French Geopolitics On EU-Russia Relations

From “Ungoverned Territories” to “A De Facto State”

       The article points out the lack of a holistic conceptual and terminological apparatus necessary for the study of the actual fragmentation of political space under the influence of internal forces. The aim is to systematize the existing lexicon used in the political science to describe the political-territorial units formed as a result of withdrawal of some areas from the jurisdiction of sovereign states and their transfer under the actual control of an illegitimate local non-governmental groups («de facto secession»). Thoroughly considered are the most common examples of such concepts, among them – «uncontrolled area», «stateless territory», the «gray zone», «insurgent country», «quasi», «pseudo», State De-facto, «unrecognized state», «partially recognized state», «self-proclaimed state». Detailed analysis of the relevant concepts of foreign and domestic historians and political scientists identified semantic features of each concept, defined the nature of their relationships with other concepts, proposed a common approach to the formation of a common conceptual and terminological framework.
Keywords: secession; the gray zone; the unrecognized state.

Great Powers In Global and Regional Politics

       The paper analyzes the risks and challenges of U.S. foreign policy in the context of the transformation of the modern world order. The author notes that despite the increase in the proportion of new actors in international relations, the role of the state is still the leading one. However, not all emerging centers of power are willing to serve as a great power. The latter implies willingness to take part in solving global problems. The scale and novelty of security threats more clearly indicate the limitations of U.S. attempts to pursue a policy of sole leadership, demanding a «concert» of great powers that can work together to resolve the most pressing problems. To a large extent the protracted global financial crisis currently contributes to a certain curtailment of the U.S. foreign activity thus pushing the American establishment to a more thrifty foreign policy.
Keywords: contemporary world order; the U.S.; Russia; economic crisis; the great powers.

Military Modernization and US-Russia Relations Cycles

       US-Russian relations are cyclical. Such a recurrence, according to the author, is predetermined by the nature of the evolution of a system of mutual nuclear deterrence. Cycles of Russian-American relations last on average for about 15–20 years. This is the time span required for a generation of strategic weapons to fade out. A typical cycle normally includes: the creation of new rules of interaction in the strategic sphere, modernization of strategic capabilities within the new rules, the emergence of ideas about the opportunities to achieve strategic superiority, the onset of a serious military-political crisis and the resumption of negotiations on the revision of the rules of engagement in the strategic area. After the Second World War, the Soviet Union/Russia and the U.S. have seen three cycles, which resulted in a major military and political crisis of 1962, 1983 and 2008. As part of the «reset» policy which began in 2009 Moscow and Washington drеw up rules of strategic interaction in the new environment. But the main goal of the «reset» – to restore the system of arms control – has been attained. The next step may be another round of updating the strategic potentials.
Keywords: Russia; U.S.; US-Russian relations; cycls; arms control; nuclear deterrence; military and political crises.

Flexible Integration in the European Union

       This article provides an overview of progressive development of flexible integration in the European Union. It analyses basic trends like development of standard forms of flexibility and shift of decision-making about flexibility from the Highest level to the working level of EU institutions. The paper proposes a new theoretical framework for classification and study of various forms of flexible integration.
Keywords: European Union; flexible integration; differentiated integration.

Leadership Vacuum in East Asia: Chances for Smaller and Middle-Range States

       The article analyses economic and political situation in East Asia after the crisis. Positions of the major players (the US, China, Japan) as well as regional smaller and middle range states are examined. The author comes to a conclusion that the post-crises situation is getting increasingly conducive for the restriction of the leadership aspirations in East Asia. Both the political and economic strategy of the main regional players towards each other, as well as the rise of political subjectness of smaller and middle-range states united in ASEAN do contribute to such a restriction.
Keywords: East Asia; the USA; China; Japan; Russia; the EU; ASEAN; regional leadership; regional system.

The Issue of Uranium Imports in Relations Between Russia and CIS Countries

International Conduct of a State

Winter Talks On Modernization

DISCUSSION

Between India and the Hard Place

Pakistan and India: Options for Russia

PERSONA GRATA

“Non-Evolutionary Way Of Regime Change is by far not the best one”

SCRIPTA MANENT

Reviews

The USA Between War and Peace
Between War and Peace: How America Ends its Wars / Edited by Matthew Moten. - New York NY: Free Press, 2011. 384 p.

Crises and the Peace
Rachman G. Zero-sum Future: American Power in an Age of Anxiety. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. 340 p.

Washington. A Biography
Blair A. Ruble. Washington's U Street. A Biography. Woodrow Wilson Center Press, Washington, DC, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2010. 410 p.

International Development in Central Asia
Международные отношения в Центральной Азии. События и документы / Под редакцией А.Д. Богатурова. М., Аспект Пресс, 2011. 549 с.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Russia: Which Way to Go

In brevi

A POTENTIA AD ACTUM

New Doctorships

Our authors

Contents