Political Process Research Articles

Solidarization of Russian Society: a Historiographical Analysis

Introduction. At present the relevance of the problem of solidarity of Russian society is associated with the attempts of the countries of the Greater West to solve accumulated problems through building an image of the enemy, which makes it possible to consolidate national economies and effectively fight opposition forces within the country. In modern Russian philosophy, a number of approaches to developing the concept of solidarity of Russian society have developed. Despite this, many aspects of this problem still remain insufficiently studied. Thus, this study analyzes various approaches to defining the solidarity of society, which were formed in Russian philosophy; identifies the essential properties of solidarity, and substantiates the thesis about the need to form new tools and mechanisms of social order that will allow for the solidarity of society. The purpose of the presented research is a historiographic analysis of the concept of solidarity in relation to Russian reality. Methodology and sources. The methodological basis of this study is the principle of unity of the historical and logical, as well as methods of analysis and synthesis. There were used as sources the works of classics of Russian philosophical thought who developed the concept of solidarity (I.S. Aksakov, N.Ya. Danilevsky, etc.), as well as the works of modern Russian thinkers, such as Yu.V. Shkudunova, A.A. Efanov, allowing to identify the main aspects of the problem of solidarity of Russian society. Results and discussion. The authors of this article conducted a historiographical analysis of the concept of “solidarization”. During the analysis, the main essential properties of solidarity were identified, such as procedurality, value orientation, ideology, and complexity. The relevance of the traditions of Russian religious philosophy for the development of the problem of solidarity is also shown. The authors consider the solidarity of society as a set of political, economic and sociocultural processes aimed at uniting society around an integral system of values expressed by a single social ideology. Conclusion. The modern world is in a phase of political turbulence, which has a direct impact on all fundamental aspects of society. Their impact can be seen especially clearly in the example of Russian reality. In these conditions, the survival of Russia depends on the degree of unity of society as a guarantee of national security.

Collective participation in conservation easements in rural China: Evidence from the Qianjiangyuan National Park

Conservation easements (CE), as an emerging conservation strategy in China, have gained successful collective participation within the Qianjiangyuan National Park with all its collectively-owned forestlands under easements. This study uses an analytical framework developed from the social-ecological systems (SES) framework to explore systemic inter-dependencies among social, economic, political, and natural processes that contextualize the agreements and patterns of interaction where collective participation is achieved. The results indicate that broader-scale variables under socio-ecological contexts, by affecting the resource system, government system, actor system variables, and their interactions, play a more important role in CE participation than sole individual variables. At the regional scale, changing socio-political factors have influenced rural communities' resource utilization and reduced economic dependency on logging activities, facilitating CE adoption. Within the focal action situation, collective participation was achieved under the rural governance system in which actors interact to form community-level consensus through rural self-governance and consultation, influenced by the mobilizing power of the authority. The case study in China demonstrates the feasibility of using CE as a forest co-management strategy in densely populated protected areas under a common-property regime and the necessity of considering both regional-scale factors and local dynamics in CE design and implementation.

Closure of the Tsaritsyn Gun Factory in the summer of 1918

In this article, using comparative historical and historical-genetic methods, a study of the history of the Tsaritsyn gun factory was undertaken at the turning point of its existence - the summer of 1918. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were put forward: to consider the circumstances of the decision to close the plant, to monitor its implementation, and also find out whether the plant was used in the future and whether it contributed to the defense of Tsaritsyn in the summer-autumn of 1918. The relevance of the topic lies in the fact that since key government figures of the first decades of Soviet power took part in the closure of the plant, and the plant as a whole was an important strategic object , to the extent that studying this issue is important for understanding the political processes of the Civil War. The main material was the plant documentation stored in the Volgograd regional archive; a number of materials from collections of documents were used, as well as personal sources, for example, the memoirs of A.G. Shlyapnikov. During the study, including on the basis of new archival materials, clarifying circumstances of the closure of the Tsaritsyn plant were established: the decision-making process was traced both in Moscow and in Tsaritsyn, the exact date of A.G. Shlyapnikov’s departure was established, due to which he was unable to take part in the process of closing the plant, a conflict was revealed during the closing of the plant between I.V. Stalin and P.V. Filippov, in which S.K. Minin became an intermediary. Finally, accurate data has been found that allows us to talk about the contribution of enterprises established on the basis of the Tsaritsyn plant to the defense of the city in 1918.

