Sanctions Policy Research Articles

The (in)effectiveness of sanctions: an attempt at evaluating the effectiveness of the sanction policy against Russia

The (in)effectiveness of sanctions: an attempt at evaluating the effectiveness of the sanction policy against Russia

Транснациональный бизнес как резерв роста национальной конкурентоспособности России

This article delves into the historical forms of entrepreneurial transnationalization in Russia, analyzes their adaptation to the conditions of anti-Russian politicization of foreign economic activities since 2022, and assesses the prospects for forming corporate competitive advantages and efficiency competencies of Russian enterprises based on scientific justification of the activities of transnational companies. The main directions of their implementation into the strategy of enhancing the country’s national competitiveness are characterized, taking into account current issues and constraints in the long-term perspective. It is noted that in relation to foreign and domestic transnational companies, our country should pursue a comprehensive policy, including measures to align their activities with the priorities of enhancing national competitiveness. Conclusion dwells upon the fact that the effectiveness of the outlined strategy will be sufficient if Russia maintains the ability to modernize approaches to transnational entrepreneurship, which becomes a strategic task in the conditions of sanction policies against it.

Discursive strategies for legitimizing U.S. sanctions policy towards Russia (2021-2023)

The aim of the study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of discursive strategies for legitimizing the United States (U.S.) sanctions policy against Russia during the Biden Administration. The paper is based on a constructivist theory within the study of international relations and methodological innovations by T. van Dijk, T.J. van Leeuwen, R. Wodak. The research investigates the hypothesis that the absence of an international legal framework for anti-Russian sanctions creates an increased need for the United States to legitimize them. The work uses critical discourse analysis (CDA) to investigate discursive strategies of legitimization of U.S. sanctions against Russia (through 1) emotions; 2) hypothetical future; 3) procedures; 4) expert opinion; 5) altruism). The study shows that anti-Russian sanctions is a part of the hegemonic foreign policy of the United States. It is manifested, reproduced, and justified through the official narrative. Political discourses containing ideological attitudes are used by the United States to create, maintain and protect its identity, which is based on the binary opposition “ Self-Positive Representation - Other-Negative Representation” and has a projection on the country's foreign policy. The most convincing discursive strategies of legitimization are those that appeal to the fundamental pillars of American identity (strategies 1, 2, 5). Strategies that rely on more specific/ situational grounds and argumentation systems are the least convincing (strategies 3, 4).

УСТОЙЧИВОЕ РАЗВИТИЕ РЕГИОНА В УСЛОВИЯХ СТРУКТУРНОЙ ТРАНСФОРМАЦИИ И САНКЦИОННОЙ ПОЛИТИКИ (НА ПРИМЕРЕ ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОГО ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОГО ОКРУГА)

The sanctions policy has greatly complicated the economic situation in the country and its regions because the logistics of exports and imports have changed, there has been a structural transformation, the rupture of established ties, the formation of new ones. Sustainable development requires improving methodological approaches to assessing territorial differentiation and polarization, identifying stable developing regions, taking into account their competitive advantages.

A Review of Research on Russia’s Strategic Adjustment to the West under the Background of Russia-Ukraine Conflict

This study aims to analyze Russia’s strategic adjustment to the West under the background of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and to sort out and analyze the articles related to Russia’s strategic adjustment to the West in Chinese core journals and foreign journals from 2022 to 2024. This paper summarizes the views of domestic and foreign experts and scholars, and believes that since Russia took special military action against Ukraine, the United States and Europe have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia. In order to survive and develop the country and maintain its national status and interests, Russia has made a series of strategic adjustments in economy, science and technology, diplomacy and other fields, and made a strong response and counterattack to the Western sanctions policy. To some extent, it has effectively hedged the huge pressure brought by the sanctions, and showed the stability and resistance of Russia’s image as a major country to the international community.

