Vol 22, No 2 (2020)

This paper explores one of the central issues of current international discourse : how is world order sustained and maintained, is it shifting and changing, is it being reinvented and reimagined, or are we on the cusp of global disorder and competition among great and small powers? The conventional lens used to examine these questions is that of ‘hegemony’ or ‘dominance.’ This paper discusses how hegemony is conceptualized, what kinds of resources are mobilized (material, discursive, institutional, and performative) in maintaining hegemony, and what the current chessboard of geopolitics looks like in terms of rising and falling powers. Despite a chaotic picture of the train derailed there is also an optimistic end of that story. First we are moving from a unipolar to the polycentric world. Secondly that new world will be less dramatically divided as it will be based on macro-regional arrangements. Thirdly multi-regional arrangements will be closer civilizationally and thus less prone to conflicts. Finally - in order to survive - most probably they will voluntarily keep close ties with other macro-regiond making the system more stable that today.

Actualization of the past is a natural manifestation of need for reflection of historical memory for society; it also pushes elites to search for new forms of “mental control” over public consciousness. The research is devoted to the problem of keeping historical memory in the context of censorship on the Internet. The goal is to identify the symbolic effects of historical memory that arises as a result of narrative representations of history and cognitive mnemonic practices of network media and online Internet communities in the context of censorship. Result of this research was conceptualization of the notion for “cognitive mnemonic Internet practices”, their typology in accordance with the types of cognitive censorship of network media and a description of their symbolic effects. Concept of the Internet as a mnemonic system is theoretically grounded, a typology of censorship strategies is given as a factor affecting the displacement of some forms of historical memory from the public sphere of society and their expression in various network mnemonic practices. The case study analysis of modern Chinese network media allowed for conceptualization of the notion of “cognitive mnemonic Internet practices” and grounding the conclusions.

This article is devoted to the study of Russian perception of soft power, which was initially conceptualized within the American political theory and is still being discussed in terms of its application to real political relations in the modern world. Scientific novelty of the article lies in identifying, based on retrospective analysis of Russian language publications on soft power, gradual shift from descriptive approach to soft power as exclusive instrument of American foreign policy towards an emerging independent category of Russian soft power. The latter incorporates perceptions about the ability of the state to rely on the most effective social structures in interaction, first of all, with external actors, which, however, can also have a domestic civil dimension in terms of expanding the tools for latent management of social processes. Besides considering the publication dynamics in scientific journals, the author also analyzes the gradual entry of the concept of soft power into discourse of real Russian politics through the public rhetoric of country’s top leadership and strategic foreign policy documents. Initially, Russian priorities articulated through the search for mechanisms to resist soft power from the outside. Later a consecutive postulate emerged to develop sovereign soft power instruments, based on the active engagement of civil society institutions into foreign policy process. Activation of latter, as well as the growing practices of different countries in building relations with non-governmental organizations in the implementation of their national interests, are becoming important factors to encourage government efforts for soft power. Russian experience demonstrates a two-way process in search for the corresponding national model: while the state expresses interest in developing additional mechanisms that support its policy in the international arena, the society demonstrates a demand for increasingly universal forms of self-realization in a competitive global market.

The article analyzes the perspectives of Russia’s soft power in the Balkans. The Russian Federation has longstanding historical, political, cultural and economic ties to the Balkan region. Therefore, being free of a one-sided ideological approach that hampered the usage of soft power by the USSR during the Cold War era, Russia stands at the crossroads as to how best to use it’s great potential for peaceful diplomacy and influence in the Western Balkans. The article will provide an analysis of the achievements of the Russian Federation in regards to extending it’s influence in the Western Balkans, but also the downsides of it’s foreign policy. The analysis will encompass several Western Balkan states and their ties to Russia in terms of soft power: Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The article raises the question: whether Russia can withstand the struggle for influence over the Balkans with it’s greatest rivals in the region - the United States and the EU? The author concludes that it depends largely on the various approaches and methods used by Russian diplomacy and the level of funding of various projects that can be used to extend Russia’s cultural influence in the Balkan peninsula.

The author of article reviews relevant setbacks of modern school education. Russian youth faces a «dissolution of history» due to gaps in school subjects, where historical events and individuals are losing their significance, but which was mentioned in soviet school program. Author underlines that new studying courses limit the list of authors and their works, which truly reflect a picture of Great Patriotic War. Moreover, digital technologies are filling up kids and youth’s spare time, that is why historical and fictional works are being replaced away. The author of article focuses on Russian and foreign contemporary movies as well, which have played its role in creating “historical content” in knowledge of youth. Nowadays, modern movies are replacing wartime and historical literature because of its interactive and dramatic form of impact, and for some time its fake facts, which are more acceptable for screenplays and have more commercial success. Author concludes that modern school program is needed to be corrected. These new corrections must include creating of new culture of reading, socialization of youth and popularization of reading.

This article explains the institutional framework for EU-Russia cooperation, in particular in the field of combating terrorism. Under auspices of the Permanent Partnership Council, a political dialogue has been established, with four road maps concluded on its sidelines. Due to the Road map on the Common Space of Freedom, Security and Justice, Russia has the possibility not only to establish bilateral relations with EU member states, but also with the EU as an organization. This article discusses practical ways for Russia to cooperate with the EU and its Member States in the fight against terrorism. The authors emphasize the distinctive features between the simple exchange of information and real joint operational forces. This article highlights that Russia-EU cooperation will improve only if both sides consider the same terrorist organizations from common angle.

This article is devoted to the role of education in forming a successful personal development trajectory through a value system. Study shows that modern era can be described by categories of two concepts that are similar in essence and contradictory in certain manifestations: postmodernism and postindustrialism. Article hypothesizes that a postmodern value system is necessary to overcome digital destructive influence on education that is imposed by the information and digital priorities of postindustrialism. It shows that, with the universal digitization of knowledge, there is an urgent need to form three primary competencies of individual that can be provided only by education: values, communications, and knowledge, that are not subject to digital replication. It argues that growing trend of turning universities into digital corporations contains threats to the future development of the emerging personality and its value system. Article concludes that it is possible to overcome the identified threats in implementation of global educational policy, at national and global levels, which will require a critical understanding of emerging trends in digital world.

Nation-states and international organizations widely use educational programs to foster students’ mobility abroad. The majority of scientific literature agrees in considering exchange programs as soft power instruments used by countries to promote their values in geopolitically and economically crucial regions. However, a more in-depth analysis of the reasons motivating nation-states to adopt such initiatives is needed to understand their political goals better. The current study consists of analysing the main formulations proposed by scholars, who delved into the topic of international academic mobility as a tool to promote values. The rationales of nation-states and international organizations to develop such programs of academic mobility can be very diverse (geopolitical, economic, and civic). The author described the main principles of each rationale (or logic), providing examples of existing educational programs adopted by countries or international organizations and how political values are promoted according to each logic. The boundaries between the four rationales described in the paper are not distinct and rigid. An educational program can respond at the same time to different logics, and the nation-states decide how to allocate resources to achieve specific results ascribable to a particular rationale. Although different rationales push nation-states and international organizations in promoting international programs of academic mobility, in all cases, such programs are instruments to promote political values.