Post-Soviet Space
«Colour revolutions» and terrorist threat in Central Asia
The author focuses his attention on the phenomenon of ‘colour revolutions’ and assesses the possibility of their spread across the Central Asian states. In relation to the events of spring 2005 in Kyrgyzstan K.Truevtsev studies both external and (in the first place) internal structural reasons and political mechanisms. The article considers as well the processes that could be fraught with far-going impact on stability, unity and territorial integrity of Kyrgyzia. K.Truevtsev believes that the differences between political regimes in Central Asia are quite substantial. He analyzes and compares situations in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan that he qualifies as ‘the region’s sick person”. The article is focused on such key and explosive part of the region as the Fergana valley and elucidates the role of the Islamic factor.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-5-21
Pages: 5-21
Political cultures
German nation and German national consciousness in the historical perspective
The author attempts to solve the problem of how the population of separate lands managed to create a unified nation in a comparatively short period of time. By no means idealizing the methods of nation building used by the Emperor Wilhelm and Counselor Bismarck, A.Filitov notes the gentleness and delicacy in center’s treatment of the periphery, and transformation of the second German Reich into a federation. In the article this process is contrasted, namely, to the model of unification of FRG and GDR, when the matter was reduced to the latter’s inclusion into the Western German state. Once state unity was established, new difficulties appeared in strengthening the national unity. The author is inclined to agree with the point that this very unity suffered greater damage than that of the years of separate existence of the two German states.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-22-38
Pages: 22-38
On the problem of national idea in Poland
The article shows that the Polish national idea has traditionally been a derivative from the country’s specific geopolitical position in Europe. After three partitions of Poland in the late XVIII – early XIX centuries, a gentry-intelligence, and then all-people’s cult of an armed liberation struggle became an organic component of national consciousness. Two decades after the reestablishment of the Polish state in 1918 Polish national idea did not have enough time to gain new comprehensive filling. The author studies the dynamics of the national idea evolution in the post-war period and dwells upon its substantive transformation due to the country’s accession to NATO and its integration in the European Union. According to I.Yazhborovskaya, all of this was happening on the basis of national consent and understanding that Poland was finally acquiring a stable basis for existence.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-39-55
Pages: 39-55
National idea and the split of Ireland
The author believes that in the case of Ireland it is reasonable to talk about considerable overlapping of the terms ‘nationalism’ and ‘national idea’, though the interpretation of ‘national idea’ was changing depending on concrete historical conditions. With the aim to destroy the British rule being invariable, the specific goals and methods to achieve them have altered repeatedly. The author dwells particularly on the situation in the northern part of Ireland. Its population belongs to different nationalities and defining person’s identity some considered themselves Irish, others – English, the third – Ulster.
For that reason the all-Irish national idea did not reflect the interests of the whole population of Ireland and, therefore, throughout its realization aggravated the society’s cleavages. The Ulster unionist movement against secession of Ireland from the Great Britain has gained such momentum that the comprehensive implementation of the Irish national idea turned to be impossible. The partition of Ireland has really reflected the fact.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-56-71
Pages: 56-71
The author proposes that the power and influence of charismatic person in the Asian-African political cultures and systems of governance are more pronounced that in the case of the West. The personalistic authoritarianism that follows manifests itself in the predominance of nominal or defective democracies. Pakistan serves to illustrate the thesis. The paper traces the traditional mentality of the Muslim community in the colonial India, which was favorably disposed towards accepting a personalitic authority, goes on to elaborate the point by analyzing the role and status of the Pakistan ‘founding father’ Muhammad Ali Jinnah and personalistic rule of Liaquat Ali Khan, Field-Marshall Muhammad Ayub Khan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and General Zia ul-Haq. The present day regime headed by General Pervez Musharraf according to the author fits neatly into the personalistic pattern while applying the group of interests approach it can be characterized as a military-bureaucratic authoritarianism. At the same time, as the author maintains, the specific features of the Eastern political culture and political regimes should not distract from taking into account the different impacts which certain authoritarian rules inflict upon social and economic fabric.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-72-95
Pages: 72-95
Russian Polity
Igor Zadorin, Lyudmila Shubina, Artem Komissarov, Elena Halkina, Dmitry Zaitsev
