“Political Science Issues”. Volume 12, Issue 1-2 (60-65), 2022
Academic journal “Political Science Issues”. Volume 12, Issue 1-2 (60-65), 2022
CONTENTS
Parez Yassin Hamad. Iraqi Kurdistan and the USA: Search of the Optimum
Morozov I.L. Historical Remembrance as a Geopolitical Category
Vankovska B. NATO 2022: a Search for Friends and Foes
Khorbaladze E.L. US Indo-Pacific Strategy: Main Dimesnsions and Implications for Russia
Timakhov K.V. NEOM: Transformation Project of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
DOI 10.35775/PSI.2022.60-65.1-2.001
PAREZ YASSIN HAMAD PhD student at the Department of Political Science of Institute of history and policy of Moscow State Pedagogical University Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq
IRAQI KURDISTAN AND THE USA: SEARCH OF THE OPTIMUM
The article is devoted to the analysis of the relations between the USA and the Iraqi Kurdistan and their interaction within domestic, regional and global policy in a historical retrospective. The author analyzes policy of the USA for the Kurdish revolt and the competition between the USA and the Soviet Union during “Cold War”. Within the research of the period which followed after the end of “Cold War”, the author comes to a conclusion that the foreign policy of the USA was substantially concentrated on the Middle East and was directed to protection of its main interests. Kurdistan became an important part of strategy of the USA on preservation of hegemony and the interests in the Middle East. Also in article the relations of the USA and Kurds after invasion of the USA into Iraq and holding a referendum on independence of the Iraqi Kurdistan in 2017 are considered.
Key words: U.S.-Iraqi Kurdistan relations, ISIS, Middle East, The USA, Iraqi Kurdistan.
DOI 10.35775/PSI.2022.60-65.1-2.002
I.L. MOROZOV Doctor of Political Sciences, Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of State Management and Political Science, Volgograd Institute of Management – branch of RANEPA, Volgograd, Russia
HISTORICAL REMEMBRANCE AS A GEOPOLITICAL CATEGORY
Considering the current trends of the international geopolitical process, including the aggravation of the interstate confrontation for military-political and economic domination, complicated by the increasing competition of non-state actors, the growth of terrorist threat, uncontrolled migration flows from the "global South" macroregion to the "global North" macroregion, the author studies the features of the historical remembrance of the Russian society and the influence of the political elite on the formation of the historical memory of the people. Political elites of different States in different historical periods have always sought to control and transform the historical remembrance of their people as the most important component of mass political consciousness in order to prevent the formation of potentially dangerous ideologies for themselves, able to start the processes of protest self-organization of society according to the network principle. To achieve this goal, information methods could be used, such as the destruction of the people's idea of their history as a whole process, the opposition of some fragments of historical remembrance to others, the distortion of the historical events interpretation and the distraction from the "inconvenient" facts of history. The task of developing a national idea is of increased relevance for Russia in the context of the current geopolitical confrontation with the competing actors of the international system and the designated internal social conflict caused by the decline in living standards and uneven distribution of national income among segments of society. The author proposes to build a national idea of modern Russia around three interrelated ideologies: Eurasianism, patriotism, and traditionalism.
Key words: historical remembrance, geopolitics, Ancient Rus, information war, propaganda, patriotism, national idea.
