Some scholars have claimed that democratic regime type needs to be treated as a necessary precondition for the formation of a pluralistic security community. This essay argues that one should not overestimate the explanatory power of linking the democratic peace proposition to the study of security communities. Democratic values, norms, institutions, and practices may certainly facilitate the formation of a security community, but it is by no means the only or even most plausible path to assure dependable expectations of peaceful change. While a number of authors have of late made similar claims, what is not settled is why non-democracies can form security communities. The findings in this essay advance scholarship on this issue by showing that the same causal logics commonly attributed exclusively to democratic security community formation are also present in the formation of non-democratic security communities. The study adds empirical evidence to this argument by developing a historical case study of the Sino-Soviet relationship. In sum, the findings demonstrate that (1) democracy is not a necessary (though facilitating) precondition for the development of a pluralistic security community and (2) a pluralistic security community may form between autocratic regimes based on the causal logical nexus of non-democratic norm externalization, ideological coherence, a common Other (normative logic) and autocratic domestic institutional constraints (institutional logic). 

On March 24, 1999, on the pretext of protecting human rights NATO began its aggression against a sovereign European state – the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Historically, it was the first military strike against a sovereign state in response not to external aggression, but to internal conflict. The escalation of the Kosovo conflict to the scale of a «humanitarian intervention» raised a sharp question about not only the contours and principles of the 21st century world system, but also about the limits of the functionality of supranational (first and foremost force) structures. The NATO aggression had both short-term and long-term consequences. The article analyzes three groups of consequences: international-legal, military strategic and geopolitical. In the analysis of international-legal consequences, we investigated the process of legitimation of «humanitarian intervention» and «responsibility to protect». In the analysis of military strategic consequences, the emphasis is given to the processes and procedures of the transformation of the Serbian army into a dysfunctional system and the creation of conditions for accession of the Republic to NATO. Since Serbia is the central element of the Balkan policy of Western countries and organizations, the question is extremely important. Geopolitical consequences of the aggression we analyzed through the prism of political technologies of political coups tested in Serbia in October 2000 and used later in different regions of the world. The study is preceded by a short historiographical review of the latest literature on the topic. The conducted multilevel analysis of the consequences of the NATO aggression in 1999 gives an opportunity to formulate fundamentally new conceptual foreign policy approaches of modern Russia foreign policy.

The symbolic significance of membership in NATO is widely recognized by Russian and foreign experts. However, attempts to systematically assess its role as a marker of the political status has not been made. This article intends to fill this gap, considering not only positive, but also negative consequences of symbolic capital associated with the NATO membership. In order to determine the possible contradictions, benefits and costs for states from participating in the alliance, the authors examined the record of its three participants – France, Germany and Turkey. The comparison of these three cases enables to trace various status consequences of participation in a bloc for players whose material capacities and overall symbolic capital in the international system undergo different transitions. The theoretical literature and empirical record of the selected NATO members confirm that states compete in the international system for highly differentiated symbolic capital embodying various kinds of recognition. Status markers are complex social constructs, combining various political meanings. Meanwhile, states are not always able to control which types of social recognition will be activated by their inclusion in particular institutions. Despite the fact, that they may be interested only in some of the meanings associated with a status marker, they are compelled to take into account its other political connotations. As a result, NATO membership could bear for states a range of various social consequences. This could lead to a situation when several of them are equally relevant for the same actor, but some contain positive value, while others are assessed negatively. In addition, actors could face a contradiction between the status and practical consequences of participation in the alliance.

