The Highwaymen from the Great Sultan Road: the Fight of the Grand Vizier against the Cilicia’s Derebeys during the Campaign against Napoleon Bonaparte of 1799

Османское противостояние вторжению Франции в Египет и Сирию 1798–1801 гг. является одним из наименее изученных сюжетов Наполеоновских войн. Проведенные великим визирем Йусуфом Зия-пашой кампании 1799–1800 и 1801 гг. продемонстрировали как слабость османской армии, так и кризис административно-политического управления империей. Европейские, в том числе и российские наблюдатели могли воочию убедиться, как султанские войска оказались бессильны не только освободить захваченный противником Египет, но и совладать с деребеями – главарями господствовавших в Анатолии разбойничьих шаек. Представленная статья посвящена феномену появления анатолийских деребеев и драматичной борьбе с ними Йусуфа Зия-паши в 1799 г. The Ottoman resisting the invasion of France to Egypt and Syria in 1798–1801 is one of the least studied plots of the Napoleonic wars. The campaigns of 1799–1800 and 1801, conducted by the Grand Vizier Yusuf Zia-pasha demonstrated both the weakness of the Ottoman army and the crisis of administrative and political management of the Empire. European observers, including Russian ones, could convince with their own eyes how the Sultan’s troops were powerless not only to liberate Egypt captured by the enemy, but also to defeat the Derebeys, the leaders of bands of robbers that dominated in Anatolia. The presented article is devoted to the phenomenon of Anatolian Derebeys and to Yusuf Zia-pasha’s fighting against them in 1799.

Cry Wolf!

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged societies all around the world since the beginning of 2020. A state of alert was declared in Spain from March to June. The country came to a complete standstill, until restrictions gradually began to be eased. This study examines how the first wave of the pandemic was reflected by analysing 1,007 cartoons published in various Spanish newspapers between January and June. The results show that criticism of the political management of the public health crisis was the most extensively featured issue. Protection measures against the coronavirus, such as lockdown, hand hygiene, and social distancing were also important issues. Although the cartoonists at first minimised the risk, as soon as the state of alert was declared, the often contradictory measures and strained relations of the government and the opposition parties were the main focus of attention for cartoonists. The present analysis also shows that despite being the main victims of COVID-19, neither the elderly nor healthcare professionals are the most commonly depicted actors in the sample.

Financial Policy of Tiberius Constantinus the Augustus

Introduction. The historical sources did not give the detail description of all the policies of the Byzantine government in the rule of Tiberius Constantinus the August (578–582). Modern historiography usually follows their data without attracting of opportunities, which could be offered by the interdisciplinary methods. As a result, the full-length picture of the reign of Tiberius II has not been made yet. This statement is correct regarding different sectors of the emperor’s policies and his financial policy as well. Methods. Special method of study for such object was approved in earlier author’s publications. It bases on definition of a financial policy in the modern economics and, as consequence, on the use of data which are not mentioned by literary tradition and not noticed by the traditional historiography. As a result, the studying subject gets prodigious volume and versatility. Analysis and results. The analysis of the Tiberius II’s multi-aspect activity through prism of the imperial finance has allowed to see the results of his financial policy in those state life spheres that were not connected with the public finances immediately. In this connection the axiomatic facts and then events have received revaluation; some comparison of expenses and empire incomes was spent; the conclusion on quality of emperor’s political management was drawn. Besides, existence in head of this August of an original conception of the financial policy was ascertained. Its feature was the provision of payments balance in the sphere of foreign policy in every way. This emperor showed his organizing ability through the innovation in redistribution of resources between different state departments. Regular and extraordinary imperial budgets lost former precise frames of their functional activity. But moreover, Tiberius II has not gone into extremes of the private-owner attitude to the state finances. The moderation and rationalism of his financial policy did allow to avoid the full devastation of treasury in the period of his individual reign.

Military clergy reorganization in the Paul’s I of Russia military reform

The article examines an important historical stage in the development of military clergy. During this period, effective systems of military administration, training and recruitment and social protection of its members were established. In the process of the Emperor Paul's reform the military clergy acquired the features of a political institution. This was manifested in the active intervention of the state in the managerial system of the clergy. And the head of the military priests becomes the ober-priest of the Russian army and navy. A system of candidates selection for the positions of military priests has been built. A specialized educational institution was established for recruiting military clergy from the children of military clergy - the Army Seminary. After leaving the military department, martial ober-priests are provided with places in urban parishes, and martial priests are appointed to the rural churches of the dioceses from which they came to serve. A pension was introduced for the military clergy who were unable to continue serving because of age or illness. The military clergy were extracted from the subordination of the Holy Synod. And in the person of the ober-priest it was subordinated to the highest political leadership. As a result, the organization of the military clergy, which was optimal from the point of view of military-political management and effective use, was integrated into the military organization of the state. But this came into conflict with the canonical church norms and the position of the holy synod. After the tragic death of emperor Paul, this organization was largely dismantled.

Biopolitical turn in the Law: from the legal and institutional model to the biolaw

Relevance. Since the XVIII century, there has been a gradual qualitative transformation of sovereign power in the course of the formation of a biopower based on the regulation of natural processes inherent in the population. At the turn of the XX–XXI centuries, biopolitics as an authoritative organization of the life of the population became the dominant management model. At present, numerous biopolitical tools carry out the construction of the social. Objectives. The purpose of the article is to explicate the process of transformation of the legal and institutional model of regulation of public relations inherent in sovereign power into biolaw as a tool for regulating public relations carried out by biopower. Results. In the course of the study, the process of the formation of biolaw, which arises on the basis of the already established system of legal and political regulation due to its modification by biopolitical means of medicalization, normalization, identification, criminal biopolitics, is considered. As a result of the steady biopolitical intervention in the regulation of the life of the population, the lex-law as a system of legal norms expands to nomos-law focused on a sample of the natural order, correlative to the constructed norms of human life as a biosocial being. Conclusions. Biopolitics in the process of formation radically transforms the social, including legal relations. Biolaw is a system of flexible tools for regulating social relations, tending to the model of the natural order. Biopolitical regulation is steadily replacing the traditional legal and political management model.