Инвестиционные аттитюды и отношение к экономической политике российских предпринимателей

Economic transformations caused by the sanctions policy of Western countries require changes in the activity and attitudes of Russian entrepreneurs. The aim of the research is to study the investment atti-tudes of Russian entrepreneurs taking into account their attitude to the current economic policy and personal attitudes. The study involved 217 representatives of small and medium-sized businesses (with the number of employees in the company from 10 to 500 people) aged 25 to 60 years. The methodological toolkit included a scale multifactorial “Questionnaire of Attitudes towards Economic Policy” (assuming assessments both at the macrosocial and personal levels), an express investment preference’s questionnaire and socio-demographic variables. The study was conducted in May 2023 using the “Anketolog” online survey service. According to the results the motivational portrait of an entrepreneur who is ready to help the state with financial investments in new territories, there is the satisfaction with their income, in addition to a positive attitude towards the current state economic policy. The correlates of investing in shares and other securities are financial literacy, economic optimism and strong-willed activity.

De-dollarization? Not so fast

De-dollarization refers to the reduction of the reliance of foreign countries on the US dollar. This phenomenon generates concern about the U.S. dollar as a global currency. We construct new data on the currency denomination of central bank currency reserves, foreign exchange transaction volume, denomination of global debt securities, and the invoicing of trade. This paper presents empirical evidence suggesting that these concerns are misplaced, finding US dollar dominance remains unchanged up through late 2023, nearly two years after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and several years after the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile euro and renminbi influence have since declined. These findings have implications for reserve currency resilience, U.S. dollar dominance, U.S. sanctions policy, international spillovers of U.S. monetary policy, and U.S. government borrowing costs.

Санкционная политика США в отношении КНДР (1948–2020 гг.)

The article examines the evolution of the sanctions policy of the United States against North Korea. It is noted that this policy has gone through several stages over the past seventy years. The article analyzes the reasons for the restrictions, as well as the results achieved by the White House administration. The periodization of the US sanctions policy towards the DPRK is given.

Influence of development factors of manufacturing industry on the economy of the North-Western Federal District

Due to constant tightening of the sanctions policy against Russia, the stable manufacturing industry is among fundamental factors of sustainability and active growth of the country’s economy. Since the beginning of 2022, sufficient efforts have been made to neutralise the negative consequences of foreign companies leaving the market and replace imported goods and technologies with domestic ones. An urgent issue is to assess importance of stable manufacturing industry for the economy of the country and its regions. For the industrially developed North-Western macroregion, which has been seriously affected by the disruption of relations with the European Union and the United States of America, the rapid restructuring and reorientation of commodity flows is an important task, alongside with the increase in production of high value-added goods based on the resources of the macroregion. The purpose of the study was to identify how much factors of development of the manufacturing industry influence gross regional product (hereinafter referred to as GRP) per capita in the North-Western Federal District (hereinafter referred to as NWFD). The constructed econometric model made it possible to assess the most serious factors, the increase of which will allow to influence the economy of the macroregion. It is proved that the average number of employees of small enterprises has the strongest positive impact on GRP per capita in the NWFD as its increase by 1 person leads to an increase in the resulting variable by 1,055.76 rubles, all other things being equal. Thus, currently, the activation of the manufacturing industry with more employees of small business will become a driver of recovery and sustainable development of the macroregion’s economy.

Anti-sanction and sanction economic policy of Russia in 2022–2025. Part 2: Aftermaths of sanctions war, management of changes, clarification of research concepts

