Vol 21, No 2 (2019)

The article deals with the peculiarities of the models of political behavior of young people, which can be attributed to the middle class. The relevance of the study is in the combination of a well-founded review of the main directions of research of the role of youth participation in the social and political process and the involvement of a specific empirical study conducted in the autumn of 2018, which allows to highlight various aspects of the situation. The empirical part of the study is based on the study “Ideas of Youth about Possibilities of Youth Leaders and Youth Organizations in Russia”, which was conducted in late September and early October 2018 in four regions of the Russian Federation: Altai, Leningrad and Novosibirsk Regions and St. Petersburg. The method of research was a personal standardized interview, the sample size was 1000 respondents (250 in each of the regions), who were representatives of young people aged 14 to 30 that permanently reside in the territory of the studied subjects of the federation. Based on factor and cluster analyzes, the research presents the main models of the political behavior of young people belonging to the middle class. The article is of interest to researchers of interconnections between the real political process and youth as a significant group of the population.

The perception of the image of the state by its citizens is believed to be one of the most promising areas for the study of political consciousness. When the object of the research is youth, the obtained data allow us to identify their main expectations from the further development of the country's political system. Basing on the results of six focus groups among students at St. Petersburg State University, in this paper we attempt to describe the image of ideal Russia in the minds of students. We have obtained results demonstrating that 1) the images of the country, the authorities, and the political leader are a kind of projection of the political processes and phenomena that are currently occurring in the world; 2) youth is characterized by categorical and inconsistent in their own views and evaluations; 3) along with patriotism, students feel a sense of responsibility for their future and the future of Russia.

The article discusses the impact of Internet technologies on the political process in Russia and in the world. The author draws attention to the emergence of new trends in the field of IT, which bring new to the electoral process, PR-activities, agitation, propaganda and counter-propaganda. It is suggested that political actors should act within the framework of the new rules of the game, without neglecting the transfer of political struggle in the Internet space. The article draws attention to the fact that the Internet activity of political actors can be both positive and negative in perception and goals. Given the impact that the Internet has on the political sphere of society, we can assume that the virtual environment will be the main stage of political struggle. The author emphasizes that modern political technologists should take this factor into account in their activities. Thus, the author concludes that the online space significantly expands the tools of political campaigns and radically transforms the relationship between citizens and the state, forming the real prerequisites for the development of democracy.

The following article focuses on the problem of childhood safety. The phenomenon of childhood is studied in the context of the national policy of the Russian Federation. In modern society, state and science, the importance of social protection of an individual has been prioritized. One can see systematic changes in the legislation of norms regulating the sphere of social security. Social law as an independent branch in the system of domestic law, however, has not yet developed, therefore certain incoherence exists. All this, nonetheless, has triggered scientific discussions on possible directions of the state’s social policy, and in particular, the policy on children’s safety. The necessity of prioritizing childhood safety and security, defining it as a pivotal direction in the national policy is determined primarily by certain crisis phenomena taking place in contemporary Russian society. Moreover, designing and implementation of the most effective ways of guaranteeing children’s wellbeing is regarded as crucial. The article deals with various risk factors that can negatively affect childhood, as well as mechanisms of social protection of children. Particular emphasis is placed on the study of the development of Russian legislation in the field of social policy, including the emergence of fundamentally new institutions (for example, maternity capital). The article offers a definition of the concepts “social security”, “social policy”, and “childhood”, and examines the existing model of national social protection in Russia. Improving the quality of life of the population, strengthening Russian citizens’ health, ensuring stable demographic development of Russia are named among the main long-term national interests in the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation. The above-mentioned objectives are equated with such large-scale interests as strengthening the state’s defense capacity, ensuring the inviolability of the constitutional system, state sovereignty, territorial integrity, etc., which confirms the relevance and importance of the topic in question.

The authors analyze the impact of migration from Venezuela on the domestic policy of the United States. According to the data for 2017, more than 11 percent of immigrants to the United States from South America are Venezuelans, and the same figure for 2016 was close to 9 percent, which indicates a fairly sharp increase in the number of refugees. An active influx of Venezuelans may be one of the key factors in the future US 2020 presidential elections. The largest diaspora of Venezuelans in the United States lives in Florida, which will be one of the key states in the future presidential election campaign. In connection with the potential loss of Republican’s positions in such an important region as Florida, it is necessary for the administration of Donald Trump to reconsider its policy in the state. In addition, representatives of the Democratic party are greatly interested in increasing influence in the state. Thus, the authors conclude that the administration of Donald Trump generally benefits from the crisis in Venezuela, as it will help to carry out a number of domestic political reforms aimed at economic protectionism and tackling of immigration.

The article examines the origins of Imperial discourse formation in American political culture and geopolitics. At the end of XX - beginning of XXI century it took disguised forms - “nonterritorial Empire”, “informal Empire”, “positive Empire”, “cultural hegemony”. The latency of the US Imperial consciousness is due to a number of reasons. First, the historical fact of the struggle for liberation from the colonial rule of Britain left a deep trace in the “political imaginary” of the American people and gave rise to the belief that the United States itself has never been, is not and cannot be an Empire. The second factor was the semantic evolution that occurred in the American interpretation of power. In fact, America has not passed the historical path that developed the idea of a “monopoly on legitimate violence” in Europe. The idea of “dispersal” of power has rooted in the public consciousness the priority of the power factor, coupled with the admissibility of the use of force at own discretion. Inside, both motives were regarded by the public consciousness as democratic. The third component of imperialism became a powerful Messianic argument, the belief in the special destiny of the American nation to create an ideal society This Faith brought with them in the “terra nullis” (on “no man's land”) immigrants of the New World. This thesis has become fundamental to the public opinion and to all the leaders of America. The justification of the concept of “soft power” and “cultural hegemony” did not detract from the importance of the “power factor”, which gave rise to new forms of imperialism - the deployment of military bases and economic dictatorship. The range of American domination is characterized by great flexibility - from mutually beneficial cooperation in Europe (“Empire by invitation”) to direct military intervention into the “rogue States”.

