scholarly journals Religion and the Political Process: the Fourth Wave of Democratization

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 11-27
Author(s):  
R. N. Lunkin

The article analyzes the role of religion in socio-political processes in Europe, in the post-Soviet space, and more broadly in the Western world. The structural and functional approach, methods of sociological and political analysis of the religious factor as a political phenomenon are applied. The purpose of the study is to analyze the role of religion (mainly Christian churches) in democratic processes on the example of the EU member states and the post-Soviet space. Special attention is paid to the participation of various Christian churches in socio-political transformations, conflicts and “orange” revolutions, as well as to the opposition of religion to the ideology of modern liberal democracy from the standpoint of traditionalism (identity). It is concluded that religion has become an important marker of a global phenomenon that can be called the “fourth wave” of democratization (following the periodization of S. Huntington). If within the framework of the third wave, religion was one of the elements and at the same time objects of democratization, then since the 2000s religion is the main impulse factor of the entire process of traditionalist democratization in social, political and cultural dimensions. The civic activity of believers corrects liberal democracy, makes it more “moral,” and not archaic. The merit of religion is that it has clearly defined the boundaries beyond which the democracy of the future should not be transgressed: the recognition of the right to traditional moral foundations for entire societies and states along with the usual liberal freedoms, i.e., equality of all races and peoples, the value of every person, the freedom of speech.

2017 ◽  
pp. 97-124
Author(s):  
Iryna Vyshnia

The article analyses the main groups of scientific works in Ukrainian and foreign historiography. The main focus was made on dividing the existing historical researches into groups by their main object of study. Among them, one can distinguish the following ones: works reviewing the global and European political processes and the role of Ukraine and Moldova therein; the Ukrainian-Moldovan cooperation with the EU and NATO; Ukraine’s and Moldova’s participation in the integration processes on the post-Soviet space; the bilateral Ukrainian-Moldovan cooperation; the course and settlement of the Transnistrian conflict; political development of Ukraine and Moldova. Special attention is focused on the comparative analysis of the different perspectives of the Ukrainian, Moldovan (including Transnistrian), Russian and other authors on such issues as Transnistrian conflict, rapprochement of Ukraine and Moldova with the EU and NATO, the role of Russia in the Transnistrian conflict. The author underlines that the changes in political development of both countries, as well as those in the international relations greatly influenced the activity of researches surrounding bilateral relations of Ukraine and Moldova, so did they on such issues as Transnistrian conflict and the conflict in Donbas (Ukraine). It is concluded that even with numerous publications focused on Ukrainian-Moldovan relations existing, there is a huge number of unexplored issues in this category.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
V. A. Shamakhov ◽  
N. M. Mezhevich

The foreign policy of some states does not always lend itself to rational explanation. The antithesis of the all-embracing rationality model was the model of incrementalism, first proposed by C. Lindblom, professor at Yale University. It was he who first noted that in the decision-making process there is a constant lack of knowledge, information, resources; and the role of uncertainty is great in the internal and external environment, which is difficult to control. However, even when ideally informed, politicians can make irrational decisions. Incrementalism as a theoretical approach draws attention to situations where decisions are not based on available and verified information. Political processes and relevant management decisions in Armenia and Belarus in 2020 indicate that the information quality and the management quality do not always correlate with each other.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Rabia Harmanşah

Abstract This article shows how everyday religious practices inform the processes of social identification, complicate presumed ethno-religious categories, and mediate local cultural differences in face of political and cultural hegemonic practices. In the context of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a de facto state recognized only by Turkey, Turkish Cypriots and Turks are considered to share an ethnicity and religion. This “overlap” has been employed to justify Turkey’s military intervention and its political, economic, and cultural domination over the island. Yet the cultural diversities and “perceived” differences between and among these groups are exacerbated by power dynamics, nationalist agendas, and mutual biases. The article explains subtle discussions around “genuine” Turkish and Muslim identities, as well as the enforced coexistence and constructed brotherhood of Cypriots and Turks on the island. The competing accounts of the “correct” interpretation of Islam at a Muslim tekke reflect intragroup power asymmetries and the conflict between institutionalized Sunni-Orthodox and “heterodox” local Islam. The article focuses on two overlooked issues in the scholarship on Northern Cyprus—the relations between Turkish Cypriots and settlers from Turkey, and the role of religion in the political processes—as well as on literature on shared sacred sites and an analysis of competitive intracommunal interactions.