Objectives: to study and forecast the state of the Russian economy after the intensification of the sanctions war and formalization of the Russian anti-sanctions and sanctions economic policy.Methods: the research uses such techniques of abstract-logical method as analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, analogy, formalization, and forecasting.Results: The main macroeconomic indicators of Russia were analyzed (2006–2023) and forecasted (2024–2025). The impact of sanctions on the negative trends in the development of industries mainly contributing to the Russia’s GDP was assessed. As a result, the author identified the industries that have become drivers of the country’s economic development, as well as those subjected to the most significant pressure as a result of the sanctions. the comparative analysis of indicators allowed us to conclude that the Russian economy as a whole in the medium term coped with the sanctions load better than the world economy with the consequences of the sanction war. Conclusions were made on the results of anti-Russian sanctions and Russia’s response measures. Russia’s sanctions, anti-sanctions and counter-sanctions economic policy was formalized.Scientific novelty: the concepts of “sanctions economic policy”, “anti-sanctions economic policy”, “counter-sanctions economic policy”, “sanctions policy”, “anti-sanctions policy”, “counter-sanctions policy” were clarified. The main goals of sanctions and anti-sanctions economic policy of Russia were revealed. The principles of Russia’s sanctions and anti-sanctions policy were supplemented. It was shown that the Russian sanctions economic policy is open, rational, protective and protectionist. It was found that Russia’s anti-sanctions economic policy is highly politicized, medium-term and protectionist. The main directions of development of anti-sanctions and sanctions economic policy of Russia were outlined.Practical significance: the obtained results will allow understanding the essence, causes and processes in the management of the Russia’s sanctions and anti-sanctions activity, predicting its results more accurately, and determining measures to correct the anti-sanctions and sanctions policy of the Russian Federation.

US Sanctions Policy Towards Latin America: Cases of Official Narratives on Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua

Introduction. The following article examines the effectiveness of US sanctions on Latin America by analyzing three cases of restrictive measures against Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. The correlation between US foreign policy goals and the interpretation of the existing sanctions results containing the official narrative is analyzed. This study shows that, from the point of view of promoting democratization and protecting human rights, US sanctions are ineffective. Methods and materials. The following research utilizes a constructivist approach when analyzing international relations. To a greater extent, this work is based on the theoretical approaches of Professor G. Hufbauer. Analysis and results. The following study additionally reveals that the US foreign policy narrative covers the erosion of US hegemony in Latin America. Within this narrative, international relations are described as a global rivalry between “democracy” and “autocracy.” The United States uses motives for protecting human rights and democracy to justify sanctions against several Latin American countries and also weaken ties with Russia and China. Author’s contributions. L. Sokolshchik and Yu. Sokolshchik developed the research design in addition to writing its content and general scientific editing. K. Teremetskiy made a contribution to the search for official sources and their analysis. The authors jointly analyzed all the content and results of the research.

Влияние санкционной политики на состояние банковского сектора России

Introduction. The banking sector is a key sector of the national economy and a growth factor, determining its efficiency and development prospects. Over the past year and a half, the national economy in general and the banking sector in particular have been adapting to the external negative impact of the sanctions policies of Western countries. Package sanctions were created on a regular basis and are used today to limit the development of the country in all areas. Theoretical analysis. The study identifies and substantiates the factors that ensure the relationship between the sanctions imposed by Western countries and the state of the banking sector of the Russian Federation. The basis for the Russian banking sector functioning is systemically important banks; in this regard, the influence of sanctions on their activities and mechanisms of adaptation to sanctions are of particular research interest. Empirical analysis. Statistical indicators of the banking sector, assets, lending to corporate clients and individuals, profits of the banking sector and credit organizations were analyzed, conclusions were drawn about successful adaptation to sanctions due to growth in indicators, high margins and a significant reduction in the cost of risk in comparison with 2022. Results. The process of the banking sector adaptation to sanctions pressure is presented and the reasons for its effective recovery are identified.

Миграционная политика Российской Федерации в современных условиях: направления совершенствования ее реализации

The article discusses the directions of migration policy of Russia at the present stage. The problems of its implementation have been identified and proposals have been developed aimed at improving the state's policy in the field of migration; at overcoming the crisis stage in the development of our state in the political and socio-economic spheres caused by the impact of the sanctions policy of the United States and the West; at developing international relations in the field of migration within the Eurasian Economic Union and the BRICS countries.

