The process of the enlargement of the Russian regions : economic balancing or landmark of Kremlinization ?

Every state, regardless of its size, faces a problem of spatial organization and distribution of its power over territory, particularly in times of the formation of its statehood and the establishment of the system of governance. The territorial-administrative reform in modern Russia has taken an unprecedented scale over the last five years. Recollecting the experiences of the imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, Putin\u27s reforms aim at elimination of a whole tier of Russia\u27s federative units---autonomous okrugs---by merging them with adjacent regions. Arguably, the enlargement of Russian regions and the reduction of their number from the current eighty-nine would be socio-economically beneficial for regions, and would make Russia a more symmetrical, and thus a more governable federation. There appears to be no single clear rationale for the enlargement. Based on three case studies, I assess the political, economic, and demographic arguments for the regional enlargement in Russia, and draw conclusions whether the process would, as the current Russian government contends, indeed benefit the regions, or would it benefit the state, both the regions and the state, or neither. Assessing the regional enlargement in a qualitative and quantitative analysis, I characterize the process in terms of its top-down or bottom-up qualities, its implications for the regions, and its contribution to the symmetry of Russian federalism. Russia is a state in the making, and the analysis of regional enlargement is one of the linchpins of its development

South Caucasus, Russia and The EU: forging an efficient over-arching cooperative regional security sceme

The end of 20-th century was marked by an increase in the number of ethnopolitical conflicts throught the world. The redrawing of the political map of the world in the last century, following the results of the world wars, the elimination of colonial system and the collapse of empires, has affected the growth of ethnic confrontations in modern society. In view of the fact that any conflict inside the state is always detrimental to social-economic and political development of the country, and the world is full of polyethnic states, the birth of new interethnic contradictions, can affect the stability and security of the entire world community. In this regard, particular importance in the policy of each state, is the deep study of the characteristics of ethnic clashes, for the subsequent development of mechanisms for their forecasting, regulation and prevention. In this Thesis I will try ty examin the Conflicts in South Caucasus: Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Naghorno-Karabakh

Regionalism in the Congresses of People's Deputies of the USSR and Russia: a case study of Siberia and the Russian Far East

This study is concerned with the influence of regionalism in the Congresses of People's Deputies of the USSR and Russia between 1989 and 1993 and its implications for future reform including the development of federal relations in Russia. In particular, emphasis will be placed on regionalist tendencies developed in Siberia and the Russian Far East. After perestroika, the discussion of federal relations showed varieties of possible developments, ranging from a unitary system to a confederation. Despite these varieties, it appears to be generally perceived that stable and 'genuine' federal relations are required in Russia. However, little attention has been paid to the role of the newly re-emerging political actor, the deputies of the central legislature, who are directly engaged in the establishment of such federal relations. This study reaches three main conclusions. First of all, regional socio-economic disparities affected the attitudes of deputies towards reform, including changes in centre-periphery relations. Secondly, the analysis suggests that at least two main streams of regionalism were developed during 1989-1993: one developed in the Congress by the regional deputy groups, and the other outside the Congresses by regional political leaders. Thirdly, despite growing regionalist tendencies in Russia at that time, regional political actors were not strong enough to initiate a federal structure of their preference, lacking horizontal and vertical coordination. This discussion of regionalism in the Congress leads us to a further conclusion that regional interest articulation was rather chaotic, hampering legislation of policies and thus facilitating the regionalisation of reform. Despite strong regionalist tendencies in some sub-national units, particularly based on ethno-nationalist sentiments, such a development may erode the legacy of reform as well as regional autonomy itself

The Eternal Territory? The Crimean Crisis and Ukraine’s Territorial Integrity as an Unamendable Constitutional Principle

This article reflects on the protection of territorial integrity in the Ukrainian constitution, especially on its provision of unamendability, against the backdrop of the 2014 Crimean crisis. At the general level, we examine whether constitutional theory can offer answers when confronted with the apparent inefficacy of a constitutional claim to eternity. More specifically, we focus on what the Ukrainian case can teach us about the implications of designating territorial integrity or indivisibility of a state as an eternal/unamendable constitutional principle. Building on insights from the Crimean crisis, we argue that the unamendable protection of territorial integrity is an especially ineffective type of eternity clause because it is subject to both the internal threat of secession and the external risk of forceful annexation. The preservative promise of unamendable territorial integrity is severely curtailed by this double vulnerability, even when backed by a constitutional court with far-reaching powers of judicial review. Territorial integrity as an eternal constitutional principle then remains merely aspirational. Moreover, we argue that the act of entrenching territorial protection as an unamendable principle is in clear tension with the idea of popular sovereignty and with mechanisms for expressing popular will

