation. This system cemented the world order during the Cold War years until the collapse of the USSR in 1991 and the destruction of the bipolar structure of the organization of international relations. Post-Cold War changes stimulated the search for new structures of the international order. Article purpose is to characterize circumstances of foundations formation of postwar world and to show how the historical decisions made by the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition powers in 1945 are projected onto modern political processes. Study focuses on interrelated questions: what was the post-war world order and how integral it was? How did the political decisions of 1945 affect the origins of the Cold War? Does the American-centrist international order, that prevailed at the end of the 20th century, genetically linked to the Atlantic Charter and the goals of the anti- Hitler coalition in the war, have a future?Many elements of the Yalta-Potsdam system of international relations in the 1990s survived and proved their viability. The end of the Cold War and globalization created conditions for widespread democracy in the world. The liberal system of international relations, which expanded in the late XX - early XXI century, is currently experiencing a crisis. It will be necessary to strengthen existing international institutions that ensure stability and security, primarily to create barriers to the spread of national egoism, radicalism and international terrorism, for have a chance to continue the liberal principles based world order (not necessarily within a unipolar system). Prerequisite for promoting idea of a liberal system of international relations is the adjustment of liberalism as such, refusal to unilaterally impose its principles on peoples with a different set of values. This will also require that all main participants in modern in-ternational life be able to develop a unilateral agenda for common problems and interstate relations, interact in a dialogue mode, delving into the arguments of opponents and taking into account their vital interests.

COVID-19 – sharing experiences of Medical Universities

The Medical University of Karakalpakstan in Nukus, Uzbekistan, as host, in collaboration with the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, and the Saint-Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University from Russia, in May 2020 organized an online seminar with the title “COVID-19 – sharing experiences of Medical Universities”. Indeed the pandemic has hit many countries throughout the world with unexpected force and healthcare systems often were not prepared. That experience clearly showed the need for international cooperation and coordination. It was a sad observation that instead often mistrust and national egoism prevailed.

Krytyka polskiej kultury politycznej w „Egoizmie narodowym wobec etyki” Zygmunta Balickiego.

CEL NAUKOWY: Celem tego artykułu jest prezentacja krytyki Polski i Polaków w myśli Zygmunta Balickiego na podstawie studium Egoizm narodowy wobec etyki. Balicki ukonstytuowany w dobie romantyzmu politycznego paradygmat myślenia o wspólnocie politycznej i jednostce w polskiej kulturze politycznej nazwał „etyką ideałów” i poddał go miażdżącej krytyce.
 PROBLEM I METODY BADAWCZE: Krytykę Polski i Polaków w myśli Balickiego można sprowadzić do pytania o pozytywną bądź negatywną ewaluację wzorców politycznej kultury polskiej zdefiniowanych w ramach kultury i ustroju I Rzeczypospolitej, w kontekście upadku polskiej państwowości, dylematów strategii przetrwania narodu polskiego na przełomie XIX i XX w. Podstawową metodę stanowi analiza tekstów źródłowych oraz ich interpretacji przez późniejszych autorów.
 PROCES WYWODU: Artykuł składa się z kilku części. W części pierwszej i drugiej Autorka poszukuje możliwych strategii przetrwania narodu polskiego w warunkach braku państwowości oraz prezentuje myśl Balickiego jako projekt modernizacji społeczeństwa polskiego za pomocą syntezy dwóch pozornie sprzecznych kategorii: zachowawczości i postępu. W części trzeciej i czwartej dokonana zostaje – odpowiednio – analiza etyki ideałów z perspektywy nauk humanistycznych oraz analiza etyki ideałów z perspektywy nauk społecznych – jako studium polskiego charakteru narodowego.
 WYNIKI ANALIZY NAUKOWEJ: Zasadniczym wnioskiem płynącym z analizy jest teza o wewnętrznym charakterze krytyki Polski i Polaków w myśli Zygmunta Balickiego, który wprawdzie formułuje tezę o „zapóźnieniu” Polski, a tym samym potrzebie „modernizacji”, czyli uwspółcześnienia polskiego patriotyzmu i metod prowadzenia polityki narodowej, jednakże nie znajduje adekwatnych wzorców ani na Wschodzie, ani na Zachodzie Europy, na podstawie których tej modernizacji można by dokonać.
 WNIOSKI, INNOWACJE, REKOMENDACJE: Koncepcja etyki ideałów jest jednocześnie deskrypcją charakteru narodowego Polaków i opisem negatywnych zjawisk w polskiej przestrzeni publicznej. Artykuł może się przysłużyć refleksji nad współczesnymi przemianami modernizacyjnymi zachodzącymi w społeczeństwie polskim; z jednej strony sugeruje potrzebę zmiany cywilizacyjnej, z drugiej pokazuje granice tej zmiany.

