From Competition to Competitive Cooperation: New Paradigm for Territories Development

The modern economic space demonstrates, on the one hand, the intensifying competitive struggle of various territorial entities for natural and financial resources, investments and business, for the population, qualified personnel, tourists, etc. On the other hand, the process of formation of competitive cooperation of territories, which does not exclude competition, and complements it, acting as a driving force for the development of the economy of regions and municipalities. The authors in the study assessed the current level and prospects of territorial competition, clarified the goals of competition of regions and municipalities. Consideration of the territory as a subject of competition is explained by the fact that the regions acquire the quality of a mega- enterprise. The potential of cooperation between the territories in the modern competitive economy is revealed. In modern Russia, competitive cooperation between territories is still very rare. A number of features of the evolution of competitive cooperation of territories are revealed: cooperation is specifically limited in time; any cooperation is inherent in risk; its formation and implementation always involve certain financial, intellectual, labor and other costs. The results of expert surveys conducted by the authors in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and in 2019 made it possible to highlight positive and negative results, as well as the consequences of interregional and intermunicipal cooperation in a competitive economy. An assessment of the readiness of territories (regions, municipalities) for cooperation is given. The paper draws attention to the fact that the regions and municipalities of Russia have different economic potentials, differ in the volume and specificity of resources, have features of spatial position, etc., which determines the possibilities for the development of their competitive cooperation. In the process of research, general scientific methods were used, in particular the dialectical method, the unity of the historical and logical, abstractions, analogies, expert surveys, etc. The results of the study can be used in the development and implementation of strategies for the socio-economic development of regions and municipalities in the modern competitive economic space.

Russian-Turkish Relations after 2015: New Trends, Old Dilemmas

As the events of the past few years indicate, relations between Russia and Turkey are increasingly determined by security-related issues. Such a shift in priorities in bilateral relations should be perceived not only as a response to the emerging threats to the internal and external security of the two countries but also as a consequence of the changes in the strategic orientation of Russia and Turkey after the end of the Cold War. The most important events in the formation of a new model of relations between Russia and Turkey were such as the “Arab Spring”, the wars in Syria and Libya, US support for the Syrian Kurds from the “People’s Self-Defense Forces”, the revolution in Ukraine and the subsequent Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the Russian military operation in Syria, the 2015 crisis in Russian-Turkish relations, and the attempted military coup in Turkey in 2016. Regional crises near the borders of Russia and Turkey and the growing securitization of the policies of both states not only pushed Moscow and Ankara to interact in the security sphere but also created new challenges for their relations. In this article, the authors examine the dynamics of Russian-Turkish relations, paying particular attention to the security dimension, as well as the opportunities and limitations for cooperation between the two countries, given that security is becoming an increasingly important element in bilateral relations. The main focus is on the analysis of competitive cooperation between Russia and Turkey in Eurasia, for the understanding of which it is necessary to refer not only to the current context but also to the historical experience of interaction between the two countries in this wide geographical space. Acknowledgements. Published with the financial support of the project “The influence of the policy of Iran and Turkey on transformation of the Middle East and Post-Soviet space” of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs of HSE-University.

TRADE AND COMPETITIVE COOPERATION OF THE EU WITH THE MAJOR INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION GROUPINGS

The article examines the current interaction, convergence and the state of formalization of trade and competitive cooperation between the largest international integration groupings, namely, negotiating the free trade area between them and determining the possible prospects for the development of transregional integration. The aim of the study is to analyze the main trends of free trade zones and agreements between the European Union (EU), United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), South American economic organization (MERCOSUR), the impact of transregional integration on trade and investment activities of Member States and integration groupings in general. The analysis of current trends has indicated the strengthening of the momentum of the negotiations on free trade zones between international integration groupings and the establishment of the major global trend: the number and types of agreements on trade and economic cooperation not only between countries, but also between interstate integration groupings are growing, new free trade zones are being announced, and the range of concepts regarding competitive advantages is being extended. It has been determined that trade and competitive interaction of the global economy creates a stable platform for building up both economic and competitive force, which leads to global economic development and enhances hypercompetition. It has been proved that trade and competitive convergence of interstate integration groupings leads to new forms and mechanisms of activities organization and as a result, the prospects for the consolidation of free trade zones are emerging. Thus, the competitive position of international integration associations in the global economy is being strengthened due to active development of economic and trade cooperation, not only within the grouping of Member States, but also in the parallel process of interaction with non-Member States and with international integration groupings.