THE ISRAELI FACTOR IN IRAN-AZERBAIJAN RELATIONS (2005-2013)

The article deals with Israel’s factor which influences Iran-Azerbaijan relations. The article highlights the following issues when assessing the impact of the Israeli factor on Iran-Azerbaijan relations: • Represent Israel’s foreign policy priorities on Azerbaijan, • Assess the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Azerbaijan-Israel cooperation and analyze Iran's policy within this context, • Analyze Azerbaijan's motives for strengthening cooperation with Israel. The nuclear program, Iran's missile systems, the Shia factor, the Iranian-speaking peoples of Azerbaijan (Tats, Talish), the activities of Azerbaijani Shia opposition figures, the 760-kilometer border between Azerbaijan and Iran – these are the main factors underlying Israel's policy towards Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan first of all justified the establishment of relations with Israel with the expectation of receiving military-political assistance from Israel in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. During the presidency of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013), when one of the scenarios for suspending Iran's nuclear program was considered a military attack, the territory of Azerbaijan was considered a platform for attacking Iran. While Baku has made every effort to exclude the Iranian factor in Azerbaijan-Israel military cooperation, the Iranian military-political management has always been skeptical of Baku's assurances, claiming that Israeli drones could easily be used for reconnaissance against Iran. • During Hassan Rouhani's presidency, as compared with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, positive developments took place in the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran, and bilateral economic cooperation strengthened. In order to weaken Israel's influence in Azerbaijan, Iran replaced its policy of harsh response to Azerbaijan with economic cooperation. Iran was more concerned about the growing influence of Israel in various spheres in Azerbaijan than the use of a possible Israeli threat against Iran from the territory of Azerbaijan, which has always been raised in the past. • Azerbaijan tried to bring counterargument against Israel-Azerbaijan relations with Armenia-Iran relations. • In order to weaken Iran's religious influence, Azerbaijan, on the one hand, repressed the country's Shiite opposition figures, and on the other hand, Baku managed to obtain military-political support from Israel by exploiting the Iranian-Shiite "threat". • According to Iranian experts, the strategic relations between Azerbaijan and Israel have been established in the South Caucasus, in particular due to Iran's wrong policy towards Azerbaijan. • Currently, if in the Middle East, Iran more or less manages to control the threats appearing from the proxy war with Israel, than on its immediate border Iran is trying to avoid a direct confrontation with Israel. During the Second Artsakh War, the transfer of Israeli UVC of the territory of Iran, and in this regard, Iran's cautious statements are evidence of that.

Stakhanovite Movement and the Policy of Labour Efficiency Improvement in the Second Part of the 1930s (by the Example of Tula Gunsmiths)

The article considers the phenomenon of Stakhanovite Movement in terms of labor efficiency management in the second part of the 30-s of the 20th century. The author describes the sources of Stakhanovite Movement based on unity of research subject, succession and development. According to the research, the main prerequisites of Stakhanovite Movement include such new phenomena of the Soviet economy as increase in power availability of workers, enhancing their technical literacy, raising the level of workers’ general culture and the role of labor financial incentives. The Stakhanovitе method of improving labor efficiency was based on specialization of qualified and supplementary labor, rationalization of technological process, transfer of best practices and political management of Stakhanovite Movement. At the same time, Stakhanovite Movement had some drawbacks, which were widely described by national and foreign historians. The rhythm of production cycle was regularly disrupted due to arrangement of Stakhanovite shifts, five-day working weeks and month’s campaigns. The expanding progressive piece-work pay system also had some disadvantages. The Stakhanovite Movement content included the strengthening of psycho-physical pressure, which workers were strongly opposed to. Although Stakhanovite Movement played a very meaningful role in labor efficiency improvement based on technological advancement and new financial incentives that led to establishing the Soviet industrial patriotism, a new historical phenomenon.

The potential of state-corporate hybridization in the processes of traditional political regimes transformation

The purpose of this article was to identify the potential of state-corporate hybridization as one of the scenarios for the transformation of traditional political regimes. Based on the application of the methods of critical analysis and case study, the author researches the practice of adapting political regimes to the conditions of current technological transformations and the growth of the complexity of controlled socio-political systems. The results of the study allow us to confirm the hypothesis that, in order to ensure the stability and survival of national political regimes, with a high degree of probability, technologically developed states will implement scenarios of «absorption» of existing digital technologies in their own interests in order to increase their own diversity and complexity of the system of public and political administration. At the same time, the paper concludes that, in order to maintain their functionality in the new conditions of a changing technological environment, the traditional institutions of power will strive to implement the scenario of strict regulation, regulation, and restriction of the activities of global technology companies, which pose a significant threat to the political stability of the state. The alternative scenario is to integrate technological giants in state and political management processes, to include their essential resources and technologies (with subsequent implementation at a practical level) in the «smart» models of state and political management of a new type. At the same time, the author of the article expresses profound skepticism about the potential of using digital technologies in the processes of democratization of modern societies in the case of the implementation of the scenario of state-corporate hybridization, finding in digitalization a significant range of threats, risks, and challenges for contemporary social development in conditions of current technological turbulence.