IV Congress of Political Scientists
Contradictions and Threats of the XXI-st century.
In his lecture at the IV-th Congress of the Russian Political Science Association, A. Galkin focused his attention on the main contradictions and threats of the XXI-th century. In the lecture they were conventionally divided into the primary, secondary and tertiary ones. According to the author the first group of threats is related to the major problem of modern humanity - its growing pressure on the environment. The second group incorporates the consequences of the progressing globalization or, to be more precise, its negative aspects. And the third group incorporates the threats related to inadequate political practice on the alignment of the new world order. A. Galkin stresses that his estimates only deal with the tendencies which may be implemented to bigger or lesser extent. However, in order to mitigate their impact, a certain political effort based on what is to be expected and what is to be prepared for will be required.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-6-21
Pages: 6-21
At the IV-th Congress of the Russian Political Science Association, J. Higgley spoke about the direct linkage between the phenomenon of elites and democracy. In his opinion democracy never emerged without preliminary or associate shaping of consensually united elite, and no democracy survived after the decay of such elite. On the basis of his perennial studies of the political elites of Norway, Australia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, John Higgley forecasts the “recalibration” of the mentality and actions of the consensually united elites under the new conditions (but not their decay).
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-22-31
Pages: 22-31
XX Congress of the International Political Science Association
International Political Science Congress in Japan - “Does Democracy Work?”
Y. Irkhin describes the current state of affairs in political science reviewing it through the prism of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) activities and structure and its last XX-th Congress. Being the participants of three IPSA congresses, the author analyzes the priority changes of the world political scientific community. The article mostly dedicated to the XX-th congress held in Japan covers the review of the theoretical areas represented at the congress, the problems of the sessions of all the thematic sections and research committees. The author comments on the most significant contributions made at the congress in Japan and evaluates the IPSA contacts with Russian political scientists.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-32-49
Pages: 32-49
To the 15th Anniversary of Political Technologies
Political subcultures – distant and close.
The article is based on the results of the political survey conducted by the Center of Political Technologies commissioned by the Government of Moscow. The authors compare the views of the representatives of 4 political subcultures (“liberal”, “patriotic”, “pro-power” and “soviet traditionalistic”). The attitude to such values as “social justice”, “morale and family”, “patriotism”, “freedom”, “tolerance”, “market” and “West” were used as indicators. On the basis of the empiric data analysis, the author designs the hierarchy of values typical for different political subcultures revealing both the crossing points of different subcultures and the distance between them. The author tries to assess the process of centrifuging of these subcultures from the Soviet center in the period since the disintegration of the Soviet power.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-50-73
Pages: 50-73
Vladimir Putin’s Associates: Who Will be the President in 2008?
The author generalizes suppositions and forecasts who will be President V. Putin’s successor. He reviews such candidates as Dmitriy Medvedev, Sergey Ivanov, Sergey Sobyanin, Vladimir Yakunin, Alexander Tkachev, Alexander Konovalov made by political commentators and analysts. This is an opportunity for A. Makarkin to analyze the alignment of forces in the power and the composition of Putin’s surrounding. According to the author, even when the current president makes his choice the issue of the succession format will not be exhausted yet. A. Makarkin believes that after the next presidential elections Russia will evolve to more “collectivistic” leadership within which the political arbitration will be carried out not so much by the new head of the state but by his predecessor.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-74-87
Pages: 74-87
Forecast
Three alternative scenarios of the events after the elections of 2007-2008 (“political decentralization”, “new monocentrism” and “the third term”) are reviewed by the author. The author points to the signs of the fragmentation of the current political regime in which he seeks to determine its reasons and the extent to which it can be controlled as well as the conditions under which it may become uncontrollable. The work covers the evaluation of the potential centers of power and influence in the framework of the changing political balance.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-88-93
Pages: 88-93
Post-Soviet Space
NATO enlargement and Russian national interests.
