No 3 (2013)

The article examines the influence of the authoritarian syndrome on the process of legitimization of various bodies and institutions of government, in particular, to establish and maintain a personal type of legitimation. The author offers the analysis of prospects for the transformation of Russian political regime, namely the transfer from the personal type of legitimacy of the political system to the structural type. It shows the dynamics of components of the authoritarian syndrome is widely spread in the mass consciousness of Russians from 1992 to 2012. The article describes a new approach to the authoritarianism, along with cultural, neo-institutional, institutional explanation of the reasons supporting the communication, trust, and an uncritical attitude to the president, stands authoritarian syndrome.

This article is devoted to the actual problem of transformation of foreign policy strategy of China in Eastern Asia during the last years. The main aspects of Chinese policy in the region are domination of economic approaches and practical embodiment of “soft power” concept. China seeks to transfer reviews about problematic points in economical interaction with the region`s countries and decisions about territorial disputes from the multilateral level to bilateral level, furthermore actively counteract to the policy of the USA and Japan, trying to make an “anti-sin coalition” from the perspective of institutional design within the political-military organization by the type of NATO.

The article analyses the peculiarities of institutional transformation and political processes in Armenia in 1990—2012. During the first years of independence the president as a political actor was dominating within the political system. The main trend was the presidentialisation of the system, simultaneously the role of the legislature was decreasing with certain marginalization of the latter and consequently the system functioned less democratically. The analysis of the authorities of political subjects demonstrates that power concentration within presidential institution negatively influences independent functioning of the parliament, while more powerful legislatures provide possibilities for more balanced relations between the branches and more articulated role of executive power.

In the given article on the basis of comparative analysis is studied the dual nature of the widespread approaches to influence of media sphere upon political processes by the example of actual events in western countries and Arab world. The authors investigate mobilization, integration, democratization and intervention capabilities of the modern media sphere. The practices of application of the new media means by the leading countries as specific tools of soft power strategies at national and international levels have been thoroughly analyzed in the article. The authors come to conclusion that in the modern world the functional apparatus of the Internet despite it architectural openness and infinite socio-political potential is limited by the activities of media elites that hinder true civil participation. Untimely proclaimed democratic character of media sphere is weaken by commercialization and consumerism of media space. The category of “feedback” as an important mobilization tool has situational character and has the short-term impact upon political views and perceptions.

The article touches upon various approaches to the definition of the political opposition, analyzes the most common interpretations of this phenomenon. Based on the analysis the author proposes the new definition of the political opposition.