RESEARCH ARTICLES. History of International Relations
The earliest maps entirely or at least partially dedicated to Muscovy appeared in Europe in 1520s as a result of an increasing interest in this land. Around this time a famous Italian humanist Paolo Giovio promised in his book «Libellus de legatione Basilii magni Principis Moscouiae ad Clementem. VII. Pont. Max.» to reproduce a map of Muscovy in print (in tabula typis excusa). But the map didn’t appear either in the first nor in succeeding editions of the Giovio’s book.
Nevertheless, the map was discovered even in two versions. The first was found in manuscript atlas made in the first half of the 16th century in Venice by cartographer from Genoa Battista Agnese. The second one is a printed map prepared, as it seems, by Paolo Giovio for his book but for some reasons not added to it. Both maps have much in common, as a kind of introduction to them serves almost the same inscription: «Moscoviae tabula relatione Dimetrij legati descrypta sicuti ipse a pluribus accepit, cum totam prouinciam minime peragrasse fateatur anno M.D.XXV. octobris».
After examining the two earliest maps of Muscovy I can support the opinion already expressed in historiography that for their resemblance they might be the variants of the same map. Nevertheless, there are some important and obvious differences in location of geographical objects and their names, which are difficult to account for in case the one map is a reproduction of the other.
The fact that the first two European maps of Muscovy appeared in autumn 1525 coinciding with publication of three books about this country written by Paolo Giovio, Albertus Campensis and Johann Fabri is indicative of a great and intense attention which Europe payed to Muscovy in its oriental boundaries around this time. These maps complement the descriptions of Muscovy in above mentioned books by giving detailed and visual representation of Muscovy land as a complicated geographical object. We must acknowledge their authors – in spite of a great number of mistakes – were able to cope with this task.
The authors focus on the historical evolution of the relations between Russia and the West and attempt to suggest their own vision on the future prospects. The aforementioned relationship span centuries of history. At times, these relations were peaceful, while at times, “Russophobia,” on the one hand, and anti-Western feelings, on the other, served as a backdrop to military clashes. The authors pay special attention to the events of recent decades that have posed new threats and challenges. Given the current militarization and securitization of world politics, strategic stability, which is highly dependent on relations between Russia and the West, is being called into question. After Crimea became part of the Russian Federation and hostilities began in the Donbass region, anti-Russian sanctions were imposed, and Russia, in turn, passed counter-sanctions legislation. Therefore, Russia’s relations with the United States have sharply deteriorated. Likewise, comprehensive ties with the European Union have been frozen. The West, mainly the United States and UK, has launched anti-Russian campaign. As a mirror response Russian media also dazzles with speculations about "the decay and decline of the West". Consequently, Russia has declared its “shift to the East”. A real psychological war is being waged between Russia and the West, with both sides resorting to the latest advanced technology in their propaganda. A number of Russian politicians grew supportive of some Western movements and parties of the right spectrum, the so called “sovranists” who aimed at withdrawing their countries from international treaties and unions. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 elections as the Republican right-wing candidate, who pledged to improve US-Russia relations, was much praised in Moscow. The authors conclude that recent constructive Russian-American meetings and the 2019 meeting in the Normandy Format which contributes to conflict resolution in the South-East of Ukraine can facilitate positive developments of Russia’s relations with the West.
