Political theories
Keywords: revolution, political order, Modernity, microeconomics, political subject, consensus, rent society
The revolution is both the legitimizing and the negated center of the ideological coordinates of Modernity. In terms of the speed of social change, it is difficult to describe the historical evolution of Modernity from an early industrial, class-national political form to a late, or global, state other than as a low-intensity revolution. At the same time, this permanent modernization is not revolutionary in the sense that periodic splits of elites, elite coups, national liberation movements, etc. by themselves, they do not imply fundamental changes in the value-institutional constitution of the modern political order. Accordingly, the possibility of a new revolution is conditioned by the potential refusal of modern society to deploy the Modern revolution in favor of an alternative utopian political project that surpasses the current configuration of social forces in terms of its ability to political legitimation, universalization and totalization. If capitalism, the liberal consensus that legitimizes it, and the nation-state as the dominant format for their synthesis are the value-institutional quintessence of the modern political order, then challenges to free markets, liberalism, and nationalism will be the most obvious way to crystallize revolutionary movements. At present, despite postmodern and neoliberal criticism of the liberal consensus, growing populism, the obvious limits of the market model of capitalism, the shortcomings of representative democracy, the weakening of the social state, and other challenges to the late modern Political order, we are talking about its internal transformations rather than a full-fledged alternative to this order. In the long run, a serious (and possibly revolutionary) correction of this law may result from the increasing rent adjustment of capitalism.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2020-98-3-6-33
Pages: 6-33
"Deep" Democracy and Political Authority
Keywords: political authority, evolution, cooperation, supernatural punishment, democracy, biopolitics
The article is devoted to the problem of political authority and its features in modern democratic communities. The author interprets authority as a socio-political institution rooted in the biological nature of man and evolving throughout history. According to his concept, trust in political authority is conditioned by faith in an external authority delegating it — God, an imaginary community in the form of a Nation or State, or a value system, which is Democracy. Submission to democratic authority (unlike other types) is based on the "new" normative (moral) Foundation: not "right or wrong, but this is my country", but rather "this country of law, so it's mine".
The author's argument generally rehabilitates the traditional defense of liberal democracy. While acknowledging that postmodern and anarchist criticism of democratic authority has its own logic and grounds, he points out that a number of its provisions do not correspond to the latest empirical data, including from the field of biopolitics. From his point of view, since the main institutional Foundation of democracy is the value system and citizens ' faith in it, it is in principle not afraid of the "state of emergency" itself, which predisposes to the reconstruction of authoritarian practices, since a high level of interpersonal trust, solidarity, faith in democratic values and accountability will allow restoring the "open society" regime. The threat to liberal democracy is a mood of frustration, panic and fear, and if they prevail, it may indeed suffer.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2020-98-3-34-61
Pages: 34-61
Does the Right Precede the Good? (Dispute Between Liberals and Communitarians)
Keywords: justice, liberalism, communitarianism, just law, concept of good, moral merit, solidarity
The liberal theory of justice proposed by John Rawls was almost immediately criticized by communitarians. One of its main directions was Rawls's idea of the priority of law over the good. This article is intended to show that this idea was misunderstood by communitarians, who saw it as an attempt to put law above morality and similar forms of social relations. In solving this problem, N. Shaveko focuses on two objections that are usually raised against this Idea: 1) it breaks the bonds of solidarity; 2) it leaves no room for the demands of local morality. His analysis clearly demonstrates that the concept of Rawls, as well as the liberal project as a Whole, does not belittle the importance of moral ideals and duties of solidarity, but, on the contrary, creates conditions for their implementation. The need to take into account moral views that vary depending on society does not yet indicate that some basic values should not be prioritized over them. Attempts by communitarians, who in fact themselves adhere to certain fundamental values, putting them above any concept of the good, to justify the supremacy of ideas about a good life are not convincing. According to the author, communitarian criticism does not undermine the foundations of Rawls ' theory of justice, but, on the contrary, enriches it. The differences between communitarians and liberals are partly due to the incorrect use of the concepts of "the concept of good" and "moral merit", partly to the untenable thesis that moral obligations can arise solely through membership in a particular community, and partly to groundless attempts to give normative significance to the trivial fact of the interdependence of man and society and to prove the imaginary impossibility of making judgments about justice without defining the goals of certain social institutions.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2020-98-3-62-81
Pages: 62-81
Keywords: political representation, federalism, Federal state, trust, democracy, Poland, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The issue of trust in representatives is one of the most difficult problems faced by representative democracies. It is particularly acute when considering technically and politically complex bills, when a large number of interest groups are involved and/or issues requiring special knowledge are discussed. In such situations, citizens show little inclination to participate in collective decision-making, seeking to entrust the study of all aspects of business parties, NGOs, and other agents of representation, however, feel for those agents, as well as to legislative power, the less trust than usual.
