Suchergebnisse

The article discusses various options for the institutional construction of imperial structures, one way or another identified with the classical empire of Rome. The review covers the Roman tradition proper and the formation of successive versions of the imperial-republican complex. There are two ways of using institutional: direct and direct inheritance with predominantly vertical transfer of properties and indirect perception with predominantly horizontal transfer. The continuation of its modified existence of the Roman tradition in the form of the theocratic symphony of the Kingdom of the Romans (Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων) in the eastern Mediterranean and Chrysalis (theocracy with a feudalized horizontal and hierarchical vertical) of the Christian Republic (Respublica Christiana) in Western Europe is considered. There are three attempts to restore the completeness of the imperial structure even within the framework of the Western European chrysalis: the successful Charlemagne, not quite successful in the form of the Holy Roman Empire, and the completely unsuccessful efforts of the Plantagenets to establish an empire in the west of the Christian Republic during the Hundred Years' War. Further variants of the already mediated reproduction of the classical Roman orders in the United Kingdom, and then in the United States, as well as in the First French Empire, are being analyzed. Other imperial projects focused on the Roman heritage are also touched upon. The experience of European integration and the EU's use of republican and imperial aspects of the Roman complex, the use of institutional models of the Christian Republic and the Carolingian Empire are discussed. Special attention is paid to the imperial component of the national political tradition. It is shown that in all the cases under consideration, the imperial component is combined with other orders from patrimonial and monarchical to modern (corporate, consociative, federal, etc.). The use of the Roman heritage is carried out in the form of direct reproduction, indirect restoration, partial copying, imitation and even simulation.

The article considers how social networks produce an online memory of the Soviet past. Social networks are described as arenas that are open and accessible to many actors. These actors operate in a freer discursive field, not limited in their activity by dominant narratives about the past. It has been noted that social media can be used by citizens as a means of discussing the shared past and can act as a counter to elite discourse. In order to understand how the discussion of the Soviet past is structured in social media, a qualitative content analysis of three online group records and comments on them was conducted. The goal was to examine the main themes and arguments, as well as the characteristics of the discussion that emerged. Three popular social networks in Russia were chosen: Vkontakte, Instagram and Facebook. Three records with the most generalizing topic, devoted to the Soviet past, were selected. It was shown that during the process of constructing new meanings and creating interpretations, the actors of online memory rely both on the official discourse of the political elite about the Soviet past and the Russian present and on their subjective biographies and personal experiences. At the same time, social networks provide opportunities for the creation of alternative and counternarratives. The conclusion is made about the «absorptive» properties of the memory of the Soviet past, since actors are able to build into it any current events, including the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some of post-imperial spaces (especially former colonial ones) face with the emergence of hotbeds of instability on their territory. This problem may be delayed and has emerged long after the declaration of independence. One of the key examples is the armed conflict in Mali (since 2012) that was part of former French colonial empire. If the state cannot independently overcome a diverse internal crisis, it will have interest in playing by external actors the roles of its secure and stable development guarantees. The article shows the features of this process, using the concept of tidal and ebb "waves". The author tries to explore German strategic penetration to Mali and G5 Sahe countries (also Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, Tchad) as the traditional zone of French interests. The scientific paper issues why exactly the post-imperial spaces of former French colonial empire were the key directions of Bundeswehr usage not only in Africa but also in Asia. The features and "narrow places" of German-French cooperation in Sahel is presented. Berlin has been trying to achieve strategic autonomy from France in the region. Germany has used the "roll-over" tactic. It means the usage of the resources, including military, in areas that France itself did not pay due attention to. The article shows FRG`s contribution in multilateral strategic penetration into Mali in 2013–2015 (before the signing of inter-Malaysian agreements), during the second half of 2010-s and in the beginning of 2020-s where there were two military coups in the country. The paper concludes about the perspectives of strengthening of German line in «G5 Sahel» countries for the perspective.

The article examines Emmanuel Macron's attempts to respond to the request of the French society to reduce the distance between the country's elites and the rest of the population, to make them more open and transparent, which included the purpose to fight corruption. In this regard, the authоr analyzes the particularities of the French elites in the previous era, the accumulation of problems giving rise to anti-elites sentiments among the French. Special attention is paid to the meritocratic system of social advancement, based on the criteria of the highest competency, as the main mechanisme of the reproduction of the elite stratum and preservation of its caste character. Emmanuel Macron, before his election to the presidency in May 2017, assured that he did not belong to the «caste» and promissed to take measures to reduce social inequality and renew elites. The article considers a certain reformatting of the party-political elite stratum after the victory of his «Republic on the Move!» party in the 2017 parliamentary elections, as well as steps aimed at improving school and university education in order to increase the effectiveness of «social lifts». At the same time, it is noted that a number of elements of the meritocratic system were preserved and even strengthened. The results of most of the reforms undertaken by the president have been half-hearted. Meanwhile, social unrest in the country, the movement of the «yellow vests» confirmed the growth of the anti-elites sentiments and the urgency to combat social discrimination. The coronavirus pandemic temporarily changed the priorities of the population, however sooner of later, these problems will get top on the agenda again.