Факторы доверия и недоверия в общественном сознании молодого поколения дагестанцев религиозным институтам

The Islamic renaissance, the increased role of the confessional component in modern Dagestani so-ciety, the orientation towards religious postulates characteristic of Dagestani population and their introduction into public consciousness requires an analysis of the presence/absence of trust in reli-gious institutions. The realities indicate that the population adheres to the provisions of Islamic teachings in a personal model of behavior in various spheres (family, marriage, political, economic, ethical). The article analyzes the level of trust in spiritual institutions, in this context, the republican Muftiate, existing in the public consciousness of the younger generation of Dagestanis. Gender, age, and educational differences are shown in demonstrating trust in and distrust of the Muftiate. The empirical material obtained indicates the presence of a high level of trust in the Muftiate in the pub-lic consciousness of the Dagestani youth surveyed. Through the prism of attitudes towards religion, analytics states the difference in the attitudes of respondents by type of religiosity: an overwhelming majority of those who associate as convinced believers and believers demonstrate trust, unlike the sub-masses of waverers, non-believers and convinced non-believers. The “control question” on the basis of distrust of the republican Muftiate shows that the younger generation of Dagestanis consid-er the destructive role of this organization in religious life, the opposition of Dagestani Muslims, which contributed to the intra-Islamic split and groundless accusations of “undesirable persons of Wahhabism and Salafism” to be the main reason for its existence. The material confirming a high degree of trust in the religious institute among the young Dagestanis interviewed is a natural result of the Muftiate’s active efforts, which consist in the introduction of Islamic postulates into the mass consciousness. In particular, there is an active participation of Islamic clerics in the political and ed-ucational processes of contemporary Dagestani society. The activity of religious persons, the latent imposition of a model of relationships based on Muslim rules, may, firstly, destabilize Dagestani so-ciety, and secondly, form the principles of religious intolerance therein.

Representation of british social and political life in audiovisual content

Representation of british social and political life in audiovisual content

Relationship between banking infrastructure, innovation and economic growth in Kazakhstan

Today, the development of financial technologies and their application in the banking sector have changed the processes of economic growth in general and commercial banks in particular, giving them an innovative orientation. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the banking infrastructure, innovation, and economic growth in Kazakhstan based on panel data. The study relies on information extracted from annual publications issued by the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the World Bank Database, and the Bureau of the National Statistics of Kazakhstan from 2004 to 2022, and also uses a regression model. Within this framework, variables used in the study, the number of ATMs, the number of bank branches, and the share of innovative products, are explanatory variables, and the gross domestic product per capita is the dependent variable. The study showed that both business innovations and the prevalence of ATMs have a significant and noticeable impact on the economic landscape of Kazakhstan, as evidenced by the impressive value of the R-square of 0.890. Moreover, the regression model demonstrates reliable stability and reliability, which is confirmed by the p-value of 0.001. In light of these findings, it is important to contribute valuable insights and evidence-based recommendations to enhance Kazakhstan’s economic growth strategy by leveraging the synergistic potential of its banking infrastructure and innovation ecosystem. AcknowledgmentsThe study was funded by the Committee Science of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Investigating the impact of macroeconomic, political, and digital processes on financial sustainability of Kazakhstan” No. AP19674948.

From Confrontation to Cooperation: Describing Non-State Armed Group–UN Interactions in Peace Operations

Abstract In various conflict contexts where the state is unable to maintain security and public order, non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and the United Nations (UN) conduct their activities alongside one another. While previous research has focused on hostile relations between the UN and NSAGs, less attention has been given to collaborative interactions. This paper aims to address this research gap by formulating a novel conceptual typology of NSAG–UN interactions in the context of a peace operation. The typological framework comprises two-dimensions: firstly, the thematic field of interaction including human rights, humanitarian needs and governance, security, and political processes and, secondly, the nature of interaction ranging from confrontation to cooperation. Based on the typology, interaction activities between the UN and NSAGs in two peacekeeping operations—the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)—are systematically documented and described. While both cases show confrontation in the security field, UNOCI also commonly cooperated with NSAGs on security-related issues; MINUSMA instead cooperated with NSAGs primarily regarding the political process. The analysis further proposes factors that may explain such variation, including institutional arrangements and NSAG characteristics. The conceptual framework presented in this paper is crucial in advancing knowledge about an empirical phenomenon that we know little about and that has important implications for different forms of “local” engagement in peace operations and the effectiveness of UN policies and practices.

