The Political Economy of Social Upgrading

Based on a Marxist reworking of the global value chains (GVC) framework, supplemented by insights from structuralist development economics and dependency theory, the thesis investigates what role evolving class relations play in processes of social and economic upgrading in global garment value chains. Situating workers’ agency at the intersection of a horizontal axis (local capital-labor-state relations) and a vertical axis (governance and distributional dynamics of the GVC), the thesis starts out by examining the key features of the 21st century garment GVC and their implications for producer countries. It is shown how a series of interrelated processes, including the transition to neoliberalism in the North, and the phase-out of quotas in the South, combined to produce a “supplier squeeze” in the garment GVC, with a simultaneous depression of export prices and an escalation of non-price requirements. Drawing on the work of the dependentista Marini, it is argued that these distributional dynamics amount to a form of unequal exchange that incentivizes manufacturers to super-exploit workers, pushing their wages below reproduction costs and/or working them beyond exhaustion.

Relations between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR in the 1920s: diplomatic and administrative-institutional aspects

The article discusses the specifity of the relations between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR in 1919–1929. The authors present the relations between the goverments of the two republics and actions of the Russian side aiming to transforme into the unitary state, initially rather loosely connected among them the constituent elements of the Soviet state. Relations between RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR were burdened with significant disavantages from the very beginning, as the former appropriates the rights of the union center. The article explains also the role and the place of the permanent representations of the union republics in Moscow, as well as the influence of the commissioners (Ukrainian government representatives in Moscow) on Soviet Russia’s policy towards Ukraine. Permenent ignoring by the government in Moscow of Ukraine’s needs and expectations, prompted the leadership of the party and the government of Ukrainian SSR to seek protection of its economic interests at the institutional level. With the creation of the USSR, the legal status of the republics included in that state changed. Relations between the republics lost their interstate character. In place of the existing ones, new representations were established to ensure the maintenance of permanent ties between the government of the RSFSR and the governments of the union republics.

The Changing International Situation and Chinas Concept of Peripheral Diplomacy in the Context of the Epidemic

The COVID-19 virus has not just changed the mode of operation and way of life of all humanity, but has profoundly transformed the entire world, from the global political structure and economic environment to the models and methods of regional economic development. It has significantly influenced the content and timing of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, impacting the international situation and the implementation of inter-state relations. In this context, China, adhering to the five basic principles of peaceful coexistence, aims to enrich the diplomatic concept of «benevolence, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness» in relations with neighboring states in order to strengthen and deepen them. The article puts a special emphasis on Chinese-Russian relations. It argues that the priority tasks for the leadership of the two countries should include: developing options for generating new production chains; taking into account the widening «gap between poor and rich» countries, as well as changes in the global political landscape. The implementation of these tasks can act as a stabilizing factor for regional and international development, guarantee secure borders and become a shining example of inter-state relations for the rest of the neighboring countries.

The Communist Theory of International Relations

This essay analyses the distinctive effects of Marxist-Leninist ideology and Communist practice on states ruled by Communist parties and states with non-Communist or ‘bourgeois’ regimes. Communist regimes assert that they are historically destined to triumph over ‘capitalist’ and ‘imperialist’ governments. From 1917 to 1944, the Soviet Union was the sole Communist-governed state. Since 1944 there have been multiple Communist-ruled states. Such states generally have formal state-to-state relations in addition to Communist party-to-party relations. Non-Communist-ruled states may have oppositional relations with domestic and foreign Communist parties as well as formal relations with the foreign ministries of Communist-led states. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union has claimed that its decisions bind all Communist parties, but it has also accepted the primacy of a global gathering of Communist parties. Disputes among Communist parties over doctrine and interests that are theoretically congruent raise questions about the coherence of the ideology. Forming a Communist world-state to suppress national rivalries could offer a solution, but at the cost of abandoning national state sovereignties and the autonomy of specific Communist parties.

Collisions of Local and Spiritual in State and Public Activities of Metropolitan Ilarion (Ivan Ohienko)

The article clarifies the views of one of the brightest and most significant figures of the Ukrainian church — Metropolitan Ilarion (Ivan) Ohienko on the spiritual and secular service to Ukraine and his practical activities, which naturally effectively combined these two aspects. This article notes that an important element that united the two ministries and substantiated them was the deep level of their interpenetration, where Orthodoxy acquired a national character based on traditions. The article concludes that during this ministry his views on the church did not undergo nonlinear evolution, but only acquired depth and system. Even when Ivan Ohienko was in public office or abroad, he attached great importance to moral, ethical and ecclesiastical issues. Despite the ideological closeness with the views of another prominent Ukrainian church figure Andrei Sheptytsky on church-state relations, education and revival of the Ukrainian nation, language and culture as factors of Ukrainian identity, Ivan Ohienko was still skeptical of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, seeing in it is an instrument of Catholicization of the Ukrainian people. Ohienko believed that in reality only an autocephalous church could be Ukrainian, which relied exclusively on the traditions and needs of the people. This was the criterion of the truth of Orthodoxy for him.

Framing of Abortion and Church-State Relations in Russian Orthodox Online Portals

Over the past two decades, clerics in the Russian Orthodox Church have found a new outlet for morality policy discussions: news portals, blogs, and other sites that comprise a virtual public sphere of Russian Orthodox online media. One prominent issue discussed herein is abortion in Russia, a subject that has spawned debates about possible regulation and prevention measures. This article analyzes statements regarding abortion made by clerics and others serving in the Russian Orthodox Church via Russian Orthodox online portals. Using typologies for framing strategies established through research of morality policy and church-state relations in Russia, this analysis will show that rational-instrumental frames were employed more frequently than religiously based or procedural arguments, and frames expressing affinity and disillusionment with the state were utilized more often than those evoking church-state symphony or anti-government disestablishment. In addition, it will shed light on framing strategies between online portals with varying degrees of proximity to the Moscow Patriarchate.

Religion and Dictatorship in Europe

This chapter explores the intersection of religion and dictatorship after the First World War. It examines the question of institutional relations between church and state, and seeks to explore how these relations shed light on the ideological relationship between religious traditions and fascism in particular. It does this by considering comparative perspectives across Europe, especially with regard to church–state relations but also in terms of politics, ideology, and culture. It goes on to explore the cases of Italian fascism and German Nazism, demonstrating how these regimes have typically been understood, as well as how they perpetuated a distinctive religious politics.

Religion-State Relations in Europe

Europe is often taken to represent a global exception in matters of religion and secularity and some argue that much of the reason for this lies in the way religion-state relations are arranged. This chapter assesses these and related claims while summarily tracing the character, development, and impact of different relationship patterns in Europe as both ‘religion’ and ‘state’ have undergone massive change over the last 500 years. None of the fifty-odd current states of Europe meet any strict standard of religion–state separation; it can be argued nonetheless that the emergent and identifiable common European model is largely consistent with liberal egalitarian values. Key concepts are introduced: secular state, confessional state, religious state, religious establishment, and separationism.