The article examines Finland's case within the framework of current discussions on the relevance of neutrality policy. It is widely believed that Finland's neutrality arose during the cold war as a result of a pragmatic assessment of the general world order at that time. The military non-alignment is regarded from this perspective as a rational and necessary policy for a small state in the bipolar world. After the cold war some politicians and researches argued that under the new conditions the policy of military neutrality is not relevant anymore and that belonging to the Western community is the only choice. However, Finland's military non-alignment policy and reliance on self-defense have remained unchanged for almost three decades. Finnish authorities have consistently pursued this line with a strong support of the majority of population. The reasons for that cannot be explained only as a rational political choice of a small state in certain geopolitical realities, the issue is more complex. Some Finnish researchers consider neutrality as part of the Finnish national identity. Using this approach, the author examines the genesis and development of neutrality policy as part of its national identity, which evolved at the junction of East and West. The article examines the influence of Sweden and Russia on the development of Finland’s statehood and its foreign policy. Sweden determined the political structures and inculcated Finns with the Scandinavian identity. The role of Russia in the beginning of Finnish statehood was crucial. It formed the subsequent Eastern vector of Finland’s foreign policy. The symbiosis of Western (Swedish) and Eastern (Russian) vectors gives Finland additional advantages, allowing a small state to claim the role of a «bridge-builder» between East and West. The author concludes that this complex combination has created the prerequisites for neutrality expressed in the policy of military non-alignment. Neutrality as a part of Finnish national identity has deep historical roots. It was born together with the Finnish statehood and has been staying with it despite all the changes in international environment.

The article analyzes the current political crisis in France, the most striking manifestation of which is the «gilets jaunes» (yellow vests) movement. The current crisis is partly a consequence of the protracted identity crisis at both extremes of French political spectrum, resulting from a long period of relatively conflict-free alternation of left and center-right parties in a relatively favorable economic environment that accompanies the development of a consumer society and a social state. This model, which can be called «consumer democracy», has failed with the onset of the global economic crisis. The «stepsons» of modern capitalism, who are used to relying on social guarantees from the «welfare state» persistently reject the neoliberal recipes favorable among elites for dealing with the crisis. A wave of «gilets jaunes» protests seems to be contingent on the specific situation that emerged in France during the presidential elections of 2017 and the beginning of the era of Emmanuel Macron, who aims at restructuring French society and economy. Its main feature is the growing public disbelieve in and simultaneous collapse of both political parties that occupy and divide the French political Olympus at the time of power transition. Macron’s supporters enjoy an absolute majority in the Parliament without any meaningful opposition capable of opposing the president. It allows for a rapid rate of reforms but produces a backlash from society that perceives the situation as a violation of the dialogue between voters and legislators. Dissatisfied people without any hope to be heard join the ranks of the mass spontaneous movement of «gilets jaunes», triggered by the introduction of the so-called «environmental» tax. This movement can be viewed from different perspectives – political analysis can be complemented by historical anthropology, because the spontaneous nature of the protest resembles the anti-tax uprisings of the 17th-18th centuries. From a philosophical point of view, it seems to be a reaction of outsiders to deep social transformations associated with the pauperization of the middle classes, globalization, waves of migration and the digital revolution. The government’s response – revocation of the law that triggered the movement and the launch of «big national debates» – led to a relative decline in the activity of «gilets jaunes», but the main reason for the downturn is preparation for the upcoming European elections, which could be used as an opportunity to voice their discontent with the president and to return the civil protest in the electoral channel. The «gilets jaunes» movement hardly has any political future, but its experience, social potential and methods can be used in future protests, since its main agenda has not been exhausted – reconciliation of the neoliberal economic policies with the interests of the disadvantaged part of French society.

The aim of this study is to analyze the use of foreign aid for stimulating economic development using the case of Pakistan and to find out advantages and disadvantages of raising national financial resources through foreign aid. The article analyzes the evolution of the policy of attracting financial resources through this channel, as well as the main Pakistani donors and their conditions.

The author uses the most representative theories which consider the consequences of attracting foreign assistance to the national economy making the theoretical basis of the study a synthesis of the concept of aid as the most important factor to stimulate development and M.A. Rahman’s approach to determining an impact of foreign aid inflows on economic growth. The article emphasizes that foreign aid has always been very significant in stimulating the development of the Pakistani economy due to the serious limitation of the volume of national capital since its independence. The author considers the effectiveness of assistance provided to Pakistan during the import substitution period of its economic policy. The construction of large objects of heavy industries and infrastructure in various regions of the country was financed from external resources.