Ad hoc coalitions and institutional exploitation in international security: towards a typology

While the increasingly thick web of global, regional and sub-regional security arrangements and institutions has received ample scholarly attention, the phenomenon of ad hoc military coalitions and how they impact these institutions has been relatively little explored. We examine ad hoc coalitions in international security responses and develop a tentative typology of military responses that takes ad hoc coalitions into consideration, where we differentiate in terms of institutionalisation and duration. Following a rational-choice institutionalist logic, we argue that institutional proliferation increases the chances of institutional exploitation. We illustrate this with how states apply a pick-and-choose approach in which institutional products but not frameworks are used. They use the interoperable forces, a common culture and mainstreamed doctrine, but not the formal deployment of rapid response mechanisms of eg the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the African Union. In closing, we observe that institutional proliferation in international security facilitates a functionalist approach mainly inspired by national self-interest. Future research should examine whether this could result in dwindling relevance of international institutions, first in the domain of security, but later also in other domains.

Current affairs: The league of nations: A universal dream that has stood the test of time

A hundred years ago, on 10 January 1920, the League of Nations was born out of the rubble of the First World War. The International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation (IIIC), UNESCO's predecessor, was created in its wake. The aim was to overcome the national egoisms that had led to the disaster, by focusing on multilateralism. This dream would not survive the inter-war period. But in an era facing challenges such as war, terrorism, economic crises and climate change, the credo of the founding fathers of the League for a more united world has not lost any of its relevance.

Koncepcje federacyjne podziemnej „Unii” (1940-1945): w poszukiwaniu polskiego wzorca integracji europejskiej

The article aims at identifying and analysing the particularities of the federalist ideas of Polish clandestine catholic organisation the Union. In 1943 the group merged with the Christian-democratic Labour Party (SP) becoming its ideological centre. Throughout the Second World War the Union produced a series of programmatic documents and clandestine press where it discussed the shape of future Europe which was to become a pan-federation of regional federations cemented by the common values and principles enshrined in Christianity which were the foundations of Western civilization. In elaborating future plans for Europe, the Union drew explicitly from the memory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth setting it as an example for modern Poland and other European States. Historical Poland was perceived not just as a state but as a “normative power”, this was possible because the Union rejected the modern, ‘westphalian’ concept of state. Instead it advocated creation of a pluralistic federation of nations bound together by common values, where national egoisms were mitigated by common Christian values.

Apie nacionalinį egoizmą ir tarptautinį solidarumą

Apie nacionalinį egoizmą ir tarptautinį solidarumą

Psychological support of students with national identity transformations

Abstract Introduction. The research of the development of national identity of student’s youth is important for a deeper understanding of the factors of psychological security preservation, stability of nations and psychological health of their representatives. The recent intensification of globalisation, integration and migration processes in the European space makes especially relevant the problem of development of positive national identity among its youth citizens and the correction of transformations in this process. Therefore, the development of effective psychological support of student’s youth with transformed national identity is necessary. Aim. The article aims at conducting theoretical and empirical research of transformed types of national identity among students of higher educational institutions displaying national hypoidentity (national nihilism), national indifference or national hyperidentity (national egoism, national isolationism, national fanaticism); as well as at developing and organising their psychological support. Material and methods. The study involved full-time first – fourth year students of higher education institutions from different regions of Ukraine who ensured the representativeness of sample. The age range of 17-21 to which the respondents belong is sensitive regarding the development of national identity. To reveal the type of students’ national identity, psychodiagnostic methods (“Types of ethnic identity” by G. Soldatova, S. Ryzhova) and methods of assessing the positivity and uncertainty of ethnic identity were applied (by A. Tatarko, N. Lebedeva), and methods of mathematical statistics were applied to assess the obtained data. Results. Empirical research of 309 students of higher educational institutions demonstrated that 53 students had the transformed types of national identity that required correction in the process of organised psychological support. After all, the transformations of national identity primarily threaten the psychological health of the personality. Discussion. Psychological support of students with national identity transformations (national hypoidentity, national indifference and national hyperidentity) should be directed towards the development of their positive national identity. To do this, such support should be organised separately for students with national hypoidentity and national indifference promoting the development of their positive attitude towards the representatives of their nation, and for students with national hyperidentity promoting the development of their tolerant attitude towards the representatives of other nations. Conclusion. Most students of higher educational institutions develop positive national identity (norm). A small number of students have deviations from the norm displaying the transformation of their national identity. The main purpose of psychological support of students with national identity transformations is the development of positive national identity.

