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Цифровая повестка и интересы стран БРИКС как потенциал для сотрудничества в Арктике
The Arctic, becoming the so-called bifurcation point of international relations, is of interest today not only for Arctic but also for non-Arctic countries, as well as for Russian and foreign researchers, as a new system of international relations is being formed in the region. Being in a situation of limited opportunities and sanctions pressure, Russia continues to adhere to the strategy of rapprochement with the countries of the East, establishing cooperation with China, India and other BRICS countries. These changes can be traced in Russia's external policy concept adopted in 2023, which highlights the Arctic as a separate and important point for the country's further development in a number of areas. One of these significant areas is the digital transformation of the region. However, there are currently a number of problems that directly affect the digitalization of the economy and the development of projects in the Arctic, such as: the digital inequality of the regions; uneven fiber-optic coverage; the high cost of Internet connections; and the growing demand for digitalization of ship navigation in the region.; economic stagnation and population outflow. In this context, as the main aim of this article it seems extremely relevant to explore the potential of the BRICS platform and to follow the interests of individual BRICS member countries in terms of a multilateral and bilateral format of digital cooperation in order to solve the problems and challenges facing the Arctic in the context of its digitalization.
The theoretical and methodological basis of this paper is a combination of several fundamental elements: concepts of geopolitics, such as the theory of "classical geopolitics" and "maritime doctrine", can help to understand the strategic priorities and goals of Russia and other countries in the Arctic, as well as the use of concepts of soft power and public diplomacy, as well as the theory of regimes to analyze the potential of the BRICS and its digital agenda as a new possible platform for cooperation between countries in the field of digital transformation of the Arctic region. As a result of the article, the author comes to the conclusion that the Russian Arctic has a high potential for using digital opportunities. Digital navigation of marine vessels, smart cities, and coordination of housing and communal services can also be identified as key areas of application of digitalization in the economy of the Russian Arctic regions, which are simultaneously important for the region's economy and human quality of life.
Digital technologies help to solve large-scale tasks to slow down climate change and promote sustainable development. The integration of big data plays an important role in effectively achieving the SDGs. In this context, the potential of the BRICS countries in the field of digitalization, common interests and the BRICS format itself create really good prospects for the development of the digital transformation of the region.