Political Theories
Keywords: political form, metaphor, center, hierarchy, city, nation, empire
What is political form? What is it as an analytical category and as a political thing that it represents? After raising this question and realizing that there is no explicit and operational definition of political form in the scientific literature, S.Kaspe offers his own definition: “the integrated composition of mutually complementary spatial metaphors of authority that under certain conditions of time and place for a certain polity (or ensemble of polities) plays the role that is simultaneously descriptive, ascriptive and prescriptive, constitutes that very form of the polity (or ensemble of polities)”. Such view allows him to make several nontrivial observations regarding the modern state of the Western political form and its prospects.
Ideologies
TOWARD STUDYING RUSSIAN CONSERVATISM: HISTORY AND METHOD
Keywords: conservatism, Russian context, conceptualization, methodological strategy
Having stated that authentic history of the Russian conservatism in all of its important aspects has not been restored yet, L.Polyakov concentrates his efforts on solving two tasks: testing to what extent the view that the modern Russian conservatism is rested not only upon the Soviet and emigrant conservative “underground”, but also on the rich conservative tradition of the 19th – the beginning of the 20th century is adequate, and inventorying cognitive tools that help us to research, describe and classify the very phenomenon that is termed as “conservatism”.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2012-67-4-29-44
CHURCH CONSERVATISM IN MODERN SOCIETY
Keywords: Russian Orthodox ChurchOutside of Russia, modern society, emigration, clergy, conservatism
On the basis of the experience of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in building relationships with the state power, society and its own flock D.Anashkin shows that the Church is capable of carrying out its service in the modern society without abandoning its inherent conservatism. In order to function efficiently in the secular world, the Church does not have to fall into the reckless reforms since careful preservation of the canons, tenets and liturgical rite that were accumulated during centuries is far from being equivalent to transforming into the bygone epochs relic. The author concludes that the most important for the Church is to preserve its independence since it is the only case when its free voice can be heard.
Russian Polity
THE RISE AND DECLINE OF ELECTORAL authoritarianism IN RUSSIA
Keywords: political regime, electoral authoritarianism, Russia, democratization
Nowadays almost none of the serious-minded specialists uses the term “democracy” when talking about the situation in Russia. According to the opinion of many experts, the political regime that was established in the country should be qualified as electoral authoritarianism. What are the key parameters of the Russian version of such regime type, reasons for its emergence, mechanisms of its sustainment and possible trajectories of changes? Searching for answers to these questions V.Gel’man analyzes institutional and political factors that are responsible for the rise and consequent decline of the Russian electoral authoritarianism, considers main stages of its establishment and development, discusses variants and prospects of its transformation.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2012-67-4-65-88
Leonid Bliakher, Nikolai Pegin
CORRUPTION AS POLITICAL PROBLEM: WHO, HOW AND WHY FIGHTS CORRUPTION IN RUSSIA
Keywords: corruption, anticorruption discourse, administrative market, “benefits of illegality”
The article is devoted to analyzing the reasons that encouraged actualization of the corruption topic in the Russian society. Tying the evolution of anticorruption discourse to the twists and turns of the post-Soviet Russian political history, the authors show why corruption that was so obvious in the 1990s was neither purposefully curbed nor even viewed as an acute problem, whereas in the 2000s, when there was significantly less corruption in its legal understanding, all of a sudden it moved to the front of the public opinion and then, in the 2010s, it transformed from being a social and economic problem that it used to be during the whole previous time period, into the highly important political problem.
Russian Regions
Keywords: policy implementation, foreign labor force, “ethnical market”, Chinese shopping center
In the article the author considers implications of the ban on foreign traders in retail markets on the material of the Amur region. Having analyzed the results of such ban from the view angle of articulated motivations for its introduction (creating new jobs, changing the format of trade and decreasing unaccounted turnover), T.Zhuravskaya comes to the conclusion that none of the defined goals were accomplished: the mechanisms of conducting business became even less transparent, the format of trade hardly changed, the opened shopping centers were filled with the same migrants, whereas the local entrepreneurs not only failed to gain anything, but also found themselves in the situation of dishonest competition.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2012-67-4-104-123
GLOBAL CITY IN FAR EAST: STRATEGIC direction OR “potemkin village”?
Keywords: APEC, “Eastern direction”, Asian-Pacific Region, global city, local community, Vladivostok
The article analyzes the prospects of transforming Vladivostok into the global city in the East of the country. Having considered the factors that underlie the corresponding plans, Ye.Galkin demonstrates that today these plans contradict interests of the local community that for now rejects the idea of including the city into the global space.
Foreign polities
Victor Sergeev, Sevak Sarukhanyan
MODERNIZATION AND POLITICAL ISLAM IN TURKEY
Keywords: Turkey, modernization, liberal democracy, political Islam
Having thoroughly analyzed history of the emergence of the Turkish secular state and its consequent transformation, V.Sergeyev and S.Sarukhanyan draw the conclusion that it is wrong to explain success of political Islam in Turkey only by the current political conjuncture or charismatic qualities of Recep Erdogan. According to their assessment, political Islam in the country will continue to be enhanced. At the same time, the authors show that the victory over kemalist institutions is nowhere near the statement that the “Turkish model” of political Islam succeeded. In reality it is still at the stage of development and will soon face serious challenges with the main one being ideological.
Antithesis
PURPOSE AND VALUES OF NEW CONSTITUTION
Keywords: constitution, political and legal structure, values, liberalism, etatism
In the article the author discusses the most important philosophical and political questions regarding the potential renewal of the Russian constitution. Being confident that the elaboration of alternative versions of the Basic law should be conducted without looking back at the possible distribution of political forces that will occur by the moment of constitution review, N.Rozov proposes and justifies doctrine of civil-state partnership contrasting it with the extreme versions of etatism, liberalism and “life arrangement”.
Practical sociology
PROBLEMS OF NORTH CAUCASUS AND EFFICIENCY OF STATE POLICY IN LOCAL POPULATION ASSESSMENTS
Keywords: republics of the North Caucasus, socio-economic problems, public opinion, state policy, protest sentiments
On the basis of the materials of the comprehensive sociological research project "Public opinion and efficiency of state policy in the North Caucasus" conducted in 2011 by the Institute of Social Marketing, the article considers the key problems of the North Caucasus and their reflection in the consciousness of the local inhabitants. According to the authors’ conclusion, the Caucasus is a seething region and it creates difficulties for the rest of Russia because it is the region of the integral socio-economic distress and acute ethno-confessional controversies. Overcoming these problems requires significant increase in the efficiency of state policy and its adjustment to the real demands and needs of the population.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2012-67-4-169-185
Gubernatorial Readings
“RESOURCE CURSE”: MYTH OR REALITY? Tenth Gubernatorial Readings. Tyumen, October 9th, 2012
Keywords: “resource curse”, raw-material economy,oil and gas complex,Tyumen region
The material published here is a report on the Tenth Gubernatorial Readings held in Tyumen, October 9th, 2012, under the framework of the joint project conducted by the journal Politeia and the administration of Tyumen region with the topic being the impact of the resource abundance on the economic development and a lecturer – K.V.Simonov, Head of the National Energy Security Fund.