The article covers the research of NATO transformation, its real essence and the nearest prospects. In this respect the author makes an attempt to answer questions about potential new difficulties and threats created by NATO dynamics for the Russian Federation. In the work, A. Arbatov closely reviews the geographic, military political and operational technical aspects of this transformation. Special attention is paid to preventive and response measures which Russia could undertake. The author identifies the strategic line of the Russian politics on NATO as two interrelated aims. First, avoiding the front opposition to the NATO enlargement to slow down or to prevent its aspects contradicting the Russian interests, and second, via different channels of cooperation to make Russia’s role more significant then the role of many old members and, more so, new members. The maximum task is to try using the block’s resources for Russian interests.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-94-103
Pages: 94-103
Energy Security and Personal Security in the CIS (Human Dimension of the Post Soviet Integration).
The author reviews the prospects of the maintenance and development of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The models of the CIS and the European Union integration are compared. The article covers the attempt to determine the level of the interrelation of economic (including energy) and political factors and their ability to influence the future of the post-Soviet integration. In the work, a special emphasis is made on the humanitarian component of cooperation with the CIS countries.
According to V. Petrovskiy, CIS needs the priority changes and the radical renovation of the mechanisms of its work. Otherwise it can go on existing in its current shape a bit longer, but gradually loses its influence in the post-Soviet space and sinks into political oblivion.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-104-116
Pages: 104-116
Ukraine: the Metastasis of the Disintegration.
The title of the article is not accidental. K. Truevtsev tends to doubt the stability of the Ukrainian statehood. In his opinion the attraction to the external forces (whether it is the West or Russia) prevails over the domestic Ukrainian consolidation. The author is convinced that under the current dynamics the poles have a tendency for further divergence. Under the current structural functional characteristics, the Ukrainian statehood is reaching a point where the Unitarian principal declared in the Constitution is becoming not more than fiction, and any action (or lack of action) of the central power leads to its destruction.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-117-128
Pages: 117-128
Book Review
According to the critic the authors of the collective paper definitely managed to implement the task of using the institutional methodology in order to analyze the processes of Russian political transformation. L. Fadeeva notes that the paper incorporates both parts covering the analysis of notions, concepts, institutionalism approaches, its transformation and the texts of different years and different authors where institutions act as objects. Furthermore, the authors’ attitude to institutionalism varies – from commitment to its methodological principals to the support of other political cultural concepts. L. Fadeeva believes that the result of such a combination allows to assess the development of modern political science with its problems, opportunities, limits and variability.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-129-133
Pages: 129-133
The author immediately clarifies that he reads the book from the point of view of the differentiation of the professional Russian historical science from the general context of the political thought. He focuses his attention on the articles by V. Kurennoy (on intellectuals), M. Remizov (on conservatism), B. Makarenko and À. Makarkin (on liberalism), T. Dmitriev and M. Fetisov (on the left-wingers), V. Malakhov (on modern Russian nationalism), an interview with B. Kapustin, S. Kordonskiy, V. Radiev. Andrey Kazantsev comes to the conclusion that this very differentiation is not completed and that it leads to a number of negative consequences including the gap between political science and social political reality, the weak differentiation of the structure of political science, and the insufficient self-organization of the scientific community.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-134-139
Pages: 134-139
Chronicle
From Pseudo Dominance to Pseudo Hegemony? News of Russian Party Building – summer 2006
In the section traditional for “Politeia”, the main events in the life of Russian political parties in summer 2006 are presented. As usual this chronicle is accompanied with the analysis of the correlation of political forces in the country for the period. The author comments on the changes in all the segments of the Russian political spectrum. Y. Korgunyuk especially dwells on the new aspects in the development of the Russian party system related to shifting from the dominant system (with the “United Russia” in its center.) The declared unification of the “Russian party of Life”, “Russian party of Pensioners” and “Fatherland” is interpreted as another attempt to develop the populist part of the electoral field.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-41-2-140-170
Pages: 140-170