The article also analyzes the current volume, conditions and forms of foreign assistance provided to Pakistan. The author considers the main donors of the Pakistani economy in the 1990s and 2010s and reveals the tendency of shifting the terms of aid’s allocation from grants to concessional loans, which inevitably leads to an increase in the volume of the country's external debt.

Development of the global knowledge-driven economy requires the intensification of scientific, technical and educational cooperation in order to ensure competitiveness, technology transfer and improve the quality of life of the people. This task is particularly relevant in integration associations: over the past 20 years the European Union has proved the effectiveness of scientific, industrial and educational cooperation in the interests of economic integration. The Eurasian economic Union is only at the beginning of this promising path and faces a number of difficulties.

The purpose of the article is to analyze the state and prospects of cooperation of the EAEU member States in the field of science and higher education. The main thesis of the author is that the launch of the process of the common Eurasian educational space will increase the effectiveness of achieving the goals of the Union Treaty, improving the quality and quantity of economic growth. The pilot projects of the Eurasian technology platforms, especially in the space field, not only serve as examples of successful interaction of mixed research teams, but also give a political signal of the readiness of countries to coordinate their national interests with long-term integration plans. Cooperation in the field of higher education lays the Foundation for a single market of qualified labor resources, contributes to the formation of the personnel potential of the Association, the development of relations between the youth of the "Eurasian five", the interpenetration of common values and ideas.

Political and financial support for Russia gives an important impetus to the development of scientific and educational cooperation in the EAEU. However, many projects are hold up due to the lack of popularization of the ideology of Eurasianism and nationalist rhetoric rooted in the partner countries of Russia. The solution of these problems is in the adoption of joint measures to strengthen ties in the triangle «comprehensive information support of the Eurasian idea – scientific and educational cooperation – loyalty of the people to the integration project». If we extrapolate the neo-functional principle of «spillover» to the scientific and educational component of the integration processes, then with the effective implementation of such measures, if successful, this strategy will lead to the formation of a public demand for deepening integration cooperation, including the field of science and education, which, in turn, will bring benefits of economic integration and strengthen the international competitiveness of the EAEU.

Today in Russia the system of the state scientific certification undergoes significant changes: the powers of federal executive authorities are delegated to the educational and scientific organizations. As a result, independence in the choice of mechanisms, orders and procedures of formation of dissertation committees and criteria of awarding academic degrees is allowed. At the same time reinterpretation of axiological bases of dissertation culture through overcoming the problems connected with authenticity and quality of dissertation researches, by increase in reputation responsibility of the organizations and scientists takes place. On May 31, 2019 it will be a year to the moment of transition of the MGIMO University to a new model of the state scientific certification. According to the model developed by the MGIMO University, awarding an academic degree comes by the results of the defense of a thesis at a meeting of the dissertation committee of 5 doctors of science, three of which are employees of the MGIMO University, and two are invited scientists from other organizations. Two of five are experts with publications in the scope of the research combining the role of a member of the dissertation committee and an official opponent. The result of the defense is politically variable: alongside with the possibility of taking the negative decision awarding an academic degree without completions of the text and also under the condition of insignificant and considerable completions of the text of a research is allowed. The lack of such opportunities in the practice of awarding academic degrees existing in the domestic dissertation culture excluding modification of the manuscript submitted to defence after holding a meeting of dissertation committees, as well as other defects of the historically developed model of awarding academic degrees, defined the fastest transition of the MGIMO University to a new model of certification. «MGIMO Review of International Relations» discussed the main milestones of formation and key problems of development of the domestic dissertation culture with P. Kasatkin and E. Antyukhova.

Abstract: Review of the book by Egorchenkov D.A., Danyuk N.S. Hybrid Dragon and Chimera of War. Мoscow, UNITY-DANA Publ., 2019. 367 p. (in Russian)