The Right to Access the Internet and Modern Models of Digital Discrimination

The article proposes a systematic assessment of the right to the Internet in the context of modern legal and political challenges. The authors substantiate the thesis that the right to the Internet is a complex category that cannot be considered solely in terms of providing technical capabilities and overcoming the digital divide (inequality) between different social groups and states. Much more complex and important is the consideration of the right to the Internet in the context of the corresponding duty of states not to impede the possibility of information exchange via the Internet, as well as in the plane of the search for a “golden mean” between the right to the Internet and natural human rights.The main purpose of the article was to determine the main features of the right to the Internet in the context of human and civil rights and freedoms and to analyze the main manifestations of digital discrimination as a consequence of the digital divide.A detailed methodological basis of the article contributed to the achievement of the abovementioned purpose. The research was based on a systematic method, which made it possible to consider the right to the Internet as a complex and dynamically developing legal and political category. The authors used functional and logical (deduction, induction and analogy) methods, as well as a number of particular scientific methods: historical, sociological and statistical. The approach proposed in the article to determine the key parameters of the right to the Internet was substantiated mainly on the basis of the application of comparative legal, formal legal and axiological methods.The methodology of the research made it possible to formulate and substantiate the conclusion that the right to the Internet in the face of modern legal and political challenges is undergoing a qualitative transformation both in the direction of expanding the positive obligations of the state to overcome the digital divide, and in the direction of restricting the right to freedom of Internet communication under the auspices of ensuring the right to privacy and the need to respect the public interest. The presence of «double standards» in determining the boundaries of the right to the Internet leads to conflicting legal decisions and allows us to predict the aggravation of this contradiction in the context of the rapid development of digital platforms and the active sanction policy of the collective West.

ANALYSIS AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE POLICY ON SANCTIONS FOR MARRIAGE REGISTRATION VIOLATIONS

The policy of sanctioning laws and regulations for violations of marriage registration in fact provides space for discourse in both a philosophical and practical context. The understanding of marriages that are not recorded includes violations in juridical terminology because of the content of sanctions which can actually have implications for the emergence of problematic law enforcement in the field of marriage. This research was conducted to analyze and find out what the juridical implications are for the sanction policies contained in various legal regulations related to violations of marriage registration. The literature study method is the method in this research, by collecting data through a review of various kinds of legal rules. This study uses a statutory regulation approach in examining regulations related to legal issues regarding sanctions for violations of marriage registration. Several policies that contain sanctions for violations of legal registration of marriages are considered inappropriate because they cannot be met on a fundamental basis. There is a bias in the authority of law enforcement in the object of this violation of marriage registration. Legal ambiguity can arise in the process of sentencing if it is associated with the content of sanctions that have a tendency not to be in the realm of private law.

RUSSIAN-GERMAN INTERACTION IN TERMS OF EUROPEAN POLICY OF CONTAINMENT: TO INTERRUPT IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO SUPPORT

The policy of sanctions’ restrictions, being persistently carried out by the European countries, isn’t crowned with expected results and has more sharply attracted attention to European problems. The hypothesis is, that immersing into economic withstanding leads into trajectory of discussing in ideological context. Value problematic becomes important because liberalism has stopped be identified with idea of freedom and something common in human nature, we need search for possible variant of common existence in the future Europe – for rightful dialogue originated from pluralism of values, not from conditions of deal, whether the “grain”, “gas” or “green climate”. Germany and Russia were always connected by dependent relations, which determined it’s important role in Europe. The stereotype of “notorious German legitimacy, following the order established”, according to which Germany more needs habitual longstanding coordinates then abstract freedom, keeps hope, that Germany the first will realize and continue to uphold the single and multivariant possibility of existence of the Europe common with Russia, of continuing the interaction with Russia in the most important questions: military and energetic safety, economic and investment cooperation, scientific and cultural-educational exchange. Russian-German relations were traditionally a guarantor of stable Europe and its worthy place in global architecture. There will be no exclusion now. Rules will change, but place and role of Russia on Eurasian continent for objective reasons is an axiom and isn’t a subject to reconsideration by initiators of withstanding. Their destructive role consists in cleaning and preparing the place for relations of new level for good of common Europe.