The article deals with an urgent topic. The settlement of the Syrian conflict is still one of the biggest challenges of the international agenda of the second decade of the XXI century. Despite the statements of the elimination of the Islamic State, which is prohibited in Russia, the conflict is going on. We are witnessing a new cycle of an armed conflict in Syria. The aim of the article is to analyze the possibilities of the settlement of the Syrian conflict at the current state of its development. The article provides the chronology of fighting with the Islamic State, analyses the current configuration of forces acting in the conflict, studies the forces exacerbating the crisis. The author came to the following conclusions. The Middle East is experiencing a period of a profound transformation. The Syrian crisis has revealed the fundamental differences of interests between the main regional actors and the world center of power. The stabilization of the situation in Syria depends on the actions of the external parties of the conflict.

After the collapse of the USSR, the US changed its policies, shifted its priorities and started viewing China’s economic emergence as a great threat to US interests. Due to the rapid economic growth and military development, the People’s Republic of China has become a rival for the US in the global arena. Meanwhile, as the US is reshaping its policy in accordance with the modern geopolitical reality, it starts regarding India as a powerful ally for holding China back. The close rapport between India and the USA is being established on the account of economic liaisons and combined efforts against security threats. Currently, India and the US are redefining their affiliations and building a potent nexus to secure their common interests, particularly in keeping China at bay. The formation of amicable Indo-US relations has resulted in the collective agenda for achieving the two countries’ common objectives in Asia. According to A. Tellis, the two foremost strategic goals of the two countries in Asia are: firstly, to contain the growing influence of China in Asia and its adjacent territories and establish Indian hegemony in the region; secondly, to promote friendly relations with other major actors in the region in order to garner support for India. The two countries’ strategic plan towards China is to isolate the country from the rest of the region. The presence of the US naval forces in the Indian Ocean and recent military exercises in Malabar have increased the US-India ties and have helped to establish control over Chinese naval and trade routes and sea lines of communication. Senior US officials have openly declared their intentions of strategic containment of China. As was noted by one of India’s leading political analysts John Cheian, “Washington’s primary goal is developing alliance with India in order to contain China”. The given article presents an outlook on the Chinese perception of the US-India nexus.

The article discusses the place and importance of the Arctic region and the Northern Sea Route on the geopolitical map of the world. The author defines the interests of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China in the Arctic, characterizes the project “Ice Silk Road” within the framework of the initiative “One Belt and One Road”, analyzes the existing Russian-Chinese cooperation and identifies the most promising areas of cooperation. The author comes to the conclusion about the global potential of the Arctic cooperation between the two countries.

The article based on the analysis of public sources examines the structure, goals and main directions of works of foreign scientific and educational centers in the field of transport policy - an independent area of the state activity that has (due to the infrastructural nature of the object of its regulation which is transport) characteristics of universality and reveal the close relationship and overlapping with many other areas (economic, social, innovation, industrial, regional, etc.). Transport policy as a field of research has links and intersections with the goals of a number of other political science areas and sub-disciplines (primarily with public policy and management, political regionalism, international relations and geopolitics, etc.). The authors state that theoretical and applied research in this complex and interdisciplinary field are carried out by organizations that are structural units of educational institutions and by independent institutions. The main trend of their research on general and special issues of transport policy is interdisciplinary approach used during the analysis. As for training, it is carried out by a number of foreign universities - both classical and specialized (mainly technical) universities. At the same time, it is primarily interdisciplinary in nature, based on a combination of areas such as politics, public administration, strategic management, transport economics, etc., which is reflected in the curriculum and in the content of individual disciplines. However, such training has not yet become a widespread phenomenon, and the diverse possibilities of political science in many courses remain underused. The article makes a general conclusion that theoretical and applied research, as well as training in the field of transport policy retain significant reserves, which are still very far from being exhausted. This is especially true of political science, whose heuristic and educational potential for the needs of the transport industry remains undiscovered.

Studies of political systems and political processes in the post-Soviet states of the Central Asian region are based, as a rule, on institutional and neo-institutional concepts. Attempts to mechanically apply certain ready-made western description schemes and even the corresponding conceptual apparatus to the Central Asian material rarely lead to convincing results. Many important factors affecting the political development of the region remain beyond research. By the beginning of the 2010s institutionalization and pluralization of the political space outside state control also included the development of the necessary legislative framework. Such a framework implies the consolidation of the legal basis for the creation and effective functioning of public associations and organizations, and the formation of legitimate and viable representation institutions. Russian authors are much more familiar with the material of the political reality of the CAR, therefore they give more balanced and accurate assessments. The disadvantage of Russian studies is the fact that, methodologically, they follow the approaches developed by Western political science. This encourages one to concentrate on some aspects of the political development of the Central Asian states and to underestimate or even completely ignore other, no less, and sometimes much more significant ones. In recent years, this deficiency is gradually being replenished. The findings of the researchers are becoming more objective, which helps to overcome erroneous political decisions and strengthen interstate cooperation. Over time, such studies will have the results of the development of new systematic and well-reflected approaches, adequate to the subject of political science studies.