DOI 10.35775/PSI.2022.60-65.1-2.003
B. VANKOVSKA Professor of political science and international relations, Faculty of Philosophy, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Macedonia
NATO 2022: A SEARCH FOR FRIENDS AND FOES
The article analyses the position of North-Atlantic Alliance (NATO) in the changing multipolar world, and especially the developments related to the Ukraine. The focus is on the alleged internal cohesion and the prospects after the Madrid Summit held in late June 2020. The basic premise is that NATO has been in a constant search for (new or old) foes more than friends, because the existence of an ‘enemy’ makes it legitimate and necessary. The ‘new’ Strategic Concept in that respect offers more of the same, by adding China on the horizon as a potential enemy (a systemic challenge, as it is said). On the other hand, the changed international order makes it obvious more than ever that the Alliance’s reach and mission depends solely on the hegemon that created it – i.e. the USA. The rhetoric of strengthened and united NATO vis-à-vis Russia is an empty one as the fractures is hard to hide. The allies are divided over the idea of having NATO (USA) focusing on Europe and the proposition of a ‘global NATO’. The basic proposition is that NATO (and USA) suffer from overambitious visions of global dominance, which is just a new form of re-militarization of the world. On paper it may sound convincing at least for the general public in the West, but in reality it bears an imminent danger of a boomerang effect on the social and economic level. Hence in due time the Western public will have to make up its mind if they want more butter (and warmth) or more weapons and military security.
Key words: NATO, Strategic Concept, Madrid Summit, Ukraine, Russia, China.
DOI 10.35775/PSI.2022.60-65.1-2.004
E.L. KHORBALADZE PhD student, Faculty of Political Science, Moscow State University; Fox International Fellow (researcher), MacMillan Center, Yale University, Moscow, Russia
US INDO-PACIFIC STRATEGY: MAIN DIMENSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RUSSIA
As for today the global interests of the United States are fully projected into the Indo-Pacific region, and the concept of the Indo-Pacific region becomes the basis for extending the American strategy of “reversal and rebalancing” to the Indian Ocean. The aim of the article is to detect how Indo-Pacific strategy (IPS) changes the strategic balance of power in the region. The author asks 3 main questions: What is the essence of Indo-Pacific strategy? How the approach towards Indo-Pacific region has changed during different US presidents since G.W. Bush? How IPS affects the interests of Russia in the Indo-Pacific region? To answer these questions author used the multimethod research design, particularly following methods: document analysis, content analysis, structured, focused comparison, system analysis. Author concludes that creating virtually from scratch an architecture for the realization of its interests in the Indo-Pacific region, the United States is adopting a flexible approach of “new regionalism”. This is best compiled through the US Indo-Pacific strategy. The George W. Bush Administration understood Asia’s growing importance and engaged closely with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Japan, and India. The Obama Administration significantly accelerated American prioritization of Asia, investing new diplomatic, economic, and military resources there. The Trump Administration also recognized the Indo-Pacific as the world’s center of gravity. Under President Biden, the United States is determined to strengthen long-term position in and commitment to the Indo-Pacific. Meanwhile, Russia clearly unwelcomes the Indo-Pacific as a new geopolitical construct with military component, considers QUAD as “Asian NATO”, and sees ASEAN as the preferable Asian regional format. However, the future of Russian position will be determined by the development of this construct. If regional interpretations of the Indo-Pacific prevail, less geopolitical and confrontational, Russia’s reaction can be far less concerted.
Key words: Indo-Pacific strategy, Asia-Pacific region, trans-regional integration, concept, US, Russia, QUAD.
DOI 10.35775/PSI.2022.60-65.1-2.005
K.V. TIMAKHOV Postgraduate student of Faculty of Global Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
NEOM: TRANSFORMATION PROJECT OF KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
This paper examines the prospects for creating a city that has no analogues in the world, in accordance with the NEOM project proposed by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. This initiative is one of the components of a comprehensive plan to transform the country's socio-economic system – "Saudi Vision – 2030". The analysis of the developed strategy and the stages of its implementation may be of interest for scientific research due to its novelty and ambiguity of implementation in the poorly developed desert terrain of the Arabian Peninsula. As a result of the study, an inconsistency has been established that arises due to the discrepancy between resources for the implementation of the project and the tasks that are of an abstract theoretical nature. In addition, the futuristic nature of the NEOM project, with all its positive characteristics, which are environmental sustainability and technological effectiveness, raises the problem of data privacy, equality of opportunities and legal protection of potential residents of the "smart city".
Key words: city of the future, NEOM, Saudi Arabia, transformation program, Saudi Vision – 2030.