The article attempts to show that the solution to the problem of trust in representatives should be sought in the space of theories of federalism. In particular, the author refers to the concept of federalism formulated by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in "Considerations on the way of government in Poland". His analysis shows that Rousseau, who is generally considered an uncompromising critic of representative democracy, allows in principle the compatibility of popular government with political representation, provided that a third element is added to them — federalism. According to Rousseau, people's government can only be discussed in a situation where citizens themselves are the authors of laws that they obey, which is also possible with political representation — but only if the powers of people's representatives are set by the instructions of voters and people's representatives are willing to follow these instructions. Federalism provides both that and the other. According to the author, the model of Federal structure described in "Considerations on the way of government in Poland", which provides for mechanisms that ensure both the coordination of interests of representatives and representatives and the competence of the latter, creates conditions for establishing trust between representatives and representatives.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2020-98-3-82-98
Pages: 82-98
Electoral process
N. V. Grishin, A. M. R. Linders
Decentralization of the Election Management System
Keywords: electoral research, electoral policy, electoral management, electoral authorities
The article presents the first comprehensive study of the decentralized management system in the field of the electoral process, which includes systematization of the empirical experience of applying the decentralized model of electoral management in different countries of the world and its theoretical understanding. One of the tasks of the work is to rehabilitate the decentralized model of electoral management, which is considered in the modern scientific literature mainly in a negative way. In contrast to this approach, N. Grishin and A. M. R. Linders offer an interpretation of this model as one of the institutional factors contributing to the democratic and fair elections.
Based on the cross-case analysis and the principles of traditional institutionalism, the authors identify the main forms and parameters of decentralization of election management, taking into account both vertical and horizontal dimensions of this process, fix the distinctive features of centralized and decentralized models of electoral management, and analyze in detail the administrative, managerial and political effects of decentralization in the field of election management, such as specialization in the implementation of individual managerial functions, impartiality in decision-making, openness to innovation, inclusiveness, transparency, reduced opportunities for abuse of power, corruption and fraud, and increased confidence in the electoral system and election results. The article shows that one of the most important features of the decentralized model of electoral management is the presence of a kind of system of checks and balances, and considers the prospects for turning the principle of decentralizing election management into one of the new electoral standards.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2020-98-3-99-115
Pages: 99-115
Keywords: elections, election observation, electoral standards, Organization of American States
Although by the beginning of the twenty-FIRST century, the institution of elections has become an integral part of the political system of almost all countries of the world, it does not always guarantee true control of society over the formation and operation of power, often being a decoration designed to legitimize an autocratic regime. In order to fill this institution with real content, standards are required to distinguish real elections from simulated ones. And here the question naturally arises: what influences the formation of such standards to a greater extent — a priori attitudes or practice?
In search of an answer to this question, the author refers to the experience of the Organization of American States (OAS). The subject of his research is the relationship between the recommendations of the OAS observation missions and its guidelines on various aspects of the electoral process. His analysis shows that the recommendations of the observation missions significantly influenced the structure and content of the guidelines on the methodology of election observation, media, and campaign finance, as well as the international electoral standard TS 17582. On the contrary, the guidelines for integrating a gender perspective into OAS observation missions and for the participation of indigenous and African-American people in elections mostly formulate General guidelines that should be used as a basis for making recommendations. In many ways, this also applies to the guidelines on the use of digital technologies in the electoral process. Rather, it dictates the guidelines and guidelines for electoral law, but it has little influence on the recommendations in the field of electoral justice, as well as the organization of political and legal systems, which are mostly empirical in nature and have little correlation with the topics of the guide.
