Suchergebnisse

The article reviews importance of seeking new formats and modalities (political-military, social, economic, and ideological) to achieve a long-term solution to the Syrian conflict. Until now, Russia remaining a major ally of official Damascus has not fully used its potential to create favorable conditions for the post-conflict recovery of Syria. By the Syrian case, the author puts forward a hypothesis about genesis of the "security matrix" which is embodied by regiments of the Russian military police deployed across the country. In addition to routine security functions, those people – often at risk to their lives – have been performing peacekeeping, humanitarian, economic, and diplomatic tasks. Such activities including facilitation of local reconciliations create new post-conflict realities of social life. Absence of a notion of the "security matrix" in political economy and diplomacy explains the novelty of the present research. The article also contains an attempt to present both a schematic image and description of the "security matrix" as a pattern of behavior whereas multiple functions carried out by the Russian military contribute to launching national mini-dialogues, strengthening public order and security as well as to improving the humanitarian and economic situation. A SWOT-analysis serves as the optimal proof of the mentioned hypothesis. In conclusion, the author outlines continued dependency of the "security matrix" on internal and external factors. At the same time, he speaks about perspective use of the Syrian experience in formulating Russian peace-building strategies to resolve other conflicts. This in turn might contribute to strengthening Russia's role in international relations.

The article contains a country case study of the pre-conflict Syrian Arab Republic of the 2000s illuminating the "low-level equilibrium trap." This universal theoretical notion was developed in the 1950s by R. Nelson for developing countries. It monitors dynamics in the balance between insufficient savings, investments, relatively low income per capita, and high rates of demographic growth. The relevant imbalances largely caused the failure of attempts carried out in the 2000s by the Syrian authorities to secure a quick transfer from the "Socialist heritage" to the socially oriented market economy. The latter was viewed through the lenses of the "Modern Syria" national concept as the Syrian authorities were de-facto trying to copy the experiences of the People's Republic of China. In pre-conflict Syria, by hampering sustainable development, the above-mentioned "stalemated balance," i. e. stagnation, could be compared with other challenges for the Syrian economy like the "poverty trap" along with the "security trap" which emerged after the outbreak of the conflict. Examining for the first time the Syrian version of the "low-level equilibrium trap" together with the dichotomy of premises has acquired practical importance in terms of understanding the genuine roots of the Syrian conflict. It allows the author to acknowledge that the conflict itself has been inspired not by hostile activities of foreign actors only but by domestic drivers as well. The author analyzes the "strength" as a key feature of the "low-level equilibrium trap" which determines perspectives of exiting it with the impact of multiple factors and comparing Syria with neighboring countries. The problematic nature of the above-mentioned feature is likely to be kept after the start of the full-scale post-conflict reconstruction with the Syrians returning to a peaceful life. Finding an exit from the "low-level equilibrium trap" to ensure the effectiveness of the national economy presents an imperative.

The crisis in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia have been causing severe damage to the food security at global, regional, and national levels. The Arab world has not been an exemption: disruption of logistic chains in the Black Sea region and increasing volatility of grain prices, aggravated by demographic boom, the global warming, and water deficit, generate high risks of producing new hunger hotspots and the "Arab Spring 2.0.". Meanwhile, the United States and its allies are trying to benefit from growing challenges in the Middle East and North Africa, employing of the "carrot and stick" tactics. While the compromise "grain deal" has been temporarily extended, it does not solve the problem, but only somewhat alleviates it. However, despite all the difficulties and the deep differences between Western and Russian interests, including in this region, Russia can even more significantly contribute to enhancing food security of the Arab countries, acting on the basis of equal and mutually beneficial cooperation with the Arab world.

The article reviews current scholarship and debates on state capitalism as well as studies of this phenomenon in Russia.Aim. This article aims to review current scholarly debates on state intervention in the Russian economy and identify key positions in this field.Tasks. In the second part of the article, we review the existing research on state capitalism in Russia.Methods. This article compares scholars' positions and identifies divisions in the field.Results. In the second part of the article, we show that, since the early 2000s, Russia was widely seen as a paradigmatic case of the state's return to interventionist policies. We demonstrate that the first wave of studies in the 2000s, with a few exceptions, considered state capitalism in Russia to be an instrument of patronage and rent-seeking. However, subsequent research questioned this claim. State capitalism in Russia was now seen as an instrument of solving social problems, particularly in monotowns, a geopolitical tool and a way of defending national sovereignty, as well as a vehicle for financialization.Conclusion. Multiple empirical studies of state capitalism in Russia published in the 2010s demonstrate its complexity and versatility. However, the results of empirical research are yet to be systematized and the Russian political economy still lacks a macro analysis that would consider all of its structural and institutional dimensions.

The article reviews current scholarship and debates on state capitalism as well as studies of this phenomenon in Russia.Aim. This article aims to review current scholarly debates on state intervention in the Russian economy and identify key positions in this field.Tasks. In the first part of the article, we reveal the history of the concept of 'state capitalism' and review debates on the 'new state capitalism', its developmentalist, political, social and other interpretations.Methods. This article compares scholars' positions and identifies divisions in the field.Results. In the first part of the article, we demonstrate that the concept of 'state capitalism' has been discussed in the Marxist tradition since the late 19th century. However, the crisis of 2008-2009 marked the renewal of mainstream interest in this phenomenon. There are several interpretations of state capitalism. Industrial policy view treats state capitalism as a way of stimulating economic growth and technological development. Social policy view considers it to be an instrument of solving social problems, such as unemployment and high prices on certain goods and services. Political view envisions state capitalism as a vehicle for rent-seeking and patronage. Geopolitical view treats it as an instrument of foreign policy and the defense of national sovereignty. State capitalism is also seen as a vehicle for financialization and globalization. State capitalism is studied both on the microlevel of specific industries, regions and projects, and on the macrolevel of the national economies.Conclusion. Current debates on state capitalism comprise a dynamic, multidisciplinary research field. Within this field, the Russian case should be investigated in the comparative perspective.

Транзитные зоны перехода от суши к морю представляют собой области, в которых проведение геофизических работ обычными методами крайне затруднено. В арктических морях России дополнительные трудности связаны с коротким полевым сезоном, неблагоприятными гидрометеорологическими условиями, жесткими ограничениями, накладываемыми на методику работ требованиями природоохранного законодательства. Для получения качественных сейсмических материалов исключительно важны выбор наиболее подходящей регистрирующей аппаратуры, оптимальная с точки зрения производительности система наблюдений и методика работ, современное программное обеспечение контроля качества. Цель данной статьи – показать созданную в ОАО «МАГЭ» технологию 2D 4С сейсмической съемки на основе автономных донных станций, обеспечивающих проведение сейсморазведочных работ в транзитной зоне с регистрацией обменных волн (PS), что позволяет вывести региональные 2D исследования на более высокий уровень. ; Transition zones of transition from land to sea are the areas where it is extremely difficult to conduct geophysical works with conventional methods. In the Arctic seas of Russia, there are additional difficulties associated with the short field season, unfavorable hydrometeorological conditions, and severe restrictions imposed on the methodology and acquisition techniques by requirements of the environmental nature protection legislation. To obtain high-quality seismic data it is extremely important to select the most suitable equipment for data acquisition, optimal shooting geometry and data acquisition methodology, and the most advanced data processing and quality control software. The purpose of this article is to show developed at JSC MAGE 4-component 2D seismic technology based on use of the autonomous bottom stations. It allows conducting the seismic regional 2D survey in the transit area with registration of converted (PS) waves at higher efficiency level.