Intersectional Victims as Agents of Change in International Human Rights-Based Climate Litigation

Abstract Climate change uniquely affects those who are at the intersection of several inequalities simultaneously, such as those based on gender, age, and disability. This makes them ‘directly affected’ by climate change, which is crucial in establishing ‘victim status’ under Article 34 of the European Convention on Human Rights. At the same time, as a result of unequal power relations, intersectional victims face exclusion from, or minimal participation in, political decision-making processes concerning climate change. This further justifies their claim to victim status as a matter of procedural climate justice. As agents of change, intersectional victims, namely elderly women and girls with disabilities, can be empowered to contribute to climate decision making, thereby reshaping unjust power relations. The article examines two climate cases currently before the European Court of Human Rights: Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland, brought by elderly women, and Duarte Agostinho et al. v. Portugal and 32 other States, brought by children and young people.

CIVIC IDENTIFICATION AND VALUE ORIENTATIONS OF THE POPULATION OF BORDER REGIONS OF RUSSIA

The complex social, political and economic processes make more acute the need to study the civic identification and values of the Russian population. Civic identification is a significant component lying in the basis for the formation of civil society. Its function is the creation of unity, common belonging to a single social "organism", the feeling of "we-ness", and the feeling of being part of the whole, the perception of other members of society not as "others" but as "our own" that contributes to the formation of mutual understanding, social solidarity, unity of tasks and interests of individuals and society as a whole. Russian civic identification today considered as a basic identification, along with ethnic, confessional and others. The focus of the article is the analysis of civic identification and value orientations of residents of the border regions of Russia. The results of the research conducted in 2019 in Altai Krai, Novosibirsk Oblast and Altai Republic (n=1418) are presented. According to the results, it has been revealed that some value differences have a pronounced economic determination. Thus, poor financial situation, lack of personal, physical and mental resources led to the formation of different value orientations. The formation of other value orientations, in particular, more oriented on the opportunity to realize their civil rights, to manifest civic activity. Citizens with a low level of economic well-being more often chose health as the main life value. In addition, the comparative analysis of men and women's answers demonstrated adherence to traditional views on life. The most important are family happiness, personal security, and a calm and measured life.

The power of words in political discourses of the general election campaigns in Kenya

This paper examines the power of words in political campaign discourses in Kenyan media. The study focuses on the several meanings of concepts employed by politicians in the run-up to the general elections of August 2022. Discursive practices and linguistic tactics are employed in discourses to achieve a particular political, social, psychological or linguistic goal. Critical theories of language see the use of language as a form of social practice. Critical discourse analysis claims that major social and political processes and movements have a partly linguistic and partly social and political character. Social relations of power are linguistic and discursive in nature. They are exercised and negotiated in discourse. The study utilised Mitchel Foucault’s approaches to political discourse and Norman Fairclough’s critical approaches to discourse analysis. Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of critical discourse analysis was employed in the study. First is the analysis of text; words are a part of the community, and texts contain interpretation. Secondly, language is viewed as a discursive practice, which is the production or the constitution of text and, finally, the analysis of language as a social practice, which includes the analysis of norms. The study sought to contribute to studies dealing with the discursive construction of power and ideology in political discourses. The study demonstrates that Kenyans do not vote independently; rather, they are persuaded to vote through the power exerted by the rhetoric of the politicians and the professional media practices that assist their presentation.

Overhead modernity: airplanes, skywriting, and heterotopia in the sky

Screenology, or Media Archaeology of the Screen, has occupied me for over twenty years. I am more and more convinced that its investigations must be taken far back in time and also beyond the Western world. Media screens can be understood as dedicated artifacts that are distinct from the forms and contents that keep appearing on them. In brief, they are interfaces that connect the close and the remote, the present and the absent, the material and the discursive. To understand their genealogy from extended spatiotemporal perspectives, it is important to pay attention to “screen-like” things that may not even have been called “screens”, “écrans” or “Leinwands” by their creators and users. One example of such screen-like objects that commands attention are the “screens” produced in East-Asian cultures like Japan and China since times immemorial. They have specific histories, interconnections, forms, iconographies and uses. Although such objects do not seem to match the later Western idea of media screens (their decorations and the pictures they carry are permanent), they deserve attention from a screenological perspective not only as what they are, but also because they became integrated into the cultural, political and economic processes that brought different parts of the world together. We can talk about “traffic in screens”, which has become an extensive phenomenon. Oriental “screens” were transported to different parts of the world, including Europe and Latin America. They became submitted to cultural trends and were given signification by the receiving cultures. Obvious examples are the Western trends Chinoiserie and Japonisme, which saw these “screens” in very different ways compared with those who had conceived and produced them. Western “Orientalist” (E. Said) interpretations influenced how these objects were seen in the environments where they had been produced. In this paper, I will suggest that making sense of such cross-cultural exchanges will add important insights to our efforts to understand the formative developments of media screens from perspectives that go beyond Western views and ideological formations.