The European Union trade sanctions against Russia: Contemporary practice

Targeted financial sanctions have been playing a major role in the toolbox of European Union (EU) policy of sanctions since early 2000s. They have been targeting particular natural persons and entities, rather than states in general. Things have been changing dramatically since the outbreak of Russian military operation against Ukraine in February 2022. EU has already implemented massive bans on exports and imports of wide range of goods and services to and from Russia. Meanwhile, academic literature on sanctions still has a major gap in understanding of trade sanctions. The goal of the article is to fill this gap, taking into account contemporary trends of the EU trade sanctions against Russia. The major point implies that the EU policy of trade sanctions vis a vis Russia suffers from the imbalance between the quantity of sanctions and the quality of ways and means to enforce them. Unlike the United States, which enjoys well-developed instruments and practice of the use of secondary sanctions and enforcement, the EU has to implement sanctions and to develop enforcement in a simultaneous way. Brussels has already introduced mechanisms of de-facto secondary sanctions and is promoting the unification of enforcement legislation among the member-states. Current enforcement activity of member-states on the basis of domestic legislation compensates such an imbalance. The study of these trends purports the analysis of the EU normative documents as well as the ones, which reflect political and legal practice of their implementation.

Этнополитическое движение саамов в Арктическом регионе: от развития до стагнации

The ethnopolitical movement of the Sámi in the Arctic region is examined through significant events in its development, including during Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. The author attempts to assess the current stage of the movement’s development and justify factors of its stagnation, proposing potential positive change scenarios based on the analysis of leading scholarly works in ethnopolitics and international relations, as well as open official internet resources of international organizations and periodical news publications. As a result, the author suggests considering five main stages in the development of the Sámi ethnopolitical movement against the backdrop of gradual formation of close international cooperation and cross-­border interaction among the countries where this indigenous Arctic people reside. It is identified that the collective West’s sanction policy against Russia negatively impacts the national consciousness of the Sámi people and the status of unity, which is unequivocally ignored by their own political leaders, leading the ethnopolitical movement to acute stagnation. This crisis is proposed to be seen as an opportunity to rethink the long historical journey of the Sámi towards relative political autonomy within the framework of pan-­Sámi policy.’

РАЗВИТИЕ ИННОВАЦИОННОГО ПОТЕНЦИАЛА СТРАНЫ В УСЛОВИЯХ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОЙ ТУРБУЛЕНТНОСТИ

The article is devoted to the study of opportunities for the formation and development of the country’s innovative potential in the conditions of emerging economic turbulence, the specifics of which are determined by the sanctions policy against Russia and the number of sanctions imposed. The authors analyze the historical experience of the People’s Republic of China from the position of the conditions of economic sanctions and pressure from the West under the policy of reforms and openness, which emerged in 1989. The factors, due to which China managed to form innovative potential and use it for innovative development of the country, are highlighted. Studying the factors influencing the formation of Russia’s innovation potential, the authors conclude that as a result of economic turbulence, intensified under the influence of various reasons both economic (sanctions) and geopolitical, there is a situation that contributes to the formation and development of the country’s innovation potential.

Global social changes: risks for the welfare state

The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the fact that globalization, being the most important factor in social dynamics, leads to tectonic shifts in absolutely all spheres of social life. These changes are ambiguous and dual in nature. The purpose of this work is to identify the contradictory nature of the influence of global transformation in the context of recent challenges (COVID 19, increased international economic competition, a complex of economic problems, sanctions policy, political instability) on the scale of inequality in the modern world, the functioning of the institution of the social state, consensus on issues of social cohesion, social justice and social solidarity. The theoretical basis of the article was the work of F. Fukuyama, I. Wallerstein, P. Rosanvallon, G. E. Anderson and others. The interdisciplinary nature of the research within the framework of the identified problems requires the use of both the results of sociological research and a significant amount of international economic statistics. The authors have carried out a comprehensive analysis of the factors of global socio-economic changes that most directly affect the functioning of the modern social state. Based on current sociological and statistical data, the authors prove the complex feasibility and partly even change in the basic principles of the “welfare state” associated with social justice, social cohesion and social solidarity in modern Western European countries, which until recently were considered a standard of high quality and living standards of the population, a developed social support system, and a large middle class. It is concluded that the negative trends of global social changes are unlikely to be changed in the foreseeable future, despite the measures taken by national governments and international institutions aimed at stabilizing the socio-economic situation.