Publications

This book explores Russia’s efforts towards both adapting to and shaping a world in transformation. Russia has been largely marginalized in the post-Cold War era and has struggled to find its place in the world, which means that the chaotic changes in the world present Russia with both threats and opportunities. The rapid shift in the international distribution of power and emergence of a multipolar world disrupts the existing order, although it also enables Russia to diversify it partnerships and restore balance. Adapting to these changes involves restructuring its economy and evolving the foreign policy. The crises in liberalism, environmental degradation, and challenge to state sovereignty undermine political and economic stability while also widening Russia’s room for diplomatic maneuvering. This book analyzes how Russia interprets these developments and its ability to implement the appropriate responses. 

China and Russia are the main driving forces of Eurasian integration. Russia is pursuing its “pivot to Asia,” while China is branching out to the West through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The interests of Russia and China meet in Eurasia and their friendly relations have led to several cooperation projects there. The most important are linkages between the Eurasian Economic Union and Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative and the plan to create a broader Eurasian Economic Partnership or Greater Eurasia. This article studies the reasons which led the two countries to intensify their cooperation in Eurasia and the current state and prospects of that cooperation.

This book addresses the challenges and opportunities of contemporary and future development of Eurasia. The main theme of the first part of the book is examining the reaction evoked in different countries by the Chinese “Belt and Road Initiative.” The second part analyses other national and international integration and infrastructure projects in Eurasia. This unique publication brings together in one volume works by leading researchers from different countries, all united by their common interest in the political and economic processes unfolding in the Eurasian continent. By offering various points of view from experts from all over the world, this book provides a multi-dimensional analysis of the Eurasian future and will be of value to a wide range of readers, including scholars, publicists, the international business community and decision-makers.

Thanks to the active development of information technology and the creation of a global information space, the basis of which is the Internet, new opportunities have been opened to the world. However, this has led to the emergence of new types of dangers - cybercrime, cyber attacks and cyber warfare. The need to counter them, as well as the need to create a secure information environment, has led states to create their own national cybersecurity systems, as well as to adopt national strategies in this area. In most countries of Latin America, there is still no mechanism for ensuring information security, which makes them vulnerable to information attacks. The article gives an overview of national cybersecurity strategies that have been approved in only seven countries of region. The paper highlights key aspects of the cybersecurity strategies of Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Paraguay, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico. Their main goals are examined, and the relevant services, bodies and institutions responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the results of these strategies are listed.

The article analyzes post-Soviet economic policy in the light of the previous periods of the Russian economic history. The authors find a striking similarity between the measures proposed by modern Russian economic liberals – as well as their consequences – and the actions taken by the Russian authorities during much earlier periods. They explain these similarities with the fact that “Western” terms can mean something very different in the context of a non-Western culture, phenomena and institutions with the same names in different types of societies can differ fundamentally and perform different functions. Furthermore, “Westernization” can be a purely superficial process intended more for show than for substance. By applying the methodology of substantivism which stresses the fundamental differences between economies based on gifts (reciprocity), redistribution, and exchange (market), they argue that Russia’s economy differs significantly from that of the countries of Western Europe and, in the typological sense, is closer to such European countries as Bulgaria, Albania, Romania, and Serbia. For this reason, similar measures of economic policy applied in Western Europe and Russia bring different results.

BRICS is a relatively young group but has already become one of the most influential international associations. How did this happen? It seems that fundamental changes in the world system in the late 20th-early 21st centuries led to the emergence of BRICS and to the rapid growth of its influence.

This book is based on the collection of articles centered around Russia and its policies. The articles are grouped under three parts. The first part contains articles on international relations, Russian foreign policy, and the situation in the world. The main themes they cover include Russian policy in Asia and the Eurasian integration — in which Moscow plays the most active role.

The second part looks at the theorization of Russia’s internal processes, issues concerning reforms to the communist system, its troubled transition from Communism, and analysis of the country’s current political regime. While elaborating on various reforms and transition from the communist system, the author has suggested certain alternatives concepts. Many of the articles analyze the shortcomings and inconsistencies of the modern Russian political system.

The third part is devoted to current issues in Russian politics, the democratization process, growing authoritarian tendencies, mass protests, and that evaluate the programs and policies of individual leaders. The book will be of interest to those specializing in Russian foreign and domestic policy as well as to all those interested in following the developments of this country, its role in the world, and the global situation in general.

The author argues that Russian–Chinese rapprochement is a fundamental feature of the current changing system of international relations. Apart from its own significance, it has become important because it stimulated and, in some cases, laid the foundation for many broader international processes: the creation of the multipolar world, the emergence of such international groups and organisations as BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the coordination between Eurasian Economic Union and the Chinese initiative of Silk Road Economic Belt and others. Recently, all these processes led to the idea of Greater Eurasia or Eurasian partnership. 