Дискурсивні прийоми побудови сецесій: Досвід Донбасу та Латгалії

The article is devoted to the analysis of the information strategies of the Russian Federation aimed at the artificial design of secessions. In political philosophy, the term "secession" is used to refer to a region that seeks to leave the current state-territorial system, gain independence or become part of another state entity. The general hypothesis of research is that secession can be constructed by discursive means. The article demonstrates how the media adjusted the socio-political discourse in Ukraine, which led to the splitting of society and the formation of self-proclaimed fake republics in Donbas. The situation in the Donbass is compared with a similar situation in Latgale – the historical region of Latvia with a large share of the Russian-speaking population, where Russia's secession strategies have not been successful.Стаття присвячена аналізу інформаційних стратегій Російської Федерації, спрямованих на штучне проектування сецесій. У політичній науці термін "сецесія" використовується для позначення процесу виходу регіону (спільноти) з наявної державно-територіальної системи, прагнення здобути незалежність або стати частиною іншого державного утворення. Загальною гіпотезою дослідження є теза про те, що сецесія може бути побудована дискурсивними способами ззовні. У статті продемонстровано, як ЗМІ коригували суспільно-політичний дискурс в Україні, що призвело до розколу суспільства та формування самопроголошених фейкових республік на Донбасі. Ситуація на Донбасі порівнюється із аналогічною ситуацією в Латгалії ― історичному регіоні Латвії з великою часткою російськомовного населення, де стратегії Росії, спрямовані на відділення, не мали успіху

Prospects for the transformation of the domestic law enforcement system in the conditions of russian aggression

Russian aggression has a direct impact on the Ukrainian law enforcement system, because it is a direct threat to the security and integrity of the state. The paper aims to determine effective means of transformation of the law enforcement system of Ukraine in the conditions of russian aggression. On the basis of a systematic analysis of theoretical information, the main threats to the law enforcement system of Ukraine were determined: direct, caused by russian aggression, hybrid and internal. At the current stage, some reforms of the law enforcement system have been implemented: creation of the National Police, an anti-corruption body, the SOCTA methodology for combating organized crime has been implemented, the "PRAVO-Police" program has been implemented, as well as martial law has been implemented. The following issues require further resolution: ineffective personnel policy and low level of trust in law enforcement officers, use of outdated work methods in the law enforcement system. The solution of these issues is possible through the following measures: the introduction of modern technologies, the use of artificial intelligence and extensive data in the law enforcement sphere. This will increase the level of security of the state, citizens and civil society institutions

Constitutional Fundamental Principles of National Idea Formation in Russia

The purpose of the paper is the attempt that has been made to reveal conditions and constitutional fundamental principles of national idea formation in Russia, issues and youth policy implementation prospects on the basis of the analysis of the wide range of domestic and foreign sources. Careful consideration is also given to the co-relation of the definitions of "national idea" and ''national (state) ideology'' and the problems of the state national policy implementation in Russia. It is concluded that every stage of the constitutional development of post-Soviet Russia demonstrated its own state approaches to the solution of the federative and national problems. Federalism as a principle of the constitutional system affects nearly all the spheres of the public relations and also influences the structure and functioning of the government authorities. Ethnic policy is an integral part of the national policy. In addition, constitutional regulation focuses attention on the state policy under the conditions of the multinational state. Particular focus is placed upon the content of State National Policy Strategy of the Russian Federation. Its strengths and weaknesses are also examined .The paper makes out a case for establishing Ombudsmanship for Peoples' Rights in the Russian Federation. Special attention is paid to the role of youth in modernization of the public life. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n2s3p20

Problemas y tendencias de los sistemas de seguridad de la información en algunos países de la región Asiática

El artículo está dedicado al análisis teórico y legal de los sistemas de seguridad de la información en algunos países de la región asiática. Se propone considerar el sistema de protección de la información como un conjunto de elementos interrelacionados y sus interacciones encaminadas a prevenir y contrarrestar las amenazas en el ámbito de la información, así como desarrollar y mejorar el propio sistema. El enfoque sistema-estructural permitió al autor destacar los siguientes elementos del sistema de seguridad de la información: objetos, sujetos, alcance, funciones, condiciones y direcciones del sistema, principios y marco legal. La principal tendencia en el campo de la seguridad de la información de estos países es el fortalecimiento de la regulación estatal de su ciberespacio. En particular, la legislación de estos países regula estrictamente los derechos, deberes y responsabilidades de los propietarios de recursos de información en Internet, agregadores de noticias, mensajería instantánea y operadores de motores de búsqued