Istoriya ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11 (109)) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Efim Pivovar

The paper is devoted to the latest Russian historiography of migration processes in the post-Soviet space. The author considers the most important research projects of academic institutions and universities of Russia in the field of history and modern dynamics of post-Soviet migrations, covers key trends and results of the development of migration issues in the framework of various areas of Russian science. The author comes to the conclusion about the need for further in-depth development of the recent history and modern trends in the migration policy of the CIS countries, the role of migration in the dialogue of cultures and civilizations in the post-Soviet space, including within the framework of international cooperation of Eurasian scientists.


2020 ◽  

The authors of the book analyze domestic political processes and international relations in the post-Soviet space. They examine the balance of political forces in Belarus after the presidential elections in August 2020, and transformations of political systems in Ukraine and Moldova. The main features of formation of the political institutions in the countries of South Caucasus and Central Asia and the latest trends in their devel-opment are analyzed. Attention is paid to the Karabakh and Donbass conflicts. The book examines the policy of major non-regional actors (USA, EU, China, Turkey) in the post-Soviet space. The results of develop-ment of the EAEU have been summed up. The role in the political processes in the post-Soviet space of a number of international organizations and associations (the CIS, the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the CSTO etc.) is revealed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-152
Author(s):  
V. I. Melnychenko ◽  

The author’s view of peculiarities of both the models of state’s management in the post-Soviet space and the reasons underlying their formation is presented. The specificity of the strengthening of the president-centrism in Ukraine is shown. It is emphasized that the president-centric model is mainly oriented to the interests of the bureaucracy and is not adequate to the increasing influence of the great business on political processes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-270
Author(s):  
Igor Olegovich Trubitszyn

The author made an attempt to study the role of the descendants of the nobility in the new socio-economic and political realities of Russia at the end of the XX - first decades of the XXI century. The author focuses on the processes of recreation and subsequent activities of noble societies. The basis of the source base was a series of interviews with the descendants of the nobility living in the territory of the Russian Federation and in the countries of the post-Soviet space. The research identified the stages of development of the noble organizations, the main aspects of their activities. A comparative analysis was carried out with the pre-revolutionary noble corporate organization, which made it possible to characterize the main ideals of this social group and to make a comparative analysis with the value system of the class of the pre-revolutionary period. The range of problems faced by noble societies in modern Russia is highlighted. The results of the study can be used to comprehensively characterize the activities of corporations of the nobility in Russia, as well as the activities of the descendants of the nobility in the modern world.


Author(s):  
Tatiana Nikolayevna Samsonova ◽  
Diana Nikolayevna Tsygankova

The authors of the paper analyze the main directions of the consolidation of modern Russian society, as well as the problems that hinder the implementation of this process. The main factors explaining the fea-tures of the processes of consolidation of Russian society in the XXI century are considered. The col-lapse of the USSR, the resulting crises, the specifics of socio-political processes in the post-Soviet space, the formation of a national idea to a large extent affect the level of cohesion of the country's citizens. It is concluded that for the effective imple-mentation of the process of consolidation of society in modern Russia, it is necessary to overcome a number of problems. In this regard, it is of supreme importance to eliminate socio-economic inequality, corruption in all spheres of life, and optimize the activities of government bodies. The authors em-phasize that the consolidation of modern Russian society is the most important task of the ongoing national policy and requires targeted efforts on the part of both the state and civil society. The im-portance of further sociological studies of the con-solidation processes of Russian society is noted.


Author(s):  
Konstantin E. Meshcheryakov ◽  

The article investigates the evolution of the Russian-Uzbekistani relations in the last years of the presidency of Islam Karimov (2012–2016). Based on a wide range of official sources and periodicals, it identifies the main trends, achievements and issues of bilateral cooperation in the political, trade, economic and humanitarian spheres. It determines the factors that influenced the interaction between Moscow and Tashkent, and pays a particular attention to the role of the presidents of the two states in the development and strength- ening of their cooperation. The author concludes that throughout the period under review the Rus- sian-Uzbekistani relations faced serious challenges. They were remarkably conflicting, unpredictable, inconsistent, and quite turbulent, what provoked the discussions about the correspondence of their real political condition to their high legal status (in 2004, Russia and Uzbekistan became strategic part- ners, and in 2005, allied states). Nevertheless, the two countries overcame most of their differences and took a course towards the further expansion and deep- ening, as well as modernization of their relations. As a result, at present Uzbeki- stan remains one of the most important Russia’s partners not only in Central Asia, but throughout the post-Soviet space, as well as within the framework of the leading international organizations.


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