Ностальгія за імперією: австрійські історики про спадщину Габсбургів.

The article analyzes a number of publications of Austrian historians who actively turned to the state experience of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in the middle of the last century. Interest in the historical heritage of the Habsburg monarchy was associated not only with the Anniversary of the First World War, but also with the creation of the European Union, the prototype of which was Austria-Hungary. The authors carefully considered the national policy of the state, its relationship with the economic situation of individual regions, the impact on political processes. It looks like an exaggeration enthusiastic assessment of the German minority contribution to the economic and cultural development of other nations of the Empire. Despite the numerous problems that AustriaHungary could not solve, the researchers believed that this multinational state was the first attempt to build a common European home and in their opinion, the failure of Austria-Hungary was associated exclusively with the national egoism of local elites. At the conclusion of most Austrian historians, negative aspects prevailed in the consequences of the destruction of Austria-Hungary, and its sad fate looks like a warning to modern leaders of the European Union who are forced to solve similar issues and face the same challenges that the Danube monarchy had not answered.

1918-1932: The International Great Depression (A)

In May 1932, US president Herbert Hoover and British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald called for leaders from 65 nations to attend the World Economic Conference, scheduled to occur in the winter of 1933 after the American presidential election. Hoover turned his attention to the instructions he would have to give to the American delegation about the forthcoming conference. Arguments by pundits, critics, and Hoover's advisers fell into at least three mutually exclusive camps. Some wanted the United States to assume world monetary leadership, since the world needed a financial hegemon. Others thought the United States should simply promote better financial cooperation among nations, since the world needed cooperation more than hegemony, and hegemony was costly. The third camp wanted the United States to simply let the markets equilibrate, since even mild cooperation might sacrifice national self-interest without much benefit. The global economic depression presented a dire situation. All the old rules of international monetary stability had been broken. Now, what new rules should Hoover aim to promote? Excerpt UVA-F-1902 Oct. 11, 2019 1918-1932: The International Great Depression (A) In May 1932, US president Herbert Hoover and British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald called for leaders from 65 nations to attend the World Economic Conference, scheduled to occur in the winter of 1933 after the American presidential election. The situation was dire and required decisive actions. Hoover wrote, [T]he world-wide collapse of finance and gold convertibility of currencies, which began with the German crisis the year before, was turning into a violent trade war between nations. In this war, depreciated currencies, managed currencies, increasing tariffs, other restrictions on imports, quotas, and foreign exchange controls were the weapons. The results appeared everywhere in the creeping paralysis of exports and imports and the constant fall of commodity prices. Creditor-debtor relations, both domestic and foreign, were fast becoming intolerable. It seemed to me that the time had arrived to revive the project of a world economic conference. The president hoped that at the conference, the world leaders would commit to a plan to stabilize currencies, reduce trade barriers, and lower obstacles to economic recovery. . . .

Europe - a project worthy of being built

Sixty years after the emergence of the EU, it is still a challenge to educate citizens about European themes and to really involve them in the integration process. This requires the pursuit for solutions and adequate responses from institutions, among others. But, what does it mean to be a European citizen? Does it make sense to use the concept of “citizenship” beyond the national borders? With the purpose of addressing these questions, this paper is divided into three parts. The first part addresses the definition of citizenship within the borders of a Nation State and, looks at the relationship between nationality and identity emphasized by the philosopher Thomas H. Marshall. The second turns to the European citizenship, looking at the political developments under which this concept has been given greater prominence, becoming both a source of legitimation of the European integration process and a fundamental factor in the creation among citizens of a European identity. Citizenship of the Union treasures the indisputable virtue of being the first political and legal materialisation of a citizenship at a transnational level. Nevertheless, at the time like the present, when nationalist and xenophobic feelings against the EU are on the rise and national egoism is becoming an attractive alternative to integration, the European identity struggles to attain a legitimate status in the eyes of the citizenry. The challenge ahead is that we need to find a new way to narrate European integration to all those who do not feel part of this project and that do not understand the pressing need for being “united in diversity”. In this achievement, the EU stakes its future. With this in mind, in the third section of the article, I propose some areas where progress should be made to encourage a greater sense of integration among European citizens.

РЕАЛЬНАЯ УГРОЗА ИЛИ ФАЛЬШИВАЯ СТРАШИЛКА?