Traditionally the phenomenon of the European integration towards South East Europe is regarded starting from the XXI century. The explanation for such a periodization are resolution of the open conflicts on the territory of the former Yugoslavia and implementation of the complex EU strategy for the region. Starting point of the majority of researches is the year of 2003 when the EU Agenda for the Western Balkans was started in Thessaloniki. The topic of EEC-Yugoslavia relations, SFRY having been first socialist country to institutionalize its trade and economic relations with Brussels, are unfairly ignored in domestic and foreign scientific literature. It is regarded solely as a chronological period of trade agreements. Nevertheless, this issue is of fundamental importance for understanding the current neighborhood of the European Union. The main thesis the author proves is that in the 1960s and 1980s as it is the case nowadays, the main imperative of Brussels' policy towards the Balkans was to prevent Moscow from increasing its influence. This led to the formation of a very specific format of relations with Belgrade and was one of the reasons why the economic crisis in Yugoslavia became extreme and its economy irreformable. In addition, at a later and structurally much more complicated stage of relations between the countries of the former Yugoslavia and the European Union the specificity and main components of relations of the Cold War period did not fundamentally change. As for the policy of so-called containment of the external actors one could see that besides Moscow, we can speak about similar attitude of the EU towards China. It makes it possible to consider the EU policy towards the countries of the former Yugoslavia in the paradigm of neoclassical realism, rather than in the paradigm of traditional liberal European integration approaches which allows us to unite neorealists elements with the specifics of internal processes, including the modernization of institutes, relations between society and state, types of political leadership.
The article is devoted to one of the aspects of the US European policy after World War II: the issue of loans and credits to affected countries. Using the example of Czechoslovakia, the author tries to answer a number of important questions: did Washington have a sound financial and economic policy towards this country, what goals did it pursue, what were its results? The study is based on the US Department of State archive documents and papers of the American ambassador to Czechoslovakia L.A. Steinhardt. The US financial policy towards Czechoslovakia in the early post-war years was the subject of intense debate in the United States. The author reveals evidence of serious disagreement between economic and political divisions of the State Department about providing of financial assistance to Prague, its size and terms of lending. Particular attention is paid to Steingardt’s position and his attempts to determine American loans and credits to Prague by upholding the property interests of American citizens. These disagreements hindered the development of a single thoughtful course regarding the Czechoslovak Republic and complicated diplomatic relations with Prague; negotiations on the allocation of large loans for the economic recovery of the Czechoslovak Republic dragged on. A fundamental role in the establishment of a new US political course had Secretary of State James Byrnes’ decision, made in the fall of 1946, on the inadmissibility of providing assistance to countries that have taken anti-American positions. This approach was finally entrenched after the Communists coup in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, when the country entered the Soviet sphere of influence. The article concludes that the post-war US policy was not distinguished by integrity and thoughtfulness.
Fernand Braudel, the economic historian, gave a key for reading the power struggles occurring today between the United States and China. «Just as a country at the center of a world-economy can hardly be expected to give up its privileges at international level, how can one hope that the dominant groups who combine capital and state power, and who are assured of international support, will agree to play the game and hand over to someone else?» In other words, the ruling circles in the United States, the hegemonic power of today, want to keep their leadership, China, the rising and challenging power, would like to replace the USA as the hegemonic country: the trade war starting in 2018 should be analysed in this context . The paper will deal with the recent developments of this hegemonic struggle: within the American establishment, the Pentagon and the US Department of Commerce have regained control over «Wall Street» which has resulted in an updated version of the US military-industrial complex, with China replacing the USSR in a new "cold war". Complex strategies are developped on both sides, involving manufacturing, technology, trade, financial, diplomatic and military issues. Referring to this geo-economic key for reading, a number of actions taken by the US government since 2018 aims in particular at checking China’s mounting economic and financial power. For the United States, it is about challenging the development of China’s influence in the world, in particular along the new maritime Silk Roads.
RESEARCH ARTICLES. New Technologies and Nonviolent Means of Influence in International Relations
Discussions on the impact of digital technologies on national and global processes are rising. Among important issues is the role of large Internet platforms (Facebook, Google, Alibaba, etc.) - key players of the digital markets and in the digital innovations – in producing global leadership / dominance. The article argues, that on the economy side existing USA-China duopoly on the platform markets creates asymmetric advantages for both nations resulting (in future) in unprecedented influence on global processes (up to “digital colonialism”). It is doubtful that potential competitors from third nations may ever destroy this duopoly. Also, the information functions of the platforms are reviewed as resource for global leadership. Noting the evolution of assessments (from techno-optimistic views of platforms as engines of democracy to alarmist views of their role as a “backdoor” for the opponents and adversaries) we accent platform`s growing information impact on the global processes (digital diplomacy, etc.). However, here the USA-PRC duopoly is also actual. Dilemma of alternative solutions to boost the influence of third nations in the new digital, platform economy still may be resolved. Since data is the key resource for the digital markets and platforms, formation of data regulatory regimes appears to be an asymmetric solution. The experience of the EU with its GDPR and other efforts to form new data/digital regimes may serve as a model. Exploiting its` large data market as a competitive factor, the EU may neutralize part of the advantages of stronger actors and orient global platforms towards a more acceptable strategy. However, regulatory practices should be complemented by the development of digital technologies, as well as regional- or national-level platforms. A serious challenge also lies in achieving needed market scale (in order to influence global platforms) and – in the future – in competition of jurisdictions.
