编号 2 (2023)

Arctic science diplomacy (ASD) is one of the innovative tools for promoting a positive image of the state and building strong international partnerships in the region. This study aims to identify common and distinctive features of Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Danish ASDs. The article analyses the motivation and main priorities of the Nordic ASD both at the national and regional levels. The state of the ASD infrastructure in each of the Nordic countries is also described. The Nordic states seek to coordinate their Arctic research and create joint structures for these purposes. Since Denmark, Finland and Sweden are the EU members, The Nordic countries are actively using the financial, organizational and intellectual resources of the EU to increase the effectiveness of their ASD. A common feature for all five Nordic countries is also the close attention they pay to ASD as part of their polar strategies. The Nordic countries focus on the ASD since they have much less economic, geopolitical and military resources than such "Arctic giants" than the United States, Canada and Russia. The article also indicates that with the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, scientific cooperation between the Nordic countries and Russia has been significantly reduced on the initiative of these states. This has further complicated the situation in the Arctic region.

From the moment of the collapse of the USSR to the present days France showed interest in building relations with the countries of Central Asia in a wide range of areas of interaction. France was one of the first European states to recognize the independence of the new republics. The article is aimed to expand knowledge about French policy in Central Asia and the factors that determine the interest of Paris in the Eurasian region. In the context of the transformation of the world order and global geopolitical tensions France's capabilities are narrowing which encourages Paris to pursue a proactive foreign policy on the Central Asian track. At the same time the place of France's ideological and value rhetoric in its foreign policy in the Central Asian countries is gradually occupied by economic reasonability. France's interests in the region are focused on energy resources and Afghan issues. France's efforts are aimed at reducing the dependence of Central Asian countries on Russia and China. It is concluded that France is strengthening the economic dimension of its foreign policy in Central Asia with an emphasis on expanding cooperation with the two leading countries of the region - Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

The article examines the evolution of multilateralism on the examples of its unfriendly variety in political sphere. The study focuses not on the relations between the West and non-West, but on the situation inside the former. The examples of unfriendly multilateral structures are AUKUS and the Partners in the Blue Pacific. They are aimed not only at containing China but also at limiting the strategic penetration of Germany and France in the Indo-Pacific region. Concentrating on these examples, the article explores the key reason for the tendency, using the concept of the world-system theory for Euro-Atlantic community and the “collective” West. The core of Anglo-Saxon countries led by the USA and the UK has been strongly concerned of the growing strategic autonomy of the semi-periphery. Its key elements are France and Germany. The study demonstrates the differences between leadership styles, hard and soft hegemony in the US foreign policy as a reaction to the relations between the core and the semi-periphery. It also covers German approach to the EU strategic autonomy in conjunction with Europeanization of NATO and its activities in various fields. One of the conclusions is the absence of examples of unfriendly multilateralism toward the Western partners in policy of key semi-periphery actors.

The article considers the decrease in the reliability of expenditures’ budgeting in Germany that has occurred in recent years. The author used the data on the formation and execution of a five-year financial plan for 2017-2021. The comparison of this plan with its execution was carried out in four profiles: total expenses by functional classification, total expenses by economic classification, current expenses by functional classification, capital expenses by functional classification. Using the same methodology, the author previously compared plans for 2002-2006, 2007-2011, 2012-2016 with their execution. The results of the calculations made it possible to identify areas with increased and decreased accuracy of budget planning, key areas of significant overspending of budget funds in 2020-2021 and reasons for the deviations. In addition, the author analysed the most important consequence of the deterioration in the accuracy of budget projections - the return to the deficit and net borrowings of the federal budget. The dynamics of expenses, net borrowings and the ratio of net borrowing to expenses in 2002-2021 and a plan for these parameters for 2022-2026 are presented. Based on the data reviewed, a conclusion was drawn about the critical importance of 2023 for restoring the lost reliability of federal spending planning.

The article considers the question of possible ways of transformation of the Russian monetary system in modern conditions. Currently, Russia is facing tough economic and political sanctions, which encourage it to introduce fundamental structural reforms in all areas of the economy. The situation in which our country finds itself requires an adequate response in order to preserve economic sovereignty. It is required to restructure the monetary system in such a way that the economy is focused on using mainly its own resources. Modern theories of money could be the theoretical foundation for the upcoming transformations. The study concentrates on the Modern monetary Theory (MMT) and its possible implementation in the Russian economy. The interest that has arisen in this non-orthodox theory is due to many reasons, but the main one is that the monetary institutions of the leading countries of the world can no longer implement the previous monetary policy in order to stimulate economic growth. Scientists evaluate this theory ambiguously, and many researchers believe that its main provisions are divorced from economic realities, contradictory and, therefore, not acceptable as instruments of macroeconomic policy. The author's stance is that the main provisions are applicable in the Russian economy. Mainly, the idea of the sovereignty of the national currency is understood as the possibility of issuing money without regard to global financial institutions such as the IMF and the size of gold and foreign exchange reserves. As a result, this theory requires a deeper study of the influence of monetary emission on economic processes.

The article deals with the analysis of the arguments used by Italian intellectuals, Church hierarchies, clergy representatives, professors of Catholic universities to explain their attitude to the idea of meritocracy, its prospects and restrictions. The fight against corruption and undeserved privileges is particularly relevant in today's Italy with its traditions of clientelism, nepotism and family ties. At the center of the scientific dispute there are two "sites": the Catholic University of Milan "Sacro Cuore" and the newspaper of the Italian episcopate "Avvenire." During the public discussions, views in defense and against the "merit society" were expressed and argued. Advocates of meritocracy believe that this model will make Italy more modern and competitive, will allow to build a fairer society. Opponents, on the contrary, consider this concept an ideological justification for inequality and a "direct antithesis of democracy." In the future, this situation can cause increased social tension, frustration and deep social pessimism. Catholic thinkers presented the theological examination of "meritocracy". They explained that the Church's moral teaching considers the principle of "retributive" or rewarding justice as unjust and dangerous. The author comes to the conclusion that the polarity of opinions is explained by the conflict of ideological, religious and worldview attitudes of Italian intellectuals, who are not ready to hear the arguments of the opposing side. The stance of the clergy on meritocracy can be explained in the light of the Church's magisterium on the common good, rights and dignity of the person.

The article analyses the way the spatial effect is reflected in the ethnic voting in Latvia at the parliamentary elections of 2011, 2014 and 2018. The study reveals that the electoral support of both parties relying on Russian-speaking voters correlates with the share of Russians living in a municipality. However, in case of Social Democratic Party "Harmony" the correlation is higher than that of the Latvian Russian Union. The local indicators of spatial association display neighborhood clusters of high support of these parties in Latgale and those of low support in Kurzeme. The shape of these clusters does not change considerably from one electoral cycle to another. Municipalities with primarily non-Latvian population in Eastern Latgale close to the border with Russia and Belarus differ in their electoral behavior the most. Electoral zoning of Latvia by the method of spatially constrained hierarchical clustering based on the results of all parliamentary parties first and foremost indicates the cluster close to the border of Latvia with Russia and Belarus. Moreover, the cleavage in electoral behavior between these Latgalian municipalities and other Latvian regions appears to be the strongest not only in the Latvian context, but in comparison with electoral cleavages in eleven other countries bordering Russia.