Articles

The current study, based on a qualitative analysis of sociological and statistical data, tries to evaluate the scale of the crisis of institutional trust in modern American society, as well as scientific validity and heuristic value of applying the theoretical model of a “deeply divided society” to characterize the modern situation in the United States of America. The “deeply divided society” model, with rare exceptions, had been usually applied to countries and regions experiencing an early stage of nation-building and establishing of the democratic institutions after the end of the civil war, liberation from colonial dependence, political dictatorship or apartheid. The model is rarely applied to developed democracies, such as the United States, with the exception of specific regions or historical periods of their development (Southern states at the time of racial segregation), which testifies in favor of the scientific novelty of the presented study. It also highlights the key directions of academic discussion on the topic and indicates the problems embedded in a number of theoretical and empirical models, as well as clarifies the key terms. It also tries to put these and other related issues in perspective, both domestic and international.

Despite the substantial number of studies devoted to color revolutions, there is no common approach to understanding this geopolitical phenomenon in the modern scientific discourse. Interpretations of the essence of color revolutions can di er dramatically: from a spontaneous uprising of the masses to the use of special technology by the United States to overthrow political regimes. For the first time in Russian historiography this article presents a systematic analysis of various theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of color revolutions. The key issue is the ratio of endogenous and exogenous factors that led to the color revolutions. The scientific works of leading domestic and foreign experts on this problem are considered. The authors come to the conclusion that applied research of color revolutions in the works of both foreign and domestic scientists is carried out from different positions. Discourse about the endogenous origins of color revolutions prevails in the Western scientific world, while many Russian researchers consider external in uences to be their primary cause. According to the author’s concept, it was external factors that played a key role in the origin of the color revolutions, because it was the technologies of the so power of the United States and its allies that became the key reasons and, at the same time, tools for carrying out these operations to dismantle political regimes in the beginning of the XXI century.

The digital economy is a relatively new phenomenon. Scientists began discussing the concept of the digital economy at the end of the 20th century and are still discussing. But digital technologies are developing so rapidly and are so rapidly being introduced into all spheres of life of the world community that it can be argued that the digital economy, understood by specialists either in a broad or in a narrow sense, is an established fact. Russia cannot ignore global technological trends, since today it is already obvious that “digital” has begun to determine the international competitiveness of not only individual companies, but entire industries and even countries. The Russian tourism and hospitality industry is international in nature. It is prone to digitalization, because it wants to satisfy the needs of even the most discerning tourists from countries with a developed tourism industry. At the same time, forcing the digital economy is associated with serious socio-political risks. The article analyzes the views of representatives of science, business and society on the problem of the development of the digital economy in Russia, studies the level of trust of the Russian society in digital innovations and the level of preparedness for their use. Particular attention is paid to technological innovation in the tourism and hospitality industry.

The article is devoted to the problems of the development of higher education in the digital economy, in particular, to the possibilities of using blockchain technology in universities. The proliferation of modern information technologies has a serious impact on the essence of the processes in which they are being implemented, as a result of this, causing changes in the organizational structure, regulations and qualification requirements. In this regard, it seems relevant to analyze the blockchain — a technology that is new for the education sector and has, according to a number of experts, high potential. The article examines the mechanism of blockchain, the main components of the blockchain in the educational process of the university, and also provides a detailed analysis of the bene this and risks of these technologies. The main advantages of the blockchain are the decentralized storage of data and the impossibility of changing or deleting them, which is especially relevant due to the increase in the volume of data, accelerated by the massive transition to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Limitations of the use of blockchain are: problems associated with ensuring the security of the use of the blockchain (from a technological point of view), insu cient public awareness of the essence of the blockchain, as well as its frequent negative perception (due to the erroneous equating of this technology exclusively to mining and operations with cryptocurrency). At the same time, the use of blockchain in universities seems promising, in view of the general trend of digitalization of education and the development of digital educational organizations (organizations in which intermediary structures are replaced by algorithms and information systems), but at this stage it will be limited to certain areas related to the organization of storage of large data array.

The article analyzes the reasons and results of the management reform of Soviet football in 1959. Attention is focused on specific organizational measures for reforming the national championship. The use of econometric models based on the experience of Soviet football in 1960–1990 showed that the innovations were mostly positive and became one of the reasons for the success of the USSR national team in the first half of the 1960s, as well as a rollback from the principles of reform — the failures of the Soviet team in the 1970s. The use of artificial intelligence methods confirmed the conclusions of econometric analysis, and made it possible to reliably assess the international results of Soviet football in the second half of the 1950s, leading to the need for reform.

The article is an overview of the speeches of the interregional scientificpractical conference “The Conflict Field of Public Policy: Experience and Prospects of Russian Society” held as part of the implementation of scientific activities for the development of the interdisciplinary scientific school of Moscow State University in the direction of “Conflictology”, as well as timed to the anniversary of two professors of the oldest national political science department — political analysis of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, head of the department A.I. Soloviev and Professor G.V. Pushkareva. The paper presents abstracts of reports by authoritative domestic political scientists, both employees of the Department of Political Analysis and invited researchers - representatives of leading Moscow and regional political and administrative schools and departments.

The publication provides an overview of the section “Theories and Practices of Public Administration” of the annual scientific conference “Lomonosov Readings” held at the Lomonosov Moscow State University School of Public Administration. There is a list of the main reports with short theses and the main results of the work of subsections organized by the departments of the School of Public Administration. The conference was cross-disciplinary, the questions touched upon many urgent problems in public and municipal administration. An important trend in the development of the economy and other spheres of life is a pandemic, an increase in the cost of resources, restrictions imposed by foreign partners, and acceleration in the pace of digitalization. Trends determine the search for alternative opportunities for the effective development of our country. Within the framework of the section “Theories and practice of public administration” of the conference “Lomonosov Readings”, various points of view on the prospects for the development of public administration in Russia and abroad were presented. In the context of modern internal and external challenges, specific proposals were formed to improve the economic, political and legal aspects of management based on the results of the discussions. Presented recommendations of new opportunities of management relations associated with the rapid development of science and technology.

The article is dedicated to the relations between the Holy See and the Italian government at the final stage of the process of Italian unification. The author considers the seizure of Rome on September 20, 1870, to be a significant milestone. After this event the sides faced a need to continue the dialogue in brand new circumstances. The article examines both steps taken by the Italian government in order to achieve a compromise with Pius IX and those aimed at the incorporation of Rome and provinces of the Papal States into the Italian Kingdom. Special attention is given to the reaction of the Holy See on the actions of the Italian side, as well as the Pontiff ’s efforts to maintain temporal power as a guarantee of respect for his rights of the Head of the Church.

The article is devoted to the Wales’s devolution process. The author comments well-known statement that devolution is a “process, not event”. He traces its main stages — administrative and two legislative. The author based mainly on official documents — laws and related “command” documents. Attention is drawn to British tradition of independent commissions. The work of the Richard, Holtham and Silk’s commissions analyzed. Indicated that the rights of Wales are less than those in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Wales is more integrated with England, in legal terms it was a single space “England and Wales”. Therefore, devolution’s support was here initially low. In the 1997 referendum, it was supported by only 50,3% of those who voted, with a turnout of 51%. Consequently, the idea’s support was by only a quarter of the inhabitants. However, the support is gradually expanding. This is the basis of the gradual expansion of the region’s rights. The devolution’s consequences are contradictory. Does it strengthen the kingdom, as its initiators believed, or lead to its collapse?

Public administration reform issues have always been topical in Russia. Therefore, public administration reforms are constantly being carried out in Russia. However, the quality of “administrative reforms” and their results are unsatisfactory. This undoubtedly became a prerequisite for all kinds of updates in 2020, including when developing amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The article briefly analyzes the preconditions for public administration reforms in Russia. Conclusions are made about the current state of the public administration system. The following directions of reforming public authorities, undertaken in 2020, are analyzed: the emergence of federal territories as a special kind of political-territorial units and the practice of their establishment on the example of the federal territory “Sirius; changes in the legal status of the highest authorities (primarily in terms of the redistribution of powers between the branches of government); anti-corruption novelties in the constitutional text. Special attention is paid to the digitalization of public administration: it’s current state and plans for digital transformation for the coming years.