Policy influence and influencers online and off

AbstractSocial media is an important arena for policy contestation. Although online social media debates can yield notable power over political processes offline, little research has examined the relationship between policy actors' influence in offline policymaking and social media policy arenas. We explore the relationship between four types of influence: reputational and formal‐institutional influence offline, and broadcasting and boosting influence online. We ask (1) are influential policy actors better able than others to broadcast their own messages on social media? and (2) are they better able than others to boost the broadcasting influence of other policy actors in social media? Using exponential random graph models on survey and Twitter data from the Finnish climate policy domain, we find that actors with high reputational influence in offline policymaking are also influential online, when measuring influence as the ability to broadcast one's own message. The pattern does not hold for those with formal‐institutional influence offline. Additionally, offline influence does not translate to the ability to further shape online influence by making boosting other actors' visibility. Our results suggest that although online influence partially corresponds to influence in policymaking, influence varies across arenas of policy contestation.

Current state of the political culture of Afghanistan

The article is devoted to one of the important issues of the development of the political space, political system, political life, and ideological and cultural structure of modern Afghan society. The article attempts to analyze and discuss various aspects of the current state of the political culture of Afghanistan. The main attention is paid to the attitude of citizens to politics and the political regime of the Taliban (organization banned in Russia). Afghanistan’s current political culture is based on the models and values of the Taliban government. They rely on traditionalist political models. The implementation of modern political processes, such as elections, is not far from being able to question the power of representatives. It can be argued that political culture is the link between people and political power. The main task of political culture is to include people in the political system of society and political activities. Political culture is a system of political knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and values, as well as political activities of political subjects. For example, political culture manifests itself differently in different social groups and communities, political movements, and individuals. The study of the current state of the political culture of Afghanistan allows us to conclude that today the level of conflict is quite high, the mood of the Afghan society is at a disorganized level. A controversial political culture prevails in Afghan society. This conflict can be seen in social differences, institutional weakness, society’s distrust of functioning authority, and cultural differences.

Revisiting wildfire resilience from a territorial perspective: insights from Mediterranean Spain

Wildfires are increasingly recognized as a complex socioecological phenomenon, yet their linkages with territorial development are not clearly spelled out. This article seeks to unveil the sociopolitical and sociospatial ramifications of wildfires by framing them as a territorial issue, and understanding fire-prone territories as dynamic entities that emerge in essentially political processes, defined by socioecological relations that unfold across different spatial and temporal scales. Against this backdrop, building resilience is considered a territorially embedded and continuous process, driven by mechanisms operating “behind the flames.” By operationalizing this framework in the region of Valencia (Spain), it is shown how social innovation can help overcome lock-ins and enhance resilience. This research showcases the importance of building a trusting, collaborative culture across sectors and actors, and brings to the forefront the importance of considering rural–urban relationships for reducing territorial inequalities and building more resilient futures in Mediterranean, fire-prone territories.

Nexus Framing of Sustainability Issues: Feasibility, Synergies, and Trade-Offs in Terms of Water-Energy-Food

Multisectoral integration has been at the core of sustainability debates and is continuously rearticulated though different concepts. Following the 2007–2008 financial, food, and energy crises, a new concept, the water–energy–food nexus, gained prominence to identify trade-offs and synergies between water, energy, and food systems and guide the development of cross-sectoral policies. The nexus is essentially a systems-based perspective that explicitly recognizes these three systems as both interconnected and interdependent, and thus integrated approaches are required that move beyond sectoral, policy, and disciplinary silos. The nexus is also a political process, one in which the interplay of different types of power, as well as the actors wielding them, is not just a procedurally technical one. This tension between the nexus as a complex system and the nexus as a political process constitutes the core debating idea, in terms of feasibility, methods, and theory, in this article.

Кримські татари в історичній та культурній спадщині України XV–XVII ст.