The article examines the role of the “Nuclear Disarming Strikes” (NDS) concept in the context of the current informational confrontation between the USA and Russia. The author substantiates the conclusion that attacks on Russian nuclear deterrent facilities by means of the NDS would be counteracted with retaliatory strikes and inevitably have disastrous ecological, humanitarian, domestic and international political consequences for the aggressor. It is demonstrated that even militarily successful NDS against Russia would involve enormous harmful consequences for the USA. Firstly, the USA would lose the support of their current European allies, the victims of possible American nuclear explosions carried out in the European part of the Russian Federation. It is stressed that almost the entire territory of the continent would become a zone of contamination by radionuclides with total gamma radiation doses that significantly disrupt the functions of the human immune system. Tens of millions of residents of the Western part of Europe, subjected to radiation damage, would be doomed to death. People would find themselves without normal drinking water, in conditions of extreme psychological stress and degradation. Secondly, considering that the NDSs would be carried out in the context of the evolving global process of stigmatization of nuclear weapons, the aggressor runs a high risk to become a war criminal, an outcast state, and a “universal Evil”. Thirdly, China, the American main geopolitical rival and trade competitor, may take advantage of the new strategic situation and try to supersede the USA in the system of the global political and economic governance. Of course, the U.S. president, guided by common sense, national egoism, and just a sense of political self-preservation, can not give consent to such an insane and criminal adventure as NDS. However, the NDS stratagem is used in the informational confrontation as a “scarecrow” to trigger panic among Russian population and bluff it into huge wasteful expenditures, thus undermining the country’s competitiveness and depriving it of development prospects. The NDS bluff increases the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons, thus undermining international strategic stability. Suggestions are offered on how to respond adequately to this challenge.

ARTISTIC AND AESTHETIC EDUCATION OF STUDENTS BY THE MEANS OF THE NATIONAL ARTS AND CRAFTS: THE TATARSTAN REPUBLIC EXPERIENCE

The research is devoted to the problem of aesthetic education in contest of moral education. Aesthetic education is studied in context of Russian educational reformation (The end of ХХ – the beginning of XXI century) and growth of national consciousness and spiritual revival of the people. This period is suggested as an ideological return to the national cultural and historical traditions. This period is characterises by the rise of public activity towards national heritage and traditions of folk culture and art. Authors suggest and prove that the separation of education and national culture, as soon as lack of training in national-cultural issues, leads not only to local culture regression but to certain problems in international relations and national egoism. Only spiritually and morally enriched education, that means not only local language study, as it is often done in Russian Federation, but also study of traditional customs, art and values of cultural and historical traditions of local nationality (in our research Tatars), allows to teach children to appreciate the human values and spiritual achievements of other nationalities. This means that today the educational process at schools has to be inherent in the nature of the identification of possible and effective forms and methods for the implementation of the students education on national traditions and art, as the most valuable thing for centuries, formed by the wisdom and culture of the people, should become a part of the upbringing and education of the modern school. The authors developed the system of artistic and aesthetic education of students by means of Tatar decorative and applied arts that promote artistic and aesthetic education, development of artistic and creative abilities of students, on the basis of national consciousness of personality development. This system creates the sense of humanity of students and develops there interethnic attitudes to others. This system was implemented at a number of schools where developed course has welcomed by authorities. Students have studied a corresponding material of the Tatar arts and crafts together with their parents and teachers. The results have shown that not only the level of students’ spiritual and moral education, aesthetic education has risen. The growth of their tolerance to other nation’s representatives from the position of understanding of prevention every national culture peculiarities became the most amazing.

BRICS Development Strategies: Exploring the Meaning of BRICS ‘Community’ and ‘Collective Action’ in the Context of BRICS State Led Cooperation in South Africa

The BRICS partnership has been portrayed in mainstream social media as an inter-state initiative that could challenge the geo-political hegemony of the Western bloc. Thus, far relatively little has been said about the prospect of extending the partnership to the level of ordinary citizens and how this might be achieved. A declared goal of BRICS, articulated in 2016, is that of “building responsive, inclusive collective solutions to core themes with a particular focus on institution-building, implementing past commitments and exploring innovative solutions to common issues”. This paper provides a preliminary assessment of the idea of “BRICS from below” might entail in policy terms by looking at how BRICS pronouncements have led to collective solutions, especially to economic development as it affects the local level, using South Africa as the case study site. The paper concludes that it appears the realities of the forms of engagement still resonate with more traditional forms of state led alliance building that are aimed less at transformation than at coordinating ‘national self-interest’.