No 6 (127) (2024)

The article is dedicated to the state of contemporary Russian area studies and their research field in the conditions of high demand for comprehensive and multifaceted approach. The author deliberates on the problem of new normality in connection with the phenomenon of partial deglobalisation. He analyses the interplay between the politics of geopolitisation of relations among leading powers and the institution of nation-state. Also, the topics of foreign interference, resilience and deep state are dwelt upon. Besides, the research looks into an issue of primary and secondary nature of the political and the economical in international relations. The significant part of the work covers the role of civilisations in area studies. The author supports the thesis that civilisational studies occupy a place between area and global studies. At the same time, he questions the validity of the application of civilisational approach to the daily politics in light of its ambivalences and numerous assumptions. Typologically, the notion of border, or multi-composite, civilisation is discussed. The article pays a significant attention to the discourse of juxtaposition of European and Russian civilisations and also raises the problems of conceptual substance of state-civilisation and criteria of historical development. The conclusion is drawn that civilisations’ spaces will continue to be porous and changeable and exposed both to augmentation and fragmentation.

The article considers international activities of Bulgaria towards the Western Balkans states within the context of the EU further enlargement in 2018–2024. The author aims to evaluate the strategy of Sofia policies towards Bulgarian communities in Albania, Kosovo, Serbia and North Macedonia against the background of the internal political situation. Special attention is paid to the Presidential institution, which provides the continuity of the external policies in the situation of crisis of the political parties and parliamentarian system. Though the National Strategy towards Bulgarian citizens and Bulgarian historic communities over the world approved by the Bulgarian Government in 2014 was not further developed, the ongoing international activities of Sofia constitute a strategy of practical actions. In the bilateral relations with Albania, Kosovo and Serbia Sofia insists on constitutional guarantees of the Bulgarian historic communities’ status and rights. The inclusion of Bulgarians in the list of national minorities in the Albanian legislation serves as argument in the negotiations with the other two states. In the bilateral relations with the Republic of North Macedonia Sofia puts forward the guidance of the good neighbor principles according to the treaty on friendship, good neighborhood and cooperation signed on August 1, 2017 aligning the constitutional recognition of the Bulgarian minority with history, language and identity issues considered by special bilateral multidisciplinary commission. The activities of Bulgaria are based on its strategic evaluation of the abovementioned states’ perspectives, are being substantiated with the European legal norms, meet the support of the society and rely upon Brussel’s understanding and support.

The article presents the results of a study of the evolution of the complex anti-Russian sanctions regime of the Western world in general and European sanctions regimes in particular. The analysis of unilateral anti-Russian sanctions measures initiated by the states of the BalticScandinavian macroregion in addition to the general sanctions regime of the European Union is carried out. Special attention is paid to the attempts of the countries of the Baltic-Scandinavian macroregion to play a leading role in the formation of new anti-Russian sanctions of the European Union, as well as measures addressed to countries of the Global South that do not share the goals of the EU's anti-Russian policy. Estimates of the impact of the anti-Russian sanctions regime of Western countries on the Russian economy are analysed. The result of the study is the periodisation of the stages of its formation in the period from 2014 to 2024, a comprehensive assessment of the initiatives of the Baltic-Scandinavian macroregion countries to shape new antiRussian sanctions of the European Union and the approaches of these countries targeted at the countries of the Global South.

The article examines a number of aspects of the process of updating the approaches of the United States and the European Union to the problems of the Middle East (ME), as well as attempts by Washington and Brussels to coordinate their actions under the new conditions. In the United States, the voices of politicians and experts are growing who believe that, despite the fact that threats from the ME are much more significant for the security of Europeans, the latter refrain from increasing their participation in Middle Eastern affairs, still relying on America's military power there. In turn, many European politicians do not hide their disappointment in the US approaches to a number of crises in the Middle East, and increasingly reproach them for the “loss of American leadership” on the world stage. The need for Europeans to increasingly rely on their own strength and resources, formalized in the form of the concept of the EU's “strategic autonomy”, is today determined not only by the situation around Ukraine, but also by the increasing level of conflict in the Middle East – namely, Israel's military actions against Hamas extremists in the Gaza Strip, direct clashes between Israel and Iran, the activation of pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.

