Facilitating the Italian Mafia: The Grey Zone of Complicity and Collusion

Despite structural and operational differences, Italian mafias share an ability to expand and infiltrate global economies whilst remaining rooted within their local territory. They are not only the product of specific socio-economic and political conditions but also of the extensive complicity on which they can count. It is this fertile ‘grey zone’ of mafia relations with accomplices identified as enablers, facilitators, sponsors and helpers that is analysed here. Engaging with the existing literature and using a range of new judicial sources, including evidence from mafia trials, this article develops in-depth case studies to identify and examine the hidden face of Italian mafias.     

从俄罗斯全球战略视角剖析俄哈关系安全模式

在俄罗斯对外战略中,"后苏联空间"一直占据着极其重要的地位,通过整合分散的"后苏联空间",最大程度地推动以俄罗斯为主导的次区域一体化,是俄罗斯多年来一贯推行的方针政策.在"后苏联空间"中,哈萨克斯坦始终扮演着重要的角色,俄哈关系构成俄罗斯重塑"后苏联空间"的一个重要环节.俄罗斯追求在世界上"最大行动自由"与哈萨克斯坦确保自身"自主性"的互动过程中,俄哈之间构建出特有的安全模式.通过对俄哈之间存在的三种复杂安全模式进行全面的梳理,同时以北美的"美国-加拿大"安全模式为参照系进行对比分析,从而可以全面和深入的了解俄哈两国的战略关系,并有助于评估俄哈安全合作的现状及前景,以及这种安全模式对整个欧亚格局产生的深远影响.     

大国关系及美国大选对全球局势的影响:俄罗斯智库与媒体看法

俄罗斯智库与媒体肯定当前世界秩序处于重大变革时期,特朗普外交政策以及新冠肺炎疫情都给世界带来了巨大改变,同时俄罗斯自身还面临着经济社会发展和周边国家关系等问题,需要以“新思维”来看待和解决。不过,俄罗斯官方不完全认可“新冷战”说法。俄罗斯智库与媒体看到,至少在中短期内,中美矛盾将是世界主要矛盾,俄罗斯可以利用中美竞争谋求发展。如果面临两极格局必须做出选择,对俄罗斯而言更优选择是与中国结盟。从美国民主党对俄罗斯的传统政策以及拜登对普京及俄罗斯的态度看,美国大选结果对俄罗斯不是很有利,但无论特朗普当选还是拜登当选,美国外交政策的总体方向都不会有原则性改变。对于世界格局,俄罗斯智库判断有多种发展趋向,俄力主多极世界,并将努力推动这一局面的形成。     

The Russian Constitutional Court: The First Term

An American political scientist and constitutional scholar recounts the development, and analyzes the procedures and backstage activities, of Russia's highest judicial body. The study, based in part on personal interviews, traces the constitutional court's political influence up through the pivotal conflict between the Parliament's Speaker Khasbulatov and President Yel'tsin during the last week of March 1993. In addition to major decisions, notably that which followed 52 sessions from May 26 to December 16, 1992 devoted to the trial of the CPSU, the narrative focuses on the role of Chief Justice Zor'kin. Also discussed are the court's legislative mandate, its expanding caseload and legal shortcomings. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: H11, K10, K41, P20.     

The Parade of Sovereignties: Establishing the Vocabulary of the New Russian Federalism

On the basis of extensive on-site interviews and documentary sources, the author interprets the dynamics of the collapse of the Soviet Union by analyzing the cascade of sovereignty declarations issued by republics of the USSR as well as by autonomous republics and other subunits of the Russian republic, in 1990-1991. Interrelationships among the declarations, and other putative causes of their content and timing, are explored. A case study of Tatarstan is provided. The study also analyzes the impact of the process on subsequent Russian approaches to federalism.     

Learning the Ropes: The Young Turk Perception of the 1905 Russian Revolution

This article analyses the topoi of the Young Turk reading of the 1905 Russian Revolution. It argues that the Young Turks considered the 1905 Revolution as a victory against autocratic regimes and as an edificatory example for the Ottoman constitutionalists. This example provided the Young Turks with a mirror in which they saw a model of revolution from below. As such, in addition to encouraging the Young Turks to formulate and re-assess their methods and means of establishing a constitutional regime in the Ottoman Empire, the 1905 Revolution helped them to transform their initially intellectual movement to an effectual political one.     

