Revisionist States’ Strategies and Encounters with Their Counterparts

This chapter argues that the current literature’s emphasis on revisionist attempts to challenge the existing international order by means of war and conquest is misplaced due to the changed nature of international relations. In contrast to “hard” revisionism, “soft” revisionism, intended to promote institutional change, has become more relevant to today’s world. Four “soft” revisionist strategies are introduced to show how a revisionist state is likely to pursue its agenda. They are institutional reform, institutional competition, institutional obstruction, and institutional exit, with illustrations from Chinese and US conduct toward different multilateral organizations. The choice among these strategies is hypothesized to depend on a state’s comparative advantage and the benefits it receives from a specific institution.

The Prospects for Creating Instruments for the Coordination of Activities of International Organizations in the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence

The objective of the research is identifying the prospects for the development of instruments for coordinating the activities of international organizations on the regulation of artificial intelligence and elaborating proposals in relation to the mechanisms of cooperation of international organizations on the universal level on issues related to artificial intelligence. A complex of general scientific and philosophical methods, including the logical, comparative-legal, formal-legal, systemic-structural, problematic-theoretical methods, as well as methods of analysis and synthesis were used in the research. In the research it was found that Action Lines of the World Summit on the Information Society are working on issues that are discussed at the AI for Good Global Summit. The activities of the World Summit on the Information Society such as ICT regulation are more general in nature while those of the AI for Good Global Summit are more special. The problem of “international institutional competition” of the two discussion platforms can be resolved by ITU’s efforts to coordinate the two discussion platforms and by supplementing the competence of UNGIS with issues of artificial intelligence. The findings can be used in activities of international organizations in execution of their functions of unification and harmonization of the international information law.

Institutional competition and import of institutions: Theoretical aspects

Modern economy updates the problems of institutional competitions manifested in permanent non-compliance with the rules by the economic agents, the introduction of new institutions, standards, agreements, destruction of the current institution system. The import of the instutitions is the most relevant type of the institional competition. The borrowing of the institutions exert the impact of the established rules on the internal institutions and organizational forms, thus becoming dependent, just like their executors. This provides the initiator of the introduced rules with some benefits and the leading role in the institutional competition. The purpose of the research is to use theory of the institutional competition to propose a unified quality assessment method for the acting and re-introduced institutions to approve of the managerial decisions aimed to adjust the institutional system. The research methodology consists of institutional theory and assessment approaches to classical and functional efficiency, as well as in the field of quality assessment for the institution performance, which are defined as abstract norms and organizational structures, including the development institutions as regional development agencies. The result of the study was a designed general model of institutional competition, presentation of the blocking effect and dysfunction of the imported institution, as well as the proposed unified comparative assessment method for the quality of acting and imported institutions. It is also substantiated that the plot of the Coase theorem is opposite to the "lock-in" effect, while the Coase theorem lacks institutional competition. In practice, transactional costs are shown not to be equal to zero for the institutional competition. When institutions are imported, costs can increase with lock-in effects and dysfunction. In this regard, the introduction of new institutions should be justified with the parameters of the performance efficiency in some countries and with the conditions of the social economic system where they are supposed to be used, taking into account the institutional competition. The institutional competition is showcased as the import of development institutions as regional development agencies. Further research is seen to be connected with testing the proposed approach under the quality assessment criteria from the institutions and designed models for determining the permissible volume of imports of institutions.

Transformation of higher education: overcoming the conflict of competence and fundamentality

The purpose of the paper is to analyze the problems of transformation of higher education in Russia, expressed in the transition to a competence-based approach, which became a natural result of the introduction of the so-called “Bologna process”. The research methodology consists of a comparative taxonomic analysis of basic education and education obtained by competencies, with the identification of potential advantages and disadvantages. The introduction of new standards in the field of education, not of Russian origin, is considered by the authors as the result of defeat in institutional competition, which does not exceed arguments about the unity of diplomas or educational space. For the strategic development of Russia, it is necessary to build systems of higher education according to its own rules, focus on basic fundamental education, and consider the acquisition of certain competencies as an auxiliary action at the next stages of improving personnel of higher qualifications, when fundamental education has already been obtained. Thus, it is proposed to take the competence approach beyond the boundaries of university education to the stage of postgraduate professional development and additional training.

The Fall of Cassius Dio’s Roman Republic

Summary This article reinterprets Dio’s view of the fall of the Republic by arguing that Dio viewed institutional political competition, rather than ambitious individuals, as the central destructive driving force in the Late Republic. Dio’s interpretation is hereby unique among ancient historiography. This interpretation has been skilfully interwoven in the general narrative and only by reading Book 39 as a whole, does the interpretation emerge. According to Dio, institutional competition became inherently destructive in the Late Republic and Book 39 is absolutely fundamental in understanding this transformation and the consequent failure of the Roman δημοκρατία.

Institutional Сompetition and Сollision of Сivilizations in the Process of Modernization

The article is the study of such a phenomenon as institutional competition in the framework of a civilizational approach. An institution is described as a complex, composite category. Various approaches of modern authors to its definition and the divergence of their interpretations are revealed. The author of this article identifies informal institutions with culture, which is defined as rooted mass beliefs about a just social order. Formal institutions are ultimately determined by culture, but are not related to it. Civilizations, or social orders, are divided into two types: lawful and violent. The former is based on protected private property, whereas the latter represents the so-called power-property, when the state is the explicit or implicit supreme owner. Institutional competition between the lawful and violent civilizations implies competition for the replacement of one of the competing parties’ fundamental institutions with alternative institutions of the other. In this respect, it differs radically from institutional competition between countries of the same civilization type, where evolutionary selection of institutions occurs while maintaining a common institutional core. Modernization is a dual concept. On the one hand, it acts as westernization, i.e. the displacement of institutions of the violent civilization by its alternative. Completed westernization would mean, for one country or another, a change in the civilizational paradigm. On the other hand, countries belonging to the violent civilization hold back westernization, and resort to adaptive modernization in the form of organizational and technical improvements as well as controlled market transformations that do not destroy their institutional cores. In the 21st century, no rapprochement of civilizations can be observed: on the contrary, they are being alienated from each other.

Blockchains and institutional competition in innovation systems

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the notion of blockchain as an institutional technology, defend the idea of National Innovation Systems as institutional systems, and then make use of the theory of institutional competition to characterise challenges posed by innovation public policy by blockchain technology. Design/methodology/approach The approach is to consider the nature of blockchain technology as an institutional technology, and to consider the nature of National Innovation Systems as institutional systems. The author then applies a theory of institutional competition developed elsewhere to appraise the interaction of the two. Findings The author expects for there to emerge sustained competition for National Innovation Systems from innovation systems implemented using blockchains. There will be pressure exerted by the latter upon the former to become more integrated, secure, usable and to greater support profit expectations for entrepreneurs. Originality/value The theory of institutional competition upon which this work is based makes use of cutting-edge behavioural and institutional economics. It has hitherto only been applied at a general level and has not been applied to a specific set of institutions such as National Innovation Systems.

Conclusion

Chapter 7 recaps the book’s finding that processes of continuity and change have occurred simultaneously, transforming an under-institutionalized region into a complex patchwork of overlapping institutions. The chapter then draws lessons from historical institutionalism for international relations theory and its significance for Asia policy and strategy. The book concludes with recommendations for US policy makers given rising tensions in US-Sino relations and potential institutional competition between Beijing and Washington. In particular, it advocates policy makers to adopt a zero-sum framework and continue building and supporting the regional architecture in ways which reinforce, but also look beyond its bilateral alliances.