Book
Стратегия России в БРИКС: цели и инструменты
The authors analyze BRICS cooperation as a possible resource for developing G20 and BRICS decisions on key areas of the international financial and economic architecture reform. The chapter starts with assessment of the BRICS members positions on the main dimensions of the reform, including: changing the global system of reserve currencies; international financial institutions governance reform; replenishment of resources of multilateral development banks, creation of new financial safety nets, establishment of the BRICS development bank; effective surveillance system with account of systemic importance of participating economies; overcoming of financial imbalances. Summing up the findings the paper puts forward recommendations for BRICS cooperation agenda on the international financial and economic system. The study helped identify BRICS shared positions on key areas of the international financial and economic architecture reform, and possible action lines for future cooperation.
Building on contemporary social science, we intend to go beyond current Russian studies by creating a new paradigm in the field. In this chapter, we develop the conceptual starting points of this new paradigm and specify our methodological approach to modernity and modernization. We intend to show that Anthony Giddens’ structuration theory gives us instruments for methodological specifications that broaden the horizon towards more comprehensive research programmes. Previous approaches do not seem to find ways to examine both structures and agencies at the same time. Russia’s development is explained either as an inevitable structural process, or only as a result of the intentions of the actors. We argue that it is essential to be able to study modernization both as a representation and as a broader analytical category referring to basic structural challenges.
The rport consists of two parts: The cat that walks by himself? Russian foreign policy at the beginning of the twenty first century by Adam Balzer, and Russia's uncertain future: internal dynamics and possible trajectories by Nikolay Petrov.
The article is devoted to analysis of discursive practices of public representation and discussion of the political course of “modernization” announced by president Dmitry Medvedev. It is focused at interpretations of the idea of modernization by the leading Russian politicians as well as at the role of the notions about collective past, present and future in its ideological justification and contestation.
Nature abhors a "vacuum" - the new power elite arrives at the time of major social and political transformations and endeavours to shore up its position within the country and obtain support from outside. New power groups, which are active at times of revolution and who replace, push aside or even depose the old elites and impose their own control over the state machine and position themselves as new power elite.There are themselves not immune to social transformation, especially in the first decades of coming to their new commanding role. Unless its claims are given legitimacy it is unable to implement its positive programme, which it immediately claims as the national programme. Every country "acquires" a new functioning elite - political, financial and intellectual - from revolution or a change of regime. The old elite may lose control and depart or upon luck may merge into a new combination of social strata of particular country. We also believe that the composition and the structure of elites is the country-specific and reflect one’s country history.
This book seeks to “re-think democracy.” Over the past years, there has been a tendency in the global policy community and, even more widely, in the world’s media, to focus on democracy as the “gold standard” by which all things political are measured. This book re-examines democracy in Russia and in the world more generally, as idea, desired ideal, and practice. A major issue for Russia is whether the modernization of Russia might not prosper better by Russia focusing directly on modernization and not worrying too much about democracy. This book explores a wide range of aspects of this important question. It discusses how the debate is conducted in Russia; outlines how Russians contrast their own experiences, unfavourably, with the experience of China, where reform and modernization have been pursued with great success, with no concern for democracy; and concludes by assessing how the debate in Russia is likely to be resolved.
The particularities of American political system impede the progress of US climate change regime at the federal level. The only possible way to create the comprehensive system of climate change regulation in the USA is thereby the bottom-to-up scheme proceeding from the diverse green initiatives at the level of firms, communities and states.
Considering specifi city of modernization processes in Russia, caused both by internal problems and Russias place in global economy, the author brings an attention to the question of features of standard-values system of Russian reformers. Results of the analysis of 12 values-blocks forming a basis of the variety of the standard-valuable systems of Russians are given.