Precarization of employment relationships in remote–working conditions during COVID-quarantine

The large-scale social consequences of the global COVID epidemic demanded a multilateral analysis of its impact on the global processes of social development of the country. Particularly noticeable changes are observed in the sphere of work and labor relations. More than a years self-isolation and quarantine conditions necessitated the introduction of a remote work mode, accelerated the pace of mastering digital technologies in almost all areas of employment, and determined new requirements for the specialized qualities and competencies of workers. The massive transition to remote work turned out to be a professional challenge for many workers with different social status and required the ability to get involved in the digital economy in a dynamically short time frame. Employees who were unable to adapt to new conditions lost their jobs. Despite the positive aspects of working remotely, a number of negative aspects have been identified that seriously affected everyday life in a pandemic reality. Among them the most tangible are: the growing uncertainty and opacity of the labor and wages legal forms, individualization of workers, which deepen the process of labor relations precarization. The conclusions were made in accordance with the results of the analysis of entrepreneurs and public sector employees pilot interviews under conditions of quarantine restrictions, the analysis of materials from official statistics, monitoring data from analytical centers of Russian Public Opinion Research Center, Public Opinion Foundation, National Agency for Financial Studies and others.

The Transformation of Analytical Centers as an Element of Chinese “Soft Power” in the 2010–2020

Transformations in China’s cultural and ideological narrative since the 2010s have required the establishment of specific Chinese “think tanks of a new type,” which are formally institutionalized in Chinese legislation. In the initial period of their development (2013–2018), thinktanks were tasked with becoming a significant “soft power” tool to promote and explain key political and economic ideas, including Xi Jinping’s initiatives, so say to “reconceptualize” official ideas at the expert and analytical level and translate Chinese ideological initiatives language into the generally accepted language of expert discussion. However, since 2019–2020, being challenged by creating an anti-Chinese alliance, think-tanks were required to carry out not only expert-analytical work but also to develop draft decisions on critical issues of external and internal development. China’s political leaders seek to create a new type of analytical culture, stimulating the development of new types of centers and completely transforming the old ones. Of the four types of centers – governmental, academic, university, and public (non-governmental) – the governmental and public centers have proved the most effective. In contrast, the centers that grew out of academic institutions and university structures have been criticized for being slow and impractical in their judgments. At the same time, a number of public analytical centers have grown into giant corporations: today, they have branches in dozens of Chinese cities and abroad, maintain ties with Chinese Huaqiao, and advise the country’s authorities on crucial issues of political and economic development.

From Covid “today” to low-carbon “tomorrow”: analysis of foreign forecasts for the development of world energy

The article is devoted to the analysis of forecasts of the world energy development made recently (from September 2020 to May 2021) by the world’s leading analytical centers, taking into account “the new reality” – the coronavirus pandemic. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the development of the world economy and energy consumption and the estimates of its consequences on long-term global economic growth made in various forecasts and prognostic studies are considered. It is shown that the priority of most of the prognostic estimates of the world consumption of primary energy resources made by the world’s leading analytical centers in recent years is a sharp reduction in CO2 emissions by energy and stabilization of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent negative climate changes on our planet. A conditional classification of scenarios for the prospective development of global energy is given, depending on the ideology that is embedded in them, an analysis of the fulfilled forecasts is given. It is concluded that Russian research structures need to develop their own similar forecasts.

Expert Assistance in Security Politics: Problems and Possibilities

The article examines the problem of correlation between the “knowledge society” and “knowledge practice,” based on analysis of the phenomenon of security expertise as a part of political expertise. In the article, we consider the relationship between politics and security and demonstrate under what circumstances security becomes politics. It is noted that at present the concept of security has become very multifaceted and includes various spheres, from military-political to informational and humanitarian. We defines security expertise, list its key parameters, origin, its institutionalization and practices. Special attention is paid to the characteristics of the main schools in the study of security expertise problems. Their general ideology and inherent problems are analyzed, including the correspondence of the quality of the expertise to recognized standards of scientific knowledge. We explain why security issues appeal to experts and result in numerous studies. We raise an issue of causes that may lead to possible deprofessionalization of security expertise. We identify a number of institutions with an expert status in the field of security and explain the global growth of analytical centers specializing in security expertise. A brief description of such analytical centers and their main features is given. We look into examples of practical impact of expertise on political decision-making, and possible mechanisms of expert support. It is concluded that expert analysis can exercise direct impact on political processes, and the experts become influential shadow participants. On the one hand, this may contribute to adopting more balanced decisions, but, on the other hand, it may result in deprofessionalization of experts who will try to adjust to the demands of politicians. Thus, in the sphere of security expertise, one of the results of the formation of a “knowledge society” is a decrease in the autonomy of the scientific sphere, which has a side effect in the form of deprofessionalization of knowledge.

Chorwacja wobec Inicjatywy Trójmorza

The article raises the topic of Croatia’s place and role in the Three Seas Initiative (3SI). The aim of the article is: (a) showing the relationship of the main political forces to the 3SI; (b) an indication of the scale of interest in this project from national analytical centers; (c) analysis of the reasons for involvement or reserve and distance to the Three Seas Initiative; (d) analysis of the role attributed or expected in the Three Seas Initiative; (e) analysis of the perception of other states – participants of the Three Seas Initiative; (f) analysis of integration projects competing or complementary to the Three Seas Initiative which are or may be of importance for Croatia; (g) to show the attitude of the government in Zagreb to the execu-tive/intergovernmental dimension being developed; (h) an indication of the threats and opportunities identified by the Croatian authorities for the Three Seas Initiative; (i) analysis of the perception of 3SI’s relations with the European Union; (j) analysis of the perception and assessment of the policy of third countries towards the Three Seas Initiative (from the Zagreb perspective). The structure of the article follows the above-mentioned goals.