According to the author, the experience of Latin American countries clearly demonstrates that a positive answer to the fundamental question of whether society should control power does not mark the end, but only the beginning of a long process of working out procedures and standards that guarantee the democratic nature of elections. And in the course of this process, there is a great risk of turning on the wrong path, leading to a dead-end or turning into trampling on the spot.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2020-98-3-116-135
Pages: 116-135
Practical sociology
Russian Language in Northern Eurasia: Political and Demographic Factors of Prevalence and Usage
Keywords: post-Soviet countries, Northern Eurasia, language policy, Russian language, Eurasian monitor
The article considers the main trends in the use of the Russian language in the territory of Northern Eurasia (in the former Soviet republics) and factors affecting the degree of its prevalence. The article analyzes the features and dynamics of the language situation in each post-Soviet country (with the exception of Russia and Turkmenistan), describes the situation in the capitals, among young people and people with higher education. The article provides a typology of the former Soviet republics by the degree of prevalence of the Russian language in them.
The empirical base of the research is based on the materials of monitoring surveys of the population conducted by the International Association of research agencies "Eurasian monitor" in 2006-2017. The authors focus on the level of use of the Russian language in everyday communication, determined by the percentage distribution of answers to the question: "Tell me, what language do You usually communicate in the family, at home?". The study also used data on the legal status of the Russian language in various countries of the subcontinent, including the legislative acts adopted in them concerning language policy.
Russian Russian Russian language use in the former Soviet Union is gradually decreasing. This trend is based on both demographic processes (a decrease in the share of the Russian population and a change in generations) and political factors (regulatory measures that restrict the use of the Russian language in office work, the media, and education, and affect its use in everyday life). At the same time, the authors identify a number of factors that work to preserve and even strengthen the position of the Russian language, including a kind of "elitism" of its use and the development of the Runet as a powerful platform for Russian-language communication.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2020-98-3-136-164
Pages: 136-164
Department
L. R. Rustamova, B. H. Bahriev
Features of Public Diplomacy of the European Union in Central Asia
Keywords: soft power, public diplomacy, European Union, Central Asia
The article is devoted to the analysis of public diplomacy of the European Union in Central Asia. The theoretical framework of the study is the concept of "soft power", formulated by the famous American political scientist Joseph Nye. Based on this concept, the authors suggest that the peculiarities of the EU's public diplomacy in Central Asia are largely determined by its lack of "hard power" resources, which saves it from the temptation to combine normative humanitarian goals with power calculations. The main component of European public diplomacy in the region is cultural, educational, and humanitarian projects, whose "soft-power" nature is its main competitive advantage.
According to the authors, the EU's sources of "soft power", as well as its projects in the region, have the potential to turn it into one of the most important partners of Central Asian States. However, the effectiveness of EU public diplomacy in the region is not very high today, which, in the authors ' view, is largely due to the weak representation of the EU in the information field of Central Asia and the lack of PR mechanisms that can regularly inform the local audience about its activities. It is also limited by the presence in the region of other players with whom the Central Asian countries have historically developed close relations, as well as a number of specific EU miscalculations, including the dominance of national cultural projects over pan-European ones and the emphasis on political and legal subjects to the detriment of those that concern the Central Asian countries themselves. Some of these problems were taken into account in the new EU regional strategy adopted in 2019, but it is too early to judge whether it will be able to change the situation.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2020-98-3-165-180
Pages: 165-180
Integration of Politicians With an Immigrant Background in the Political System of Great Britain
Keywords: UK, MPs, Parliament, immigrants, political integration, political participation, political representation
Against the background of mass migration in recent decades, the proportion of deputies of non-European origin in Western European parliaments is steadily increasing. In this regard, the question of the peculiarities of the political behavior of immigrants is of particular relevance. Does increasing the representation of ethnic minorities in higher authorities lead to the radicalization of their demands or, on the contrary, encourage integration into the host community? In search of an answer to this question, the author refers to the experience of Great Britain, which has more than a century of the presence of immigrants in the parliamentary corps.
Having carefully analyzed the life trajectories of British MPs of non-European origin since their appearance in the House of Commons, the author reveals a clear tendency to reduce the share of particularists among them, focused on aggressively defending the narrow interests of their own ethnic group or immigrant communities per se, while at the same time increasing the number of generalists who position themselves as British and are aimed at representing all their voters regardless of their racial, ethnic or religious affiliation. If back in 1987 all non-white members of the English Parliament were particularists and radicals, but in 2017 there were less than 8% of them. The study shows that the increased participation of immigrants in the political life of their new homeland contributes to a weakening of group thinking and a decrease in the demand for particularistic policies.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2020-98-3-181-200
Pages: 181-200