Abstract: This article examines the intensive and brightly expressed process of the globalization of science, which is an integral part of the global revolutionary transformations that unfold in many spheres of the human activity. These changes reflect the global trend of development of the modern science concentrated on the research of global processes and systems and the synergetic phenomenon that is associated with them – global development. This trend of the examined interdisciplinary research leads to a specific form of scientific knowledge, which is called the global knowledge. This type of knowledge reflects all global processes and systems that exist on the planet Earth from the perspective of their planetary integrity and evolutionary significance. A special attention is given to the methods and approaches used in a global research; i.e. the evolutionary and interdisciplinary approaches, and those that are associated with the geographic and time span in the subject area of the global research. An attempt was also made to implement integrative-interdisciplinary scientific methods and concepts in order to forecast the emergence of the new global scientific directions. Use of the evolutionary approach in the global research, which has recently been proposed by the author of this article, provided the ability to determine new scientific directions such as paleoglobalistics, futuroglobalistics, cosmoglobalistics, and a number of other areas of scientific search. The use of the evolutionary approach within the global research suggests that they will be more effectively studied based on the ideas and principles of the global (universal) evolutionism. It is expected that a new, evolutionary stage of global research will arise, and will concentrate attention on the global development.

Keywords: globalization, science, global research, global knowledge, global development, global processes, evolution, evolutionary globalistics, evolutionary approach, futuroglobalistics.

Abstract: The article provides an overview of the legal issues related to residence registration, both in the former Soviet Union and in Europe. In the former Soviet Union, the issues of residence registration are associated with the remnants of the propiska system in the legal systems of individual states, as well as with the imperfection of modern population registration systems. In the European context, such problems are related mainly to the issue of irregular migrants. The author systematizes the recommendations of international human rights bodies in relation to the optimization of the residence registration system. She uses examples of legislative solutions found by Scandinavian countries. International law provides us with a large amount of political, socio-economic and cultural rights. However, most of the rights are provided only if a person has official documents and registration. Residence registration is one of the necessary conditions for fundamental human rights.

Keywords: political rights, exercising fundamental rights, registration of the population, residency permit, principles of OSCE, European Council, European Court of Justice, foreign experience, illegal migrants.

Abstract: The author of this presentation sees it her task to find out, whether the ITLOS has helped to systematize the law of the sea, to make its rules more clear and obligations of states stemming therefrom more precise. The methodology of this paper is to undertake the analysis of the following questions: to begin with the general capacity of international courts to promote development of international law; then to light up the special place of ITLOS in the development of the law of the sea; to analyze the work by ITLOS on the law of the sea rules in different spheres of the ocean activity case by case; and to conclude. A very special place occupied by the International Tribunal for the of the Sea in progressive development of the law of the sea is dicussed in the article. It is submitted that ITLOS follows the ways and methods of the ICJ in the process. No other judicial body is capable to analize in detail rules of the law of the sea neither can influence positions of states.

Keywords: International Tribunal, progressive development, international law, ICJ, international judicial bodies, ITLOS, rules, positions of states, influence, the Sea

Abstract: This article examines the issue of international legal status of the Caspian Sea. It is first and foremost the issue of rights to the area and resources of the Caspian Sea. It is also the matter of national security for all Caspian bordering countries. This has become a key concern for the five Caspian Sea nations for over 20 years. The method of this research is the legal comparative analysis of the multilateral agreement that was supposed to solidify the maritime borders of the coastal nations. Despite the fact that this treaty was proposed as a multilateral agreement, or as a declaration, it ultimately pursued a precise goal: to define the maritime boundaries, rights and responsibilities of the coastal nations and therefore, divide the extensive natural resources of the Caspian Sea. The conclusion is that there is yet to be a resolution reached on the subject of the international legal status of the Caspian Sea. Acceptance of the Convention is expected to take place during the fifth summit of the leaders of Caspian nations, which should take place in Kazakhstan. This multilateral document will finally resolve the age-old question: is the Caspian a sea, or a lake?!

Keywords: Caspian Sea, Convention, legal status, multilateral treaty, Caspian nations, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, maritime boundaries

Abstract: The subject of this research is the political regimes of the post-Soviet states of Central Asia and Caucasus. The author gives an in-depth analysis to the typology problems of the modern political regimes and the methodological aspects of measuring the regime dynamics. Special attention is given to the issue of operationalization of the proposed concepts and review of empirical data, which can objectively reflect the character of the political regimes. The author claims that the measurement of these two parameters: level of competition among the elites and the degree of influence of informal practices within the political process, represents the most relevant assessment of the regime forms of the post-Soviet states. A synthesis of two theoretical concepts is used in this article. It offers the typology of the political regimes, developed upon the electoral and neopatrimonial approaches. By combining the two basic variables (level of competition and the autonomy of the elites) six possible regime types are determined: atomized particularism, sultanism, neopatrimonial authoritarianism, neopatrimonial polyarchy, institutionalized authoritarianism and institutionalized polyarchy. For the offered criteria of the assessment of the regimes, the author formulates a method of operationalization using the data from the electoral statistics and indexing the levels of corruption. The regime dynamics of the post- Soviet Turkmenistan is presented in the article as a demonstration of the practical implementation of the developed typology.

Keywords: political regime, typology, democracy, authoritarianism, political process, post-Soviet territory, neopatrimonialism, Central Asia, Caucasus, Turkmenistan.

Abstract: The article is dedicated to the study of the dependence existing between a country’s prosperity and the progressivity of a private person’s income tax rate scale. The authors analyze the factors and identify their influence on the country’s prosperity and flourishing. The research included analysis of forty randomly chosen countries. The impact of the following factors on the prosperity and flourishing of the country was considered: the gross domestic product per capita; the average, monthly salary; the Gini index; the national debt, then share of gold in the international reserve assets. The authors have determined the power of functional dependence of country’s flourishing index on the index of income tax rate scale progressivity and the correlation coefficient that has been calculated. Along with the known prosperity indices of world countries used by the UN, the new income tax rate scale progressivity indices are introduced in the article. Based on the above, the authors introduce new aggregated interval social and economic indices, and namely: multifactorial country prosperity indices and multifactorial country flourishing indices. These aggregated indices were calculated for forty main world countries, for which the authors managed to find all initial indices. Analysis of the world country ratings by prosperity and flourishing indices (for 2009-2012) indicates that the values