Social media analysis is widely used in economics, sociology, in medical studies of spreading infectious diseases and in forensic science to stop terrorist networks and drug proliferation. Social media analysis is also used in political sphere. Opinion leaders are increasingly participating in social media. The Internet is a reflection of the real world, it has the same laws as in real society. The ruling elite controls the media and social media as well as it controls the means of production. The article addresses the role of social networks in the foreign and military policies of states and other actors. The spread of leadership networks is at its early state. The potential of this Internet resource format is enormous. There is every reason to assume that economic crisis makes such resources even more popular. During economic crisis many people are left alone with their problems by their government and they are even more motivated to social cooperation and mutual assistance in social networks to receive valuable information, attention and support from the outside.
The problem of sanctions effectiveness as a means of a regime change is one of the key issues for researchers in the field of sanctions policy. The case of U.S. and UN sanctions against Iraq is one of the most vivid examples of how sanctions can be effective in terms of limiting the undesirable international behavior of a country, while failing to instigate a regime change and severely hampering the social and economic conditions for general population. The article discusses the dynamics of restrictive measures against Iraq during Saddam Hussein regime, the problems of regimes adaptation to international sanctions as well as the evolution of U.S. and UN sanctions against the country. For this purpose the authors reviewed the key UN sanctions documents, as well as the evolution of the main aspects of Iraqi political regime with regards to the power distribution between different groups. The research shows that sanctions aimed at regime change failed to fulfill this task. Despite constantly degrading social and economic conditions, the Saddam Hussein regime demonstrated considerable resilience. This can be attributed primarily to the use of contradictions of complex tribal and religious composition of the country, as well as to oppression and a relatively effective re-distribution of the scarce resources between different power groups. Under these conditions, even the presence of intra-elite conflicts strengthened the regime, rather than weaken it. Another important factor was the very policy of external pressure on the elite and the country as a whole. The severity of restrictive measures was partially offset by the presence of programs such as “Oil-for-Food”, which, given the poor development of the programs themselves, as well as corruption schemes involving its executors, reduced pressure on the regime and, consequently, the effectiveness of sanctions. Thus these factors contributed to the ultimate failure of the sanctions policy towards Iraq in 1990-2003.
