One of the most ambivalent and complex concepts in world politics is power, which is intangible. There are numerous approaches and interpretations of power. This paper presents the author’s hierarchy of types of power, which includes structural power, complex interdependence, “hard” and “soft power”. For each, the main methodological challenges and prospects for operationalization (including quantitative assessment) of these indicators are presented. It is demonstrated that the distinction between different types of power is conditional. The relationship between the use of one or another power is determined by the national strategic culture. The example of global competition between the United States and China is used to illustrate the distinctive features of the strategies employed by each country to project their respective power.

The author of the article reflects on the candidates for leading positions in the US government in the event of D.Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election and presents assessments of these candidates by American experts. The author relies on media materials and official statements by D.Trump. The candidates are classified according to the positions they currently hold. Particular attention is paid to the vice-presidential candidates, primarily J.Vance, as well as the main ideologists of Trumpism and representatives of the radical wing of the Republican Party to analyze the domestic political dynamics in the United States. Female candidates for the post of vice president are considered separately. The candidates’ position is presented not only through their domestic political and domestic interests, but also through their attitude towards Russia. It is concluded that the core of D.Trump’s team is made up of political realists who demonstrate loyalty to him and the MAGA movement, prone to national populist rhetoric.

Over the past 30–35 years, the United States has seen an increase in research into the role and transformation of American elites, including the political elite. In the second half of the 20th century, in the context of a bipolar world, the main focus was on the importance of social movements as a key factor determining the mechanism and specifics of the functioning of the political system. But as globalization processes increased, power groups began to play a major role, which de facto began to call themselves elites, i.e. a select part of society that significantly differs from other social strata and groups in terms of wealth, level of education, access to a wide range of privileges and other features. From a political and sociological perspective, studying elites, unlike studying mass movements, is more difficult due to the closed nature of most elite groups, as well as the vagueness and uncertainty of their social boundaries. In addition, the United States, as the richest country in the Western world, has begun to transform elite groups and turn them into oligarchs. In parallel, the liberal part of the American political elite came to the conclusion about the necessity of transforming the traditional white elite of American society, known as “white Anglo-Saxon Protestants”, into a “colored” elite of American society, consisting of a wide range of racial and ethnic groups and strata. As a consequence of the processes of “colorization” of the American political elite, its fragmentation began, which at present has taken the form of a fierce struggle between the old white elite and the multiracial and multiethnic elite that is replacing it. In the conditions of the competitive struggle for survival, the opportunities for Russian-American dialogue, which for most of the existence of our countries was in the mainstream of interstate relations, and not within the framework of inter-elite communications, have sharply narrowed.

In the context of the deepest geopolitical crisis, digital diplomacy is undergoing changes. If during the COVID-19 pandemic, internal challenges led to the emergence of hybrid or mixed diplomacy, today this phenomenon is trying to survive the external fragmentation of the Internet and de-platforming. These factors influence the changing role of foreign ministries, which are turning from an exclusively primary source of information into transmedia holdings. The authors argue that US digital diplomacy in Russia can serve as an example of such an evolution. Using the theory of transmedia engagement, the authors show that US digital diplomacy depends not only on the work of the State Department or the Agency for Global Media, but receives a wider reach due to the dissemination of messages by a network of media sources that adhere to similar frames as these departments. The authors illustrate this through a frame analysis of nearly 6,000 publications from the social network X, posted on official accounts of American digital diplomacy and organizations recognized by the United States as Russian “independent” media. The analysis covers the four major crises in US-Russia relations, occurring in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2022, and is conducted using tools such as ChatGPT, Gephi, and Voyant Tools. The article fills a gap in the study of US digital diplomacy in Russia and makes a qualitative breakthrough in the study of text frames using artificial intelligence technologies.

The article analyzes the Internet discourse of left-wing populists in France as their representation in the run-up to the 2024 European Parliament elections (using the example of the Unbowed France movement). Modern politics increasingly relies on Internet technologies that form communication channels between political forces and influence their interaction. Thus, Internet communication between activists of various parties and movements during the pre-election period has become an integral part of the political struggle in France. The electoral successes of right-wing populism in France, represented by M.Le Pen, have led to increased interest in the study of this phenomenon. At the same time, the topic of left-wing populism, support for which has also increased during the last electoral cycles in France, has not yet been sufficiently studied in domestic political science. The methodology of the study is based on the analysis of the discourses of E.Laclau and Ch.Mouffe – identifying the antagonism of discourses, determining the nodal points and socio-political contradictions that led to the statements of left-wing populists. Based on the theory of P.Ibarra and J.Kitsuse, the main rhetorical strategies of left-wing populists are determined. The study has theoretical and practical significance for the academic community and specialists in the field of socio-political parties and movements. The work may be of interest to researchers of contemporary socio-political life in France.