In order to put Greater Eurasia initiative into the wider context of Russian foreign policy priorities and international developments it is important to approach with in-depth analysis a couple of issues. The article analyses the idea of Greater Eurasia and how it appeared on the surface at a very decisive time of Russian contemporary history. After almost 400 years of artificial East-West dilemma Russia is nowadays approaching to its own unique and consolidated foreign policy strategy. The embodiment of this strategy is Greater Eurasia. However, the practical implementation of this initiative will face numerous obstacles and challenges of both conceptual and practical nature. Russia thus should approach these challenges from the perspective of rational choice in favor of accelerated multilateral cooperation in Eurasia.

This article examines the evolution of Russia’s policy towards BRICS from the time of its formation as a group of four countries in 2006 to the present. The authors analyse the main political objectives that guided Moscow in initiating the creation of this format and in developing it in subse- quent years. The article argues that, with Russia as a participant, the character of the organization has undergone major changes, due both to the changing inter- national situation and fundamental changes that the foreign policy of Russia itself has undergone since 2014.

The Trump administration’s confrontational approach has prompted a serious debate in China about the country’s economic and political course.

This article analyzes the development potential of Greater Eurasia and its long-term institutionalization. The authors believe that Greater Eurasia, as a geopo-litical reality, is undergoing a certain transformation. Originally formed as a pole of confrontation under the pressure of American politics and based mainly on the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership, now it is acquiring more and more features of the international community, in which the development agenda prevails. This so far only emerging international community is involving more and more players, expanding its geographic coverage almost throughout the Eurasian continent, which poses new challenges for its participants: overcoming geo-political contradictions, forming a sustainable security architecture and linking potentials for achieving economic growth. The approaches and motives of the main Eurasian powers and the possibilities of their linking in order to build a geopolitically sustainable international community “from Lisbon to Singapore” are examined. This text develops and completes some of the theses presented by the authors in the article “From Greater Europe to Greater Eurasia: what brings the world a fundamental geopolitical shift”, which was published in the previous issue of the journal “Vostok (Oriens)”.

The rise of China as well as its unprecedented economic success turned to be one of the most important factors in the world development in the late XX and early XXI centuries and transformed the country into the second most influential player on the international scene. This change caused a heated debate within the country about the prospects of Beijing’s foreign policy and economic course, with two major directions emerging as a result. The first group calls for a more active behaviour of China as a great power on the international arena, taking the example of the United States. It strives to achieve this goal through all available means, including military ones, to ensure China’s economic and political interests abroad, to put forward its own alternative to Western concepts of world development, and to create alternative trade and economic unions and zones. As a result, supporters of this line seek to move away from Deng Xiaoping’s foreign policy of modesty and restraint. The second group of realists believes that it is necessary to follow Deng’s principles, since the country is yet to secure the status of a major world power and can lose its current advantages, which come with a more modest status. They suggest that following the first path will provoke an unfavorable reaction of the international community. Chinese leadership has taken an intermediate position in this debate, holding back the most radical proposals of the activists and adopting some of the moderate ones. The debate, which has been vigorous since the beginning of the XXI century became particularly acute after the start of the trade war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump. It revealed many of China’s weaknesses as well as its significant dependence on the United States. During the exacerbation, a number of experts criticised certain aspects of domestic and foreign policy of China’s current leadership, including the “belt and road initiative” initiative. Some claim that this initiative, along with a number of other major projects adopted by the Chinese government, for instance, the “Made in China 2025” plan, could have provoked Trump’s tough response, which may put China’s development at stake. Some major Beijing’s partners are also criticising certain forms of realisation of this initiative. The article examines the available sources shedding light on the public and non-public side of the debate, as well as its possible implications for China’s foreign and domestic policy and Sino-Russian relations.

Mass-media discourse is a “mirror” of sorts, which reflects general opinions and allows for understanding society’s mindset concerning migration issues. This article is devoted to analyzing the images created by Spanish mass-media regarding Latin American immigrants residing in Spain. Such a vision ultimately led to the emergence of an enduring perception of said immigrants by Spanish society from two main points of view – fear and pity. Columbians and Ecuadorians served as the prototypes for all Latin Americans who illegally entered Spain. The author reveals the reasons for the “divide” in Spanish mass-media’s perception of Columbia and Columbians, who became synonymous with danger, as well as Ecuador and Ecuadorian immigrants, who are primarily associated with Испанские СМИ о латиноамериканских мигрантах: между страхом и жалостью 110 № 4, Том 10, 2019 compassion and pity. This article examines the main stages of Latin American migration to Spain at the end of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century, which were primarily comprised in succession by immigrants from Columbia, Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba. The author characterizes the most numerous of Spain’s Latin American Diasporas. It is revealed that immigration is a collectively constructed social phenomenon. In turn the host society attributes certain characteristics to visitors (“others”) which they in fact do not possess. Such artificially assigned qualities are the result of a so-called “symbolic structure”, attributed to each “imaginary migrant”. Latin American migration to Spain is a result of a multitude of factors lying on various levels. However, it is very uncommon for the news to carefully examine the regional and global aspects of this process. This article reveals the specific image of Latin American migrants which developed in Spain towards the beginning of the 21st century. The author attempts to define the hidden ideology supporting the vast majority of those negative Latin American migrant stereotypes broadcast by national mass-media.