The development of the socio-humanitarian dimension of world politics provides new opportunities for enhancing the role and influence of the middle powers in the global affairs. That is why for understanding and assessment of their political opportunities on the international arena, it is necessary to analyze the approaches and policies of such countries on using socio-humanitarian factor to balance in the existing world balance power and ensure their foreign policy interests. The aim of the article is to analyze South Korea’s activities in the social and humanitarian sphere of world politics in the context of its foreign policy interests. The research question is: what is the role of the socio-humanitarian factor, in particular public diplomacy, in the external activities of South Korea with regard to the settlement of the Korean question? The author argues that South Korea sees social and humanitarian sphere as a possibility to strengthen its role and influence on the international arena. While developing the discourse of South Korea as a middle power, the South Korean leadership seeks to take part in creating norms and rules in different fields of global governance. Despite controversies concerning its status and policy as that of a middle power, South Korea advances through public diplomacy the discourse that constructs and enhance its middle power status and can contribute in forming the corresponding national identity. South Korea uses national branding as well to strengthen its political image. Further, the article points out that promoting South Korea’s stance and defending its interests on the Korean Peninsula represent a key task of South Korea’s public diplomacy. In particular, the article examines South Korea’s public diplomacy mechanisms on the Korean track towards the United States and emphasizes that although South Korea has actively engaged in public diplomacy in the USA, it still has a lot to do to explain South Korea's concerns to American political elites and U.S. publics and ensure that the relationship with the United States fully serves South Korean interests. Moreover, it is noted that enhancing South Korea’s role in global governance as well as forming constructive unification discourse (unification as a process now and as a result someday in the future) within the country and abroad are supposed to expand its opportunities to maneuver in the regional politics of East Asia and provide support for the South Korean initiatives on the Korean settlement. In the end, the author turns to the inter-Korean relations. The author states that different South Korean administrations have prioritized different functions of the socio-humanitarian factor. Conservative administrations put an emphasis on information pressure on the DPRK while the development of inter-Korean relations was conditioned by the denuclearization of North Korea. Progressive administrations prefer engaging the DPRK in social, humanitarian and economic interactions. In the first case the result was a rollback in inter-Korean relations with the North Korean leader-ship receiving additional grounds for the development of its military nuclear program. In the second case the social and humanitarian area was and remains a dimension providing promising opportunities for cooperation that is beneficial to the both parties as it is aimed at solving specific and practical problems of common interest. In that sense, the author argues that social and humanitarian factor in inter-Korean relations could serve as a safety cushion during intensification of the inter-Korean conflict and provide a launch pad for finding a way out of the impasses.
BOOK REVIEWS
Review of the book «Modern political science: Methodology» ed. by O. V. Gaman-Golutvina and A. I. Nikitin, Moscow, Aspect Press, 2019.
The article examines some of the resentment related issues of modern politics, using a number of methodological approaches (identitarian approach, constructivist institutionalism, cultural and civilizational approaches, psychological-political and elitist, as well as gender approaches), described in the collective work of the Russian renowned academics "Modern political science: Methodology". These are the cleavages between traditional politics vs post- and pseudo-politics (shift from the normal politics made by consolidating broad strata to self-centered, exclusive, and increasingly differentiated and closed groups of pseudo-policies), conventional political leadership vs populism and anti-elitism (the rapid growth of populists on a global scale, the spread of anti-establishment sentiment, "populism of power" and the crisis of responsible leadership), formal and informal institutions vs personification of politics (reducing the role of institutions and increasing the importance of the human factor ), socio-economic basis of policy vs socio-cultural basis (emphasis on ethnic, religious and gender factors). The resentment as both the cause and effect of identity politics, is a result of an unfair distribution of goods and evils of globalization, or the manifestation of accumulated negative emotions and unjustified expectations. It generalizes these trends and issues and requires new research approaches, since traditional rationalistic approaches based on the theory of rational choice become less effective. To meet the challenges of resentment era, political science should keep balance between rationalism and reflexivity. This balance provides a single epistemological basis for the study of current political reality. It has been successfully reached by the authors of the book "Modern political science: Methodology". The book posits the idea of the fundamental irreducibility of methodology to the sum of the methods. In this regard the volume differs from similar publications aiming to present a wide scope of political methodology. The logic of the representation used by the editors is moving from general to particular, from societal to human, from global to local. The book demonstrates the wide diversity of methodological approaches and the rejection of the ideas of universalism, which adequately characterizes the state of Russian political science. The work is remarkable because it not only reflects, but also structures the Russian political science.
This article is a review of the recently published Russian translation of Andrzej Valitsky’s monograph “In the circle of conservative utopia. The structure and metamorphoses of Russian Slavophilism”. The publication of the monograph of the Polish historian and philosopher in Russian last year was accompanied by considerable interest both in the conclusions of the author himself and in the topic that he touched on in the book. The purpose of this review is not so much to convey the contents of Andrzej Valitsky’s book, but to analyze the validity of his individual conclusions and the degree of objectivity of the proposed view on the history of Slavophilism and the degree to which it is conditioned by the events of Russian history.
ISSN 2541-9099 (Online)