The article is devoted to the typology and functioning of information and psychological weapons as an indicator that allows identifying the directions of international interaction, how they are modeled in the public opinion of a particular state, the readiness of its political elites to interact in several directions. Information and psychological weapons are messages aimed at discrediting the target of influence by forming its negative image and/or causing reputational damage to its fundamental characteristics, including the use of disinformation, questionable (unverified) information, destructive attitudes and other techniques. Depending on the selected means of influence and the goals of the communicator, the author identifies five levels of weapons: without the use of emotive and/or conflict-generating elements (first-level weapons), with the use of emotive and/ or conflict-generating elements (second-level weapons), with the use of direct destructive attitudes, disinformation or overwhelming emotionality of the negative spectrum (thirdlevel weapons), a message in the interests of achieving military goals (fourth-level weapons), a message in the interests of massive information suppression of the enemy (fifth-level weapons). Based on the analysis of the distribution of information and psychological weapons in political discourse by levels and targets, it is possible to measure and evaluate the actual attitude towards Russia on the part of political elites of foreign countries, who explicitly and implicitly broadcast their position through affiliated communicators.

Multi-vectorism as a principle of foreign policy has been implemented by the CIS countries since the mid-1990s. Over 30 years, experience has been accumulated that allows us to judge the basis of real policy and multi-vectorism as a discourse in the information field. The attitude towards multi-vectorism in the foreign policy of the post-Soviet countries is very different, ranging from purely positive (mainly from the country’s political experts) to extremely skeptical (the Russian political science school). The article presents the results of the expert session of the Center for Research of International Humanitarian Communications of the Patrice Lumumba RUDN University “Multi-vectorism in Foreign Policy: Current Problems”, which took place on October 8, 2024 and discussed the problems of multi-vectorism: what are the limits of multi-vectorism as a means of maneuvering of post-Soviet political elites in the context of the emerging multipolar model of international relations, are common rules of the game possible for countries of different economic importance, what is the significance of situational alliances and temporary coalitions in the context of multi-vectorism. Based on the results of the discussion, the researchers came to the conclusion that multi-vectorism is an effective tactical resource of major playersmoderators, leaders of integration associations and military blocs, used to achieve strategic objectives in the areas of memorial policy, macro-regional security, humanitarian and economic cooperation. With such a balance of forces, middle-level countries risk becoming led and controlled objects of foreign policy ambitions of third countries.

The article is a study of the intellectual potential of Kyrgyzstan, its state and development opportunities. The author proposes a methodology for analyzing intellectual potential based on five groups of criteria: standard indicators of international rankings and indices (human development index, innovative development index, Hirsch index); the state of the socio-cultural environment for the development of intellectual potential; the state of the educational infrastructure for the development of intellectual potential; the level of scientific impetus (the presence of scientific infrastructure and scientific community, scientific elite); state support for science (expenditures on scientific research and development work, state strategies for the development of science and education). Based on the analysis of statistical data and government documents, the most vulnerable areas of the development of the country’s intellectual potential are identified: insufficient environment for the development of intellectual potential, insufficient scientific impetus, insufficient availability and quality of educational infrastructure, insufficient conditions and opportunities for the reproduction and development of the intellectual elite, in particular the scientific elite of the country. It is concluded that Kyrgyzstan has not yet formed the institutional foundations of a unified scientific policy that would contribute to solving the problems of innovative development of the country and ensuring its scientific and technological sovereignty.