The publication is based upon empirical data of a large-scale survey among all layers of the Russian population. The survey’s objective was to find out how Russian citizens perceive today’s power in terms of whether it possesses certain characteristics and qualities. In this connection both public demand for certain qualities of power and people’s perception of an ideal power were stated. Another object of researchers’ attention was the population’s vision of real possibilities and probability of improving the qualities of power, as well as Russian citizens’ perceptions of general principles of power formation and of how to do so that power in Russia gained more quality.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-96-114
Pages: 96-114
Vision of transformation in Russia in terms of the conflict theory
The author makes an attempt to examine the problems of today’s transitory period in Russia through the prism of the conflict theory. L.Nikovskaya views a conflict as a certain type of social interaction initially built into the social and political processes. As the article notes, the conflict is a norm of social life relationships that accumulates social tensions, whose energy breeds social changes and shifts of different scale. The author stands for rejecting the idea of conflict suppression, since, if that be the case, its potential malignancy increases and explosion becomes inevitable. And, the other way, the idea of regulating social conflicts suggests creating conditions for controlling the conflict, defining its constructive capabilities, without denying the long-term existence of contradiction of interests and conflict groups.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-115-124
Pages: 115-124
Larisa Nikovskaya, Vladimir Yakimets
Nature of conflict potential of Russian political transformation
According to the authors, the most distinguished feature of post-socialist transformation characteristic of Russia during the latest 15 years is the multi-layer and heterogeneous conglomeration of contradicting relations between different layers of population, sectors of economy, etc. In order to explain the peculiarities of democratic transition in Russia the authors worked out a special model combining both structural and subjective aspects of analysis. L.Nikovskaya and V.Yakimets called it a dynamic model of morphological analysis of social conflicts in a transforming society. The model renders possible the analysis of complex conflicts. In addition, the authors mark out and consider several types of development dynamics of complex conflicts.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-125-139
Pages: 125-139
Laboratory
The object of research is a new element of the Russian society’s social structure represented by owners and top managers of large corporations. The article is based on the comparative analysis of Russian and American business elites. The author underlines that, historically, the “starting positions” of Russian and American entrepreneurship formation turned to be completely different. Among the important national features of American business formation and development and its involvement in politics M.Svetlichniy names their evolutionary character and a step-by-step manner of gaining political experience. The experience of Russia is, in its turn, elementary, pioneer, and thus less predictable in terms of its possible consequences and evolutionary features. Among the obstacles to the public legitimization of Russian entrepreneurship the author calls, namely, its mostly ‘shadow’ and criminal origins.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-140-160
Pages: 140-160
Cathedra
Authority problems in political philosophy
Another article in the series of publications on the most meaningful problems of political philosophy deals with the issues of authority. The author shows how widely the idea of “authority” in political philosophy is presented on all stages of its development. In this connection T.Alexeeva turns to the works of political thinkers of different times and scientific schools (Plato, Rousseau, Lock, Kant, Bernstein, Marx, Lenin, Cohen, Rogers, Arendt, Sartre and others). The article studies the notion of political authority in conservatism and liberalism. The author draws specific attention to the problems of authority under totalitarianism (leader and masses), as well as democratic authority and management of collective actions.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-161-184
Pages: 161-184
Book Review
According to the author, the monograph under analysis is highly important in order to comprehend a complex of problems of both political integration in the framework of the European Union and the integration model used. It is emphasized that the book by I.S.Yazhborovskaya is the first study of the kind in our political studies literature. Olga Velichko believes that the research under review contains good proportion of materials reflecting European and Russian interests and considers the possible ways for further improvement of such cooperation.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-185-194
Pages: 185-194
Chronicle
Russian parties in summer 2005. Spiders in a can and the dead ant hill
In the “Politeia’s” traditional chronicle the author presents key events in the life of Russian political parties in summer 2005. As usual, the chronicle is supplemented by the analysis of alignment of political forces in Russia during the period in question. Y.Korgunyuk believes that today, at the time of public recession, all types of inter-party connections and relations underwent the erosion. From this point he stresses the processes in the “Rodina” party, as well as a difficult relationship between “Yabloko” and the Union of right forces. A considerable attention is devoted to preparations to Moscow State Duma elections.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-195-218
Pages: 195-218