The article aims to study the history of the Crimean Tatars of the XV–XVII centuries within historical cultural heritage materials. The territorial is limited to the Volyn region, namely the cities of Ostroh and Dubno. The study methodology is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity. Besides these principles, we use the principle of systematicity to study the documents. The factor analysis was effective in examining the social and political processes that took place in the late medieval and early modern periods. We also use the typological method considering material culture objects. Analytical and synthesizing methods were used to generalize the information obtained. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that it studies the historical, cultural, and material heritage of one of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine - the Crimean Tatars in the late Middle Ages and early modern times. During the Ukrainian independence historians and archaeologists prepared some publications on the subject, but the generalized monographic study is absent. In addition, a significant part of material artifacts are kept in the collections of various museums and are not available in exhibition halls. Conclusions. The study of the Crimean Tatars’ material heritage on the territory of mainland Ukraine is important. Despite the rather complicated relations during the XV–XVII centuries, there are many examples of cooperation against common enemies, such as the Moscow state or the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Communities of immigrants from Crimea lived in many Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages, and together with the locals, they contributed to the common welfare and prosperity. All this has left a significant mark on the history, culture, and historical memory of different peoples. The presented artifacts of the Crimean Tatars from the collections of the museums of Ostroh and Dubno will contribute to the study and popularization of the cultural heritage of one of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine. We are firmly convinced that other Ukrainian museums (especially in their collections) hold many items related to the Crimean Tatars. Therefore, our research will continue.

Multistakeholder regional dialogues as catalysers for transboundary water cooperation

ABSTRACT Multistakeholder dialogues (MSDs) provide unique opportunities for partners and key stakeholders to meet in a neutral space, get to know each other, and build trust and mutual understanding before getting into the issue of water cooperation. The study identifies four key enabling factors stimulating regional MSDs: (a) balancing inclusion and role of facilitators, (b) utilizing existing regional political and economic processes, (c) using thematic anchoring and strategic design, and (d) leveraging sustainable finance. An examination of transboundary regional MSDs in South East Europe, Southern Africa, and South Asia reveals the pivotal role played by these four factor.

Эволюция эмпирических подходов в оценке эффективности международных санкций

Economic sanctions lead to a redistribution of public welfare, as well as change the political decision-making process, since certain groups in each country lobby their interests, benefiting from sanctions pressure. Empirical models of sanctions analysis are based on the theory of public choice, which allows for a comprehensive assessment of their effectiveness. The results of the analysis showed that a feature of the studies of sanctions wars is the use of fundamental economics and political science, as well as game-theoretic models as a basis for analyzing the complex effect of sanctions. To maximize the effect, the initiator countries should set clear targets, because otherwise the time horizons of the sanctions wars are maximally prolonged and it will be impossible to predict when the targets will be reached.

«Зворотній курс» у політиці США щодо Японії 1947-1952 рр.

The purpose of the research is to analyze the evolution of the foreign policy course of the USA in relation to post-war Japan and to show the economic, political, and strategic achievements of the "Reverse Course". The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, comprehensiveness and multi-vectority, objectivity and systematicity. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that Ukrainian historiography on the issue of the history of post-war Japan is extremely small and has a number of white spots, in particular, on the issue of cooperation between the Japanese government and the American military administration. Conclusions. American policy in Japan proves that yesterday's enemy can become a potential partner and, even more so, an ally in the future. Having paid a bloody price for the victory, the USA began radical reforms in Japan, which were aimed, at least in the first period of occupation, at the demilitarization and deindustrialization of yesterday's enemy. However, practice has shown that building a strong and structural economy, liberalizing and democratizing political processes work much more effectively. After the end of the Korean War, Japan's economy started to grow steadily and very soon led to the famous "economic miracle." Modern Japan is a successful democratic state that ranks among the top five in terms of GDP and other economic indicators and is a pioneer in the latest technologies and science. The example of Japan, in our opinion, is indicative and proves that a country that has survived a devastating war with terrible losses can recover if deep and comprehensive reforms are carried out in all social, political, cultural, and economic spheres.

My Numerous Detours – Toward Private Law as Society’s Constitution

Abstract The author responds in two ways to the contributions in this special issue dealing with aspects of his scholarly work. In his first, more general response, he traces the influences that various institutions and individuals exerted on him and were reflected in his work on private law theory. In retrospect, he understands both his many years abroad and his involvement with extra-legal disciplines, especially systems theory and sociology of law, as a search for the identity of private law in foreign legal systems as well as in foreign disciplines. At the end of this search stands the concept of societal constitutionalism. The author understands private law as society’s constitution, more precisely: as the legal constitution of the self-governance of a variety of social systems. In a second, more specific response, the author deals with some of the questions raised in the various contributions to the special issue. From the perspective of both sociology of law and legal doctrine, the author addresses problems of society’s constitution that arise, on the one hand, outside the borders of the nation-state in transnational political processes and, on the other hand, outside the institutionalized political sector, in the "private" sectors of world society. They revolve around the theoretical and practical potential of societal constitutionalism: how, in non-state institutions, the new power centers of society, particularly in the emerging socio-digital institutions, private law can set the normative conditions for fundamental rights, the rule of law, democratic participation, and, increasingly today, ecological sensibility.