THE CONCEPT OF THE “COMMUNITY OF COMMON DESTINY FOR MANKIND” AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF CHINA’S FOREIGN POLICY

The "community of common destiny for mankind" is a new concept in Chinese diplomacy, which has been increasingly used in the reports of the Chairman of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping in the past five years. Given the small number of domestic academic studies dedicated to this concept, the relevance of considering its meaning, motives and implications is increased. Although the fundamental goal and task of the «community of common destiny for mankind» is not clear, and in the system of China's international relations it is considered as an important part of the long-term plan for reforming the global governance system, establishing China as a responsible power and using the period of "strategic opportunities" in the second and third decades of the XXI century. During the escalation of international conflicts, and ongoing financial and economic crisis, the proposed concept has attracted the interest of an international audience, but there are contradictions in its perception among developing countries, also the world’s leading actors. After examining the materials of researchers in the field of China studies and international relations, it is necessary to comprehensively consider the connection of the «community of common destiny for mankind» with other concepts under the foreign policy paradigm of China, also in the context of the transformation of China’s foreign affairs.

KAZAKHSTAN’S NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH RUSSIA

The article examines the main aspects of the definition of Kazakhstani identity in the context of strategic partnership with the Russian Federation, its historical and political analysis at the turn of the XXI century and on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Particular emphasis is placed on the ideological basis for strengthening the independence of Kazakhstan through a well-grounded multi-vector foreign policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its role in the context of strategic partnership with the Russian Federation in the context of the formation of a new world order in the modern system of international relations.

THE PROCESS OF RELIGIOLIZATION IN MODERN KAZAKHSTAN: SPECIFICS AND TRENDS

Kazakhstan as the middle country of Eurasia experiences deterministic influences on the course of a number of societal processes including religious ones. Sovereign development turned out to be synchronized with deideologization which replaced it with re-deideologization, the transformation of ideological identity. The dilemma of secularity / religiosity is manifested ambivalently, the number of explicit and non-obvious supporters of the transition to religious statehood is increasing. Religiosity appears to be procedural rather than spontaneously functioning. The risks associated with the loss of intellectual potential, distancing from the traditions of ethno-confessional identity, the growing influence of quasi-religious archaization, decrease in national competitiveness are increasing. Religiolization of Kazakhstani society is a new trend, manifests itself as a tendency for the interaction of non-religious and religious content of life, has an impact on the development of society, the state and dynamics of changes in human capital. Systematic interdisciplinary studies of the process reveal its philosophical, sociological, political, religious, psychological and legal dimensions. Accordingly, the processes of religiolization can be effectively studied through monitoring, analysis, reconstruction, conceptualization, modeling, predictive assessments and the development of scientific and practical recommendations for actors of state and political administration. The article examines the concepts of the process of religiolization of the Kazakhstani society with a focus on the political dimension.

HISTORICAL STAGES AND CURRENT TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN

The article provides a comparative legal and chronological analysis of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On local government and self-government" and the corresponding articles from the text of the Constitution. The priority directions of the ways of reforming the conceptual foundations of local government and self-government in Kazakhstan are analyzed. The research used general scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge. Among the results obtained, we will point out the following: proposals have been developed to improve legislation; recommendations on amendments to the Constitutional Law "On elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan" were proposed; reflects the advantages of a mixed electoral system; criteria for the election of deputies of maslikhats have been put forward.

MASS MEDIA AS A TOOL OF THE PRC'S "SOFT POWER" POLICY

The article reflects the peculiarities of the application of the theory of "soft power" of the People's Republic of China through the mass media in state policy. In addition, the origin of this theory, the definition of the concept of "soft power" by Chinese researchers, adapted to Chinese society and culture, is given. This theory has gained particular popularity in the country, because it has found harmony with the worldview of the Chinese nation. Modern Chinese media, which, relying on new technologies, are the main tool for implementing this policy, successfully solve their main tasks. In particular, many major Chinese media content is published in English, their presence on the global Internet is increasing, and the scale of distribution is expanding. It is known that in order to spread Chinese culture on a global scale, deepen its acceptance, express a positive attitude to socio-economic modernization and political decisions of the People's Republic of China, the state uses innovative communication methods and actively spreads the Chinese "tone" in the international arena. The Chinese media come to the conclusion that they are effectively pursuing a policy of "soft power", spreading the values and culture of China around the world and thereby forming a positive image of the country. However, it is impossible to come to an unambiguous conclusion that China's soft power is being successfully implemented. After all, within the framework of the US-Chinese confrontation and the "belt and road", the activities of the Chinese media are severely criticized.

CLASSIFICATION FEATURES IN THE STUDY OF "SOFT POWER"

The paper analysis academic studies on soft power and comparatively examines researchers’ methods of classification the literature on this area. Author examined how and relying what kind of criteria researchers classified previous studies and their research objects. Comparatively described classification methods in the paper can be helpful for exploration other political science subjects. In addition, paper considered pioneer works on this subject and their core distinctions.