PROBLEMS OF FUNCTIONING THE NET OF THE INFORMATION– ANALYTICAL CENTERS OF UKRAINE ON THE MODERN STAGE

The purpose of the article is to analyze the main problems of functioning the information-analytical centers (IAC) of Ukraine on the modern stage. The methodology of the research is based, firstly, on multifactorial analysis which is directed on the complex studying of internal and external factors of IAC work with the purpose of revealing its key problems, and, secondly, on methods of generalization and typology, thanks to which is possible to form and separate closely connected blocks of problems. The scientific novelty of the work is in separation the key blocks of problems of IAC functioning in Ukraine nowadays: 1) financial (absence of stable financing from the state, lack of institutional grants, problems of legislative regulation of diversification of sources of income, etc.); 2) communicative (absence of the proper level of communication between IAC, power institutions, and business, between different subjects of analytical activity); 3) institutional-regulatory (“hybrid” and situational type of activity of major agents of the information-analytical market, absence of Ukrainian IAC association, etc.); 4) educational-scientific (“staff shortage” which is closely connected with the absence of educational centers of analysts’ advanced training); 5) reputational (low level of Ukrainian IAC integration into the global analytical community, non-system work in raising the level of Ukrainian society trust to IAC, weak presence on the regional level, non-effective media activity, etc.). Conclusions. It is affirmed that the IAC NET of Ukraine as the basis for the effective intelligent platform for the management decisionmaking process which, is still on the stage of evolution and formation, nonetheless, its activity is not only possible but also is effective, even note the closed nature of the political system and the risk of increasing social tensions, given the unresolved nature of many socio-economic problems in Ukraine nowadays. Key words: Ukraine; information-analytical centers (IAC); subjects of analytical activity; informationanalytical market; analysts’ advanced training, media sphere.

POLITICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE AUTHORITIES’ AND POPULATION’S EXPECTATIONS REGARDING RUSSIAN GOVERNORS (BASED ON RESEARCH OF THE NEW GENERATION GOVERNORS)

The purpose of the article was to find an answer to the question of how governors of the “new generation” meet the needs of the federal center and the population, and whether they are effective managers. The authors conducted a political and psychological study to answer this question using the following methods: analysis of secondary data from analytical centers, interviews with experts, in-depth interviews with the population, case-study and semantic differential. In the course of the study, the authors revealed the similarity of a number of expectations from both the authorities and the population: both sides want to see a new, promising, open politician who can independently solve managerial and economic issues in the region, etc. However, there were also differences in the goals and objectives set by the federal Center when appointing interim heads of the region or after elections,which to some extent contradicts the demands of society. In addition, the project "Young Technocrats" created for "novice" governors does not hold up to its name because the average age of "novice" governors has increased significantly, and the previously assumed universal concept of governing any territory, regardless of its membership has not been completely effective. At the same time, the political and psychological criteria highlighted in the article are one of the factors that influence the active renewal of the governor's corps which is both a trend and an answer to the problems of the governor's corps.

EXPERIENCE OF SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MULTIFOLD CONSEQUENCES OF THE PANDEMIC AS A NEW SOCIAL REALITY

The article points out on the consequences of the pandemic in everyday social life, in online mode. So, the informants were asked questions connected to significant changes during the onset of Covid-19 in various social spheres. The methodology of the analytical approach is based on a qualified assessment of the situation according to the results of large-scale field research by the largest survey and analytical centers (Public Opinion Foundation, Higher School of Economics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, etc.), as well as valid publications of Russian scholars on the topic in peer-reviewed publications. Within the framework of the study, the methodology of mini-interviews with university age and status strata directly associated with the educational process is involved in relation to the problems posed. In the article several statements are given, so they reveal the opinion of representatives of the senior group of respondents – Doctors of Sciences who teach at the university, who have experienced new realities personally and within students’ interaction. According to the results of the new social reality lessons, in the analytical content of the informants` answers there is still expectation of returning to the daily life.

System analysis in transport infrastructure

The article deals with the system of training of analysts and proposes the analytical structure of the transport and road complex with the corresponding analytical centers in each of the regions of the country, which have the principal novelty of research on rational forms and methods of information and analytical activity for improving the infrastructure projects and programs management and it is the perspective of creation of industry analytical elite. The object of the research - it is a system for the training of analysts majoring in “System analysis in transport infrastructure” for the transport and road complex of the country. The purpose of work – it is to identify the main program goals of applied system analysis in the transport infrastructure and strategic ways for the creation of analytical elite of the transport and road complex of the country. Method of research - it is a systemic, conceptual and software approaches. Suggested industry analytical structure has principled novelty toward the training of systemic analysts, providing with them the transport and road complex of the country, the continuous monitoring of the state and expert evaluation of the important decisions, the development of alternative infrastructure projects and programs in related fields of transport and road industry, that allow qualitatively to improve decision-making at strategic, tactful and operational levels of the management toward infrastructure projects. The support from the side of interested parties (Stakeholders) of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Ministry of Education concerning guaranteed annual state order of stated specialty “System analysis in transport infrastructure” in National Transport University will allow significantly increase the analytical potential of transport and road complex and country as a whole. Further development of the object of research – it is the state support for the system of the training of analysts for the transport and road complex of the country and suggested analytical system is the basis for the development of related fields of transport and road industry and support of public initiatives in improving the management toward infrastructure projects and programs and the creation of industry analytical elite.