Germany's economic Standort, as a crucial component of the European Union's broader economic and political space, largely shapes its competitiveness. In his September 2024 report on this topic, Mario Draghi gave special, though understandibly insufficient, attention to Germany's role. This article aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the competitive strengths and weaknesses of Germany's economy. The author employs a spatial approach, viewing the German economy as a Standort product, intentionally shaped by the executive and legislative authorities at all levels, in collaboration with key stakeholders from business, academia, education, and active segments of civil society. The author concludes that inefficiencies in the federal government's economic and political activities, including inadequate dialogue with stakeholders, along with structural problems accumulated over recent decades in the national economy, have been major contributors to the decline in Germany's competitiveness. Prospects for reversing this negative trend remain uncertain. Without stronger leadership in Berlin and more effective Standort collaboration, there is a risk that Germany in the medium term.may continue to be the «sick man of Europe».

The paper deals with the results of the study aimed at assessing the influence internationalization has on the performance of leading European transnational corporations (TNCs) approximated by their company value. The authors test a hypothesis that high level of international operations results in extra competitiveness of the TNCs under review both domestically and in foreign markets. Data on about five dozen largest European non-financial companies from UNCTAD World Investment Reports for 2018‒2022 are in the focus of regression modeling analysis. The findings show no significant relationship between transnationality index changes and value of the companies under review. The authors provide some possible reasons associated with the regional peculiarities of European firms to explain the obtained results.

The article examines the specifics of Germany's trade with Turkey in comparison with the characteristics of all-German foreign trade. The author shows the successful development of the Turkish direction of German foreign trade after 2010, the roles of Turkey and Germany as trading partners, and examines in detail the structure of bilateral trade. Structural changes are analysed on the basis of the electronic database of German Federal Statistical Office, which allows to use the statistics in three profiles – four product groups, thirty branches and 248 product items. Particular attention is paid to the changes that occurred in 2023. The unit costs of exports and imports by product groups are calculated and a significant difference in favor of Germany is revealed for the main product group – finished products. The main branches of export and import are identified and compared with analogous branches of all-German trade flows. Based on this comparison, the peculiar features of the Turkish export market (increased role of the automotive, mechanical engineering and chemical industries, the growing importance of the production of vehicles other than cars) and the import source (increased focus on the automotive, clothing and engineering industries) are formulated. Both the most important and the most promising individual commodity items in bilateral trade are identified (the first include aircraft for export and outerwear for import, the second include auto components and cars for import). The conclusions about the likely increase in the importance of imports from Turkey and the imminent entry of this country into the top ten trading partners of Germany are substantiated.

Historically, foreign trade played a big role in the states development and became the basis of socio-economic well-being. It is possible to imagine the existence of ancient villages and communities practically isolated from large centers, providing themselves with food and a set of craft tools. However, when production processes and socio-economic structures become more complex, it became difficult to guarantee self-sufficiency even for states with a population of tens and hundreds of millions of people. This task is extremely relevant for states at the present stage. In this regard, export promotion became one of the priorities, both in the context of Russian policy within the framework of the national project “International Cooperation and Export” and at the supranational level of the Eurasian Economic Union. This article is dedicated to an integrated approach to restructuring instruments for promoting foreign trade.

The article presents an analysis of the main mechanisms for regulating risks caused by the malicious use of artificial intelligence (MUAI) in the USA, the EU and China. The relevance of the MUAI problem is proven by numerous data on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies by antisocial actors. The authors set a goal – to identify the specifics of regulating MUAI risks in the USA, EU and China – due to the innovative experience of these three jurisdictions. It was found that in the USA counteraction to MUAI has not yet been shaped into systemic decisions at the level of federal authorities. It is more about decisions that take into account the growing risks of MUAI within the framework of general regulation of AI and the safety of its use. The EU has adopted the world's first Law on AI, which however pays little attention to the MUAI issues, and the main initiators of proposals to counter and regulate risks are law enforcement agencies, such as Europol. In China, MUAI risk regulation is most centralized and is becoming the subject of strategic documents and legislative acts. The authors use a systemic approach when considering various options for MUAI threats and formulating the research conclusions.

As a result of the technological revolution, there is a doubling of the reality in which modern man operates. Many resources, activities, public and private services are moving to a virtual environment. Along with the phenomena of the surrounding world that are familiar to people, their digital varieties arise, closely interacting with their real-life counterparts. The article is devoted to digital inequality and digital poverty, the evolution of approaches to their study in domestic and foreign academic literature. It is concluded that the theories explaining their existence organically complement each other, giving an idea of the necessary and sufficient conditions for full human participation in the life of a network society. The coverage of different segments of the population with new technologies was not uniform. Special attention is paid to the factors preventing vulnerable segments of the population within the European Union from taking full advantage of technological innovations and fully participating in society. The division of society into digitally engaged and outsiders is a big social and political problem that humanity will have to deal with in the 21st century.

The article analyzes the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on the ideological confrontation between identists and antiidentists (ultraliberals, supporters of “liberal democracy”) in the world and the influence of crisis on the prospects of the further consolidation of identism. Identism is considered as the worldview of parties and movements that defend identity and traditions, family values, and criticize immigration to varying degrees and with different accents. It is emphasized that the appeal to identity is increasing in current political decisions and discussions. It raises the question of rethinking the “clash of civilizations” through the dynamics of universalism and particularism, referring to tradition and the protecting identity in the programs of political parties. The analysis of political conflicts and speeches by the leaders of parties and movements demonstrated that anti–Russian policy and the policy of “cancel culture” towards Russia have become a manifestation of a new round of confrontation between mainly Western antiidentism and an emerging global force ‒ traditionalism or identism. Most politicians, public and cultural figures were faced with the dilemma of whether to make a choice in favor of Russia in order to dissociate themselves from antiidentism or to stay away. The logic of confrontation is based on the displacement (in the consistent and harsh application of cancel culture) of one's ideological opponent into a marginal field, if it is not possible to achieve his complete destruction as a social or political player. The Ukrainian crisis has made the confrontation between identitarians and antiidentitarians more pronounced at the international level and opponents of antiidentism have become part of the political space of most countries. The most important feature of the confrontation between the two ideological systems is the significant presence of supporters of various opposing parties in almost all countries and regions.

The work of the Spanish sociologist Luis Miller is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of polarisation typical of many countries of the modern world ‒ the division of society into two confrontational, or even warring camps. The monograph examines the causes, nature, varieties, consequences of polarisation, possible ways to overcome its negative consequences. Based on the Spanish experience, the author compares it with the political practice of those countries where similar processes are developing. The monograph demonstrates that polarisation is based on the identification of a person with a particular social community, a certain political choice. In this case, there is a comparison with the Other, which becomes a catalyst in the formation of a common group identity. The Other becomes a catalyst in the formation of a common group identity. L. Miller identifies three types of polarisation ‒ ideological, affective and everyday, giving a characteristic of each of them. Spain in the last decade has become one of the most polarised countries in the world. Among the main causes of polarisation, the author highlights the existence of persistent mass unemployment and deep social inequality, the unresolved territorial problem, expressed in the existence of a strong separatist movement in Catalonia. The transformation of the Spanish party system ‒ the transition from bipartism to a real multi-party system ‒ also played a role. The emergence, along with traditional new very influential parties, led to the formation of left and right political and ideological blocs, relations between which are characterised by a high degree of intolerance. The author sees the effective way to combat the negative consequences of polarisation in reducing the severity of economic and social problems generated by inequality and social exclusion.