In the XXIth century armed forces of world countries` face the need to counter the sharply increased range of security threats. The growing number of them are untraditional (have non-military character) and projected from distant regions. An effective answer can be found only by the structural reform of armed forces. During the XXth century the key direction of armed forces` structural reforms was the creation the new (technical) kinds of troops. In the XXIth century structural reform has another key direction, that is the creation of interspecific groupings of troops. Each of them should have its own geographical (near or far from the national borders) and functional (the types of security threats) zone of responsibility. The goal of the article is to explore the realization of the scheme of armed forces` structural reforms on the example of the Bundeswehr. The reason of the choice of Germany is its unique position as the only emerging power among Euro-Atlantic member states. The article explores the features and «narrow places» of the creation by Germany of scheme of perspective armed forces` creation and its realization from 1990-s until mid 2010-s. The author covers the results of the creation of general forces and forces of crisis management in the key kinds of troops (land, naval, air). The article shows the change of trajectory of the Bundeswehr`s development since the second half of 2010-s in the context of long-term plans aimed at the ending of the structural reform. In the conclusion the author shows the importance of the armed forces` institutional reforms for the stats as the whole and Germany and the features of the dynamics of this process for the Bundeswehr.

The purpose of the paper is to track processes of radicalization in Central Asia (CA) leading to acts of terrorism in Europe and to show the Western approach to the multiple drivers for violent extremism in СА. The revival of Islam throughout the region was a natural factor, as it filled the ideological vacuum formed after the collapse of the communist ideology, and the radicalization of Muslims could not be a consequence of these processes. Western scholars are viewing the efforts of the CA governments to counter radicalization and violent extremism through the lens of the «Western values» framing them in human-rights terms. The authoritarian states of Central Asia do monitor the activities of all religious groups and individuals but the author is sure that such religious restrictions cannot lead to violent extremism in Central Asia. The conflict is not between Islam and secularism, the real dispute unfolds within Islam: the traditional faith opposes radical brands of Islam. The governments of Central Asian states are not opposed to Islam per se, but rather to radical, politicized Islam, which serves as a framework for political opposition. Hundreds of Central Asian citizens travelled to the Middle East to support Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. The populations most at risk of radicalization are residents of the border regions of the CA states, ethnic minorities, youth, migrants, divorced women and orphans. Geographic proximity of the region to Afghanistan also matters. Now the exodus to wage jihad in the Middle East or in Afghanistan is not an immediate threat, but it should be borne in mind that the surviving IS fighters are returning to Europe, Central Asia and Russia.

В статье рассматривается политика Р.Т. Эрдогана в отношении турецкой общины ФРГ. Отмечается, что с момента его прихода к власти в 2003 г. Турция стала усиливать активность в отношении проживающих на территории ФРГ соотечественников. Основными направлениями новой политики являются сохранение турецкой идентичности, политический контроль над диаспорой и подавление инакомыслящих. Статья предоставлена автором для публикации в бюллетене «Россия и мусульманский мир».

The article examines the Balkan vector of the Belarus' foreign policy in the context of the concept of a multi-vector policy. It is noted that the Republic of Belarus (RB), created as an independent state after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, initially attached great importance to the establishment of mutually beneficial relations with different countries. This approach laid the foundation for the subsequent formation of the named concept. The thesis is expressed that the implementation of a multi-vector policy entailed certain contradictions. They were based on the need to constantly maintain a balance in relations between the Republic of Belarus and countries that have different economic and political systems and are members of various regional associations. On the one hand, Belarus has established strong allied relations with Russia and joined organizations such as the EAEU and the CSTO. On the other hand, it actively established trade and economic relations with the countries of the European Union, as well as with China and the United States. The main attention is paid to the Balkan vector of international cooperation of the Republic of Belarus, first of all to the Belarusian-Serbian relations. It is noted that the Belarusian leadership sought to cooperate with other Balkan countries, involving them in the orbit of trade and economic ties in the EAEU markets. The main research methods are the content analysis method and the predictive method. The author analyzes the features of the modern political situation in Belarus, caused by the ambiguous results of the presidential elections on August 9, 2020. It is concluded that the confrontation between the authorities and society will have negative consequences for the foreign policy of the Republic of Belarus, for its relations with other states, including the Balkans.