The Russian Election of 1993: Public Opinion and the Transition Experience

Two British specialists on Russia report the results of a nationwide survey of 2,030 Russian adults, randomly chosen from each of 50 provinces of the Russian Federation. A survey instrument containing 300 questions was administered in face-to-face interviews during summer 1993, and explored attitudes toward the market, privatization, social order, minority rights, and nationalism. Testing three alternative explanations for the results of the December 1993 Russian elections, the authors present a nuanced argument that the Russian public has been drawing negative lessons about market democracy from the transition itself, as experienced since January 1992. A higher voter turnout, they find, would have augmented the strength of anti-government parties and candidates. Journal of Economic literature, Classification Numbers: H19, P29     

Playing with Information: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in the Russian Press

This article examines how the modern Russian press covers the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, both historically and currently. Since print media are some of the most popular sources of information in Russia, such analysis helps us understand the media's priorities in presenting the conflict to Russian society. The article focuses on the inherently manipulative, albeit hidden, essence and layout of this material, which increases the likelihood of information bias. While the quality of the reporting on this conflict demonstrates the proximity of contemporary Russian media to the interests of the country's ruling powers, it also provides opportunities for the government to influence its audience's comprehension of Middle East politics.     

俄罗斯权威主义的复兴

八十年代末苏联掀起民主主义热潮,叶利钦借助于这个热潮走向权力顶峰。然而,叶利钦时代开始后,严酷的社会、经济形势促使人们加强对俄罗斯变革的反思,重新寻找出路。社会舆论的新取向和宪法确定的国家体制为新时代的俄罗斯权威主义开辟了道路。俄罗斯的权威主义复兴及其民众政治心态的转化引起国际社会普遍关注。本文回顾这一转化过程,分析其内在原因和俄罗斯权威主义的一些特点。     

The Russian State in the Time of Putin

As Putin's second term ends, the tone of Western opinion toward the president has turned increasingly rancorous. Those who feel embittered by the emergence of semi-authoritarianism and crony capitalism out of the communist collapse might consider blaming the theory as well as the man. This article characterizes the post-communist Russian state and Putin's legacy as state builder. Drawing on the Russian studies literature, the article looks at the underlying mechanisms that have long shaped state—society relations in Russia. Using the concept of power resources as an analytical tool, the article attempts to illuminate these mechanisms and, in so doing, examines what is new and what is familiar in the post-communist Russian state.     

The Unification of Law in the Russian Federation

How have fluctuating approaches to federalism in post-Soviet Russia affected its legal system? This article examines the core legal subjects, processes, and institutions composing the Russian legal system. The source of legal changes, as Russian federalism has shifted from decentralized beginnings under Yel'tsin to the current centralized system under Medvedev and Putin, is evaluated. Seeds for centralization in the original 1993 Constitution and the roles of "top down," "bottom up," and "outside in" pressures to centralize the federal system are examined. The degree of unification and centralization of Russian law and the de facto nature of the legal system are analyzed.     

The 2002 Russian Census: Institutional Reform at Goskomstar

A specialist on Russian political institutions evaluates the performance of Russia's State Statistical Committee (Goskomstat) in preparing and conducting the national census of 2002. Standards drawn from practices in other countries are employed in the evaluation, including the responsiveness of the census to the data priorities of government and society, the reliability and level of non-politicization of data, and the accessibility of collected data. Conclusions are based largely on a systematic analysis of the journal Voprosy statistiki from 1985 to 2003 and on interviews conducted by the author during 2003-2004 with managers of the Census in Goskomstat offices in 11 regions of Russia.     

The Russian Economy in 2008: Testing the "Market Economy"

In Russia, the market system that arose out of the financial crisis of a decade earlier faced its first major challenge in the second half of 2008. The Russian response to this crisis provides a defining event for the Russian market economy. Drawing on macroeconomic statistics and newspaper coverage, the article uses the crisis as a lens for focusing on the nature of the Russian economy in 2008, and on the defining characteristics behind its response to the crisis. The beginnings of a systematic response that tells us much about the state of the Russian economy in 2008 is already evident.