In this paper, the phenomenon of social crisis is studied within the framework of the institutional approach supplemented with the theory of institutional matrices (IM). It is shown that the crisis of the social system constitutes an irreparable disbalance in the institutional matrix, which leads to its inability to develop along the established trajectory. The existence of a historically invariant indicator of the crisis of the sociocultural subsystem has been established - the hybridization of religious institutions. This phenomenon is discussed in detail using the example of crises during the Middle Ages in Byzantium and Western Europe. Christianity, when in crisis, is determined to face, independently of the matrix type, hybridization with pre-Christian practices and elements of the religions of the societies in contact (in particular, Islam). The purpose of such hybridization, initiated either from the above (by the authorities) or from the below (by the grass roots), is in strengthening the dominant (determining the social identity of society) or the complementary (performing the compensatory function) institutions in the institutional matrix. It is shown that upon strengthening the dominant institutions in the institutional matrix with the aim of overcoming the crisis the complementary institutions cannot be totally eradicated. Besides, the formed institutional hybrid is more sustainable and its formation helps to solve the crisis in the long run only when the process of hybridization takes into account the geographical factors of the environment in which society lives. The hybridization, studied in this paper, indicates that religions in their development interpenetrated each other much more than is commonly recognized, and the experience of such hybridization is the most solid foundation for fruitful interfaith dialogue.

Negative spiritual and moral impact can be one of the manifestations of information confrontation within the framework of a hybrid war and can become a threat to the national security of modern Russia. This can be an impact on the political and legal culture of Russians through manipulation and encouragement of destructive behavior. The purpose of the study is to propose a system of measures to counter the threat of negative spiritual and moral impact. The axiological method was chosen as the main research method. Manipulation is considered as part of the strategy of opponents of modern Russia represented by the collective West, the encouragement of destructive behavior is a recognizable element of the policy of Westernization of culture, under the influence of which Russia has been for several decades. Counteraction to this threat should be comprehensive and based on both political and legal measures. Particular attention is paid to the consideration of measures to overcome the consequences of manipulation and encouragement of destructive behavior among Russians. Political measures and legal initiatives of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, the State Duma of the Russian Federation and the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation are separately highlighted. The degradation of culture will inevitably lead to the degeneration of the nation, the loss of its national image, self-identity, sovereignty and support in life. Only joint efforts and responsibility of the state and society can lead to a positive result in the fight against manipulation and the encouragement of destructive behavior and form a developed and mature political and legal culture.

The article examines the mobilization measures carried out in Poland in 1939 and their impact on the deployment of the Polish armed forces in late August – early September and the subsequent “September catastrophe”. The authors draw attention to the fact that the reasons for Poland’s defeat in 1939 can be explained if we turn to the current issue of the mobilization of the Polish armed forces on the eve of the war, in the confidence of Polish politicians that the country would be supported by France and Britain. Understanding the role of Poland’s mobilization measures also affects the understanding of the reasons for the country’s defeat in 1939.

The article examines population dynamics as a key factor in the urbanization of the Issyk-Kul region using the city of Karakol as an example. The stages of development of the city of Karakol in the Issyk-Kul region, population dynamics, its structure and migration, the impact of these factors on the development of urban infrastructure and the socio-economic situation in the region are analyzed. The study begins in the 1860s, when the city was founded by Staff Captain Kulbars as a military and administrative center on the caravan road between the Chu River Valley and Kashgar, a historical region in eastern China under the Russian Empire. Then the impact of the Soviet Union on the city in the 20th century and changes in its structure and development are analyzed. The events after the collapse of the USSR and their impact on the city of Karakol are considered. Statistical analysis has revealed objective processes that cause shifts in the location of production, population settlement, habitat transformation, and urbanization.

The article contains a number of little-studied facts about the disgusting variety of Russian skopchestvo, which came to Russia from Greece and Bulgaria. It shows the spread of this religious culture in the 17th-18th centuries across the territory of Simbirsk and other provinces, deprived of the restraining framework of Christian commandments, trampling on the institutions of marriage, family values, morality, etc. The genesis, circumstances of the emergence and reasons for the spread of sectarianism and the Khlyst-skopchestvo process as a whole are shown, fragments of a meeting of the Ethnography Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1865) are presented, held on the example of the “Alatyr ship” or “Miliutina” faith as an antithesis to “Latinism”. The need to understand universal human values taking into account the skopchestvo ritual sphere of the Middle Volga region in the 17th century is substantiated. and religious dogmas of the past to solve modern problems of spiritual and moral education of the younger generation, the formation of strong social immunity, the formatting of the internal spiritual forces of society that have remained outside the field of vision of society and the scientific community of Russia for the settlement of future regional conflicts.