The new issue of the journal «Current Problems of Europe» opens with the problem-oriented article, dedicated to the analysis of the state of the Balkans / South-Eastern Europe region and its development in 2000-2020. The author gives a systemic description of the processes taking place in the intra-national and international intra-regional political, social and economic development of the countries of the region, and the problems generated by them. The changes are associated with a difficult transition phase, experienced by the states of the region, for the most part belonging to the post-socialist world (Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania). The exceptions are Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, however, these three states are also going through a difficult period in their history, associated with new problems both in interstate relations within this triangle, and in relations with NATO and the EU, as well as with Russia. The article discusses the specifics of translating the terms «people» and «national» into Russian, as well as the toponym Kosovo (Serb.) / Kosova (Alb.), and ethnonyms «Bošnjak» and «bosanac». The first part of the issue contains articles devoted to general problems of regional studies: the relationship between the terms Eastern Europe, Central Europe, South-Eastern Europe, Balkans, Western Balkans; comparative and political science subjects; the role of the European Union and China in the development of the region; the relationship of national Serbian, post-Yugoslavian and European culture and intellectual heritage as well. The second part of the issue examines the relations of the Balkan states with the states of Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Romania, Belarus), as well as the specifics of their development in the post-socialist period. Thus, there is the possibility of a multilateral - historical, political and cultural, as well as comparative analysis of the development of this complex region, which is of great importance for international relations worldwide.

The likely terrorist capacity of the Muslim community in Germany is examined in relation to the ethnic and religious diversity of this community. Domestic policy measures taken by state structures to prevent and combat Islamic terrorism are shown and their effectiveness is investigated. Due to its domestic politics, Germany too late realized the necessity of integrating the Muslim diaspora into national life and close monitoring of the activities of Islamic organizations present in the country. At the beginning of the new millennium, when the danger of Islamic terrorism became apparent in the West, there was a strong Muslim diaspora in Germany, ethnically diverse, practicing different trends in Islam, functioning in parallel to the life of the state and vulnerable to radicalization. Aware of the need to integrate Muslims, German government entered into a dialogue with Muslim organizations and alliances that displayed interest in it. At the same time, Islamic organizations which were incapable of or not interested in domestic political integration were politically and legally marginalized. The government's course towards radical Islamic associations was significantly tightened during the 2015–2017 immigration crisis, when the country accepted large contingents of Mus-lim refugees and when German citizens became victims of terrorist attacks. There is now a (mostly) well-coordinated, structured fight against Islamism, which includes both preventive and repressive measures and involves all levels of society, ranging from state authorities to civil society organizations.

France is currently going through a rather difficult period of reforms carried out by President Emmanuel Macron in order to bring the economy out of prolonged stagnation and restore the country's «greatness» in the world. Macron's reform initiatives, based on monetarist recipes and the concept of supply-side economics, are considered in the context of the global trend towards economic liberalization that began in the 1970 s and included most developed and developing countries. Until now, changes in France have been slow, with a great lag from other European countries and accompanied by mass protests of the population, because they run counter to the principles of the post-war dirigiste socio-economic model. France went through a long period of liberalization and retreat of the state, and the French model of the market economy has acquired a kind of hybrid character: it is no longer a dirigiste, but also neither a liberal model of the classical (Anglo-Saxon) type. The President set a task to bring the neoliberal transformation of the French socio-economic model to its logical end by reforming institutions that do not meet modern challenges. The article analyzes the most important reforms that were carried out by French presidents before E. Macron, in order to reduce the public sector, change labor law and collective bargaining procedures, reduce social expenditures of the state, etc. The role of E. Macron in neoliberal reforms during the presidency of F. Hollandeis shown. Particular attention is paid to the tasks and content of E. Macron's landmark reforms, including the reform of labor legislation, tax reform, the reform of the state monopoly in the field of railway transport, and the incomplete pension reform. The President has surpassed his predecessors in terms of the scale and significance of neoliberal reforms. This is unquestionably major breakthrough in neoliberal transformation, which will have an impact on the further development of the country's economy.

The article examines specifics of integration of the Chinese diaspora into French society. The author identifies several Chinese communities, differing by the place of origin, such as «Indo-Chinese community» (from Southern Vietnam), «Wenzhou» (county in Zhejiang province), «Dongbei» (from the region of the same name of the PRC). The study reveals the influence of «push» («exodus» from Vietnam) and «pull» to the country of immigration («Wenzhou» and «Dongbei» communities) factors. The paper investigates social heterogeneity of the diaspora, from the «artisan proletariat» and small merchants to wholesalers and financiers. The author analyzes common features originating in cultural identity. The importance of ethno-cultural characteristics in the integration of the Chinese and their success (as a «model minority») is emphasized. The paper discusses the nature of anti-Chinese sentiments in French society (ressentiment). Using the case study of the Chinese diaspora, the author raises the question of the possibility of multicultural integration in contemporary France.