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No 10 (670) (2025)
Economics
US Sanctions Policy towards Russia's Oil Complex
Abstract
The study is devoted to the analysis of the US sanctions policy towards the Russian energy sector. The impact of US restrictive measures on the Russian oil complex is revealed. The intensity, sustainability and effectiveness of US sanctions that put pressure on Russian oil companies are examined. The introduction of sanctions by the United States to achieve its geopolitical and economic goals is substantiated. If at the first stage, starting in 2014, the United States began to apply sanctions to restrict the access of Russian companies to Western technologies of deep-water and Arctic oil production, as well as to capital markets, the adoption of the CAATSA law in 2017 expanded the extraterritorial effect of sanctions on third-country companies. A radical increase in sanctions pressure after the events of February 2022, a ban on the import of oil and oil products, the introduction of a price ceiling, extraterritorial sanctions against the shipping companies of the "shadow fleet" forced Russian companies to develop strategies for adaptation to US policy, diversify the geography of exports towards Asian countries. The article provides an assessment of the sanctions policy of D. Trump administration's second term: support for the package of extraterritorial sanctions adopted in January 2025, which affected leading Russian oil and gas and insurance companies, tankers transporting Russian oil and oil products; termination of General License 8L in March 2025. The article analyzes the possible consequences of introducing new sanctions against the Russian oil sector and introducing 100% tariffs on goods from countries importing Russian oil, oil products, petrochemicals, gas and uranium. It is concluded that the extraterritorial sanctions introduced by the American side create risks of destabilization of the global oil market and may lead to an increase in energy prices, which will negatively affect the global economy and the United States themselves.
USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2025;(10 (670)):05-16
05-16
Canada's Role in Global Uranium Market
Abstract
Over the past few years, the situation in the global nuclear energy industry has been described by the term "atomic renaissance". Nuclear energy is acquiring a special role in connection with the processes of digitalization and development of artificial intelligence, which are behind the growing demand for electricity and requirements for uninterrupted power supply. At the same time, for the United States and its satellites, the development of nuclear energy is not only an integral part of a large–scale technological race, but also a tool for ensuring energy security. It is fundamentally important for the collective West that its nuclear generation in the future can be fully provided with its own raw material base of uranium, primarily of Canadian and Australian origin. Canada ranks 2nd in the world in terms of uranium production and 3rd in terms of uranium reserves. In addition, a distinctive feature of a number of large Canadian uranium deposits are unique ores with the highest uranium content. Currently, Canada is declaring its ambitions to seize in the medium-term global leadership in the uranium market and become the privileged supplier of this raw material to the United States, EU member states, Japan and South Korea. In addition, Canada is interested in the absence of competition from Russia in the global uranium market and intends to make efforts not to cede its market share to the Russian side. At the same time, Ottawa is trying to restrict China's access to Canadian uranium resources by pursuing a policy of discrimination against Chinese uranium buyers and mining companies.
USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2025;(10 (670)):17-31
17-31
Domestic Politics
Donald Trump's Presidential Discourse: From Loser to Winner
Abstract
Interest in the language that Donald Trump used during his two presidential campaigns, and which twice secured his victory, is due to its sharp differences from the language of the other candidates, most notably its simplicity and brevity. Trump has the lowest ratings across the board on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test. During the first presidential campaign of 2016, political opponents and engaged scientists, including many psychiatrists and psychotherapists, saw this as a sign of his intellectual failure and, based on analyses of his speeches and tweets, went so far as to demand his removal from the presidential election as suffering from severe mental illness. The ideological struggle was covered by science, but after his victory in the 2025th presidential campaign, the general trend of research on Trump's presidential discourse changed to the opposite. It turned out that the extreme brevity of Trump's words and sentences is the most effective tool for communicating with his voters, most of whom are conservative average white Americans without higher education, who preserve traditional American values and have an income below the average annual income of a U.S. resident. Trump's campaign speeches, with a ranking of 4.1 on the Flesch-Kincaid test (a level of difficulty comparable to the language of a 4th grade student) were accessible to 95 per cent of the U.S. adult population, which was unattainable for other candidates, both Democrats and Republicans. After the election, American political technologists switched to studying Trump's body language, for example, on the material of the joint interview with Ilon Musk, trying to predict in this way potential contradictions in the ruling American elite.
USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2025;(10 (670)):32-44
32-44
What is Behind the Silicon Valley Leaders' Transition to the President Donald Trump's Team?
Abstract
In January 2021, Twitter and then other leading U.S. IT companies which had supported the Democrats deleted the 45th U.S. President, Donald Trump, from the Internet. The most important detail is the fact that he was still in charge at that moment. This action denied him a return to the White House at that round even in theory. It looked like the Democrats' final fight for the existence which required deploying every available tool – including their influence over Silicon Valley. At that moment Trump recognized the necessity to admit his failure in this round to prepare for the next one. As a result, the same companies' heads appeared as VIP guests at the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th U.S. President, having donated large sums to the inauguration fund. Moreover, the new owner of Twitter ran DOGE, a government body under the Trump administration tasked to review the actions of the previous Democratic administration, from Trump's Inauguration till the end of May, 2025. The Democratic Party managed to destroy all that unlimited support from the Silicon Valley which they had enjoyed. They did it just in four years. The primary reason which made part of the Silicon Valley leaders change their views is the pressure form the Democratic Party on their companies. It turned out that the Democrats (or may be even the so-called Deep State) were frightened by the power of emerging technologies – at first social networks, then cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence – and their own inability to control them. They understood that their allies from the ICT community could become their new opponents who have financial, informational and technological resources. So after their return to the White House in 2021, the Democrats tried to make the Silicon Valley weaker and take them under strict control. They pressed social networks, smashed cryptocurrency sphere, and tried to deter an artificial intelligence through Biden's executive order and direct influence such as exerting influence through corporate boards (e.g., in the case of OpenAI). Some Silicon Valley actors interpreted this as an attempt to «kill» their businesses. Historically, the Silicon Valley has embraced ideas of independence from government interference. One of such actors – Peter Thiel – in 2009 declared his will to escape politics through cyberspace – through social networks and payment system uncontrolled by governments (then PayPal, now cryptocurrencies), as well as through outer space and microstates on sea platforms beyond the states territorial sea, i.e. beyond national jurisdictions (as interim stage). Later he understood impossibility of such escape and dived into politics with his ideas, money, and ties to the community. The Democrats by their own hands have made some other actors like Marc Andreessen do the same. As a result today a close associate of Thiel serves as Trump's Vice President, while Theil declares that the old regime is over.
USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2025;(10 (670)):45-56
45-56
Foreign Policy
Conflict Potential of Transatlantic Relations During Donald Trump's Second Term
Abstract
The article examines key crisis trends in the military-political, trade, economic, and ideological spheres that will largely shape U.S.-European relations during Donald Trump's second term. It analyzes NATO allies' disagreements over the future of the Alliance and the conflict in Ukraine, the potential of the U.S.-EU trade war and relations within the U.S.-EU-China triangle, as well as ideological differences between liberal and conservative versions of Euro-Atlanticism. The author concludes that the conflict of interests between the U.S. Republican administration and Europe's globalist elites is systemic in nature and may be further exacerbated by the radical and large-scale transformations planned by Donald J. Trump in the next four years.
USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2025;(10 (670)):57-69
57-69
The Ukraine Conflict and U.S. Sanctions Policy Against Russia
Abstract
This article seeks to explore an evolving role of coercive economic measures during an ongoing militarized dispute. Specifically, it assesses the effectiveness of the exceptionally hard sanctions against Russia employed by the U.S.-led coalition since February 2022. First, it identifies the purposes of the U.S. economic measures. Second, it investigates the rationale behind their design. It concludes that despite their significant economic costs, the U.S. sanctions have failed to achieve their primary goals – deterring and coercing the targeted country.
USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2025;(10 (670)):70-82
70-82
Ecology
Canada's «Green Paradox»: Between Ambition and Reality
Abstract
Canada, possessing significant reserves of fossil fuels, faces the dilemma of the «green paradox», which manifests as a dissonance between its declared ambitious goals in the sphere of ecological sustainability and the actual state of its energy balance, characterized by a substantial dependence on the extraction and export of hydrocarbons. The conducted analysis of the country's energy balance reveals that, despite the ongoing efforts to develop the renewable energy sector, Canada maintains a significant reliance on fossil fuels. This circumstance creates substantial limitations for the intensification and enhancement of the effectiveness of the transition to a low-carbon economy. Concurrently, a combination of internal and external factors creates a situation in which short-term economic interests, associated with the exploitation of fossil resources, may prevail over long-term sustainable development objectives.
USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2025;(10 (670)):83-95
83-95
Solar Generation in the US Power Grid: Issues and Opportunities
Abstract
Solar energy did not become the target for the first decrees of the new US administration, since its development does not contradict the interests of the traditional fuel and energy complex and has proven its effectiveness. The study focuses on both the geographical and climatic conditions of solar generation, as well as public policy. Subsidies, tax incentives, and investment in research and development play a key role in stimulating the growth of the solar energy segment. Based on the analysis of statistical data, corporate reports, government programs and expert interviews, California stands out as the most developed region in the field of solar energy. Barriers to development are the cost of land plots for solar power plants and their remoteness from power grids. In contrast to the gradually decreasing cost of production, the main challenges are related to energy storage systems and the utilization of worked out solar capacity. The study concludes that, thanks to key growth drivers and despite remaining barriers slowing down further expansion of the industry, solar energy in the United States is demonstrating steady growth, maintaining leadership among renewable energy sources as of early 2025.
USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2025;(10 (670)):96-110
96-110
State and law
Legal Protection of Natural World Heritage in the United States
Abstract
The problems of the protection of natural World Heritage properties in the United States of America are examined. The role of the USA in the preparation of the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the features of its interaction with UNESCO are revealed. The legal independence of participation in UNESCO and in the Convention is stated. The peculiarities of the political context of the late nineties of the twentieth century in the issues of interaction with the World Heritage protection system are shown, expressed in the appearance of the draft law aimed at complicating the procedure of nomination of properties for inscription on the World Heritage List. Conclusions are drawn on the political independence of the Committee's decisions from UNESCO's position. The US federal legislation on World Heritage protection is characterized and the reasons for its changes in 2025 are analyzed. The important role of World Heritage property management plans in the U.S. conservation system is demonstrated. Examples from selected World Heritage properties illustrate the most serious threats to their ecological integrity and the measures being taken to mitigate them. These include climate change, mining and agro-industrial development. Based on the results of the study, conclusions are formulated on the possibility of adopting the positive experience of the protection of World Heritage properties in the United States in improving Russian environmental legislation.
USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2025;(10 (670)):111-122
111-122
Reader’s Deliberations
American Intelligence on Russia's Role in the Modern System of International Relations
Abstract
The article examines the U.S. Intelligence Community's Annual Threat Assessment 2025 with a focus on how it conceptualizes Russia's place in the international system and the implications for U.S. policy. The report situates Russia alongside China, Iran, and North Korea as a persistent state adversary, emphasizing both their deepening coordination and the rising risk of horizontal escalation across regional theaters. Two core claims about Russia are highlighted: first, the objectives of the special military operation are framed as an attempt to restore influence and secure guarantees in the post-Soviet space, which elevates the probability of inadvertent Russia–NATO confrontation; second, regardless of battlefield outcomes, the Russian state retains substantial resilience, making it a sustained challenge to U.S. interests. The article notes significant human and economic costs for Russia, growing dependence on China, and a narrowing of diplomatic maneuver, while also underscoring macroeconomic endurance (in PPP terms), expansion of defense-industrial capacity, and ongoing modernization of strategic forces. Externally, the assessment links the conflict to Western consolidation and NATO enlargement, alongside Russia's greater reliance on alternative platforms such as the SCO and BRICS. Although the ATA does not offer direct prescriptions, its analytic logic pushes U.S. decision-makers to account for escalation risks and the increasing connectivity of the China–Russia–Iran–North Korea alignment when calibrating policy toward Moscow.
USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2025;(10 (670)):123-127
123-127
Articles
Informatsiya dlya avtorov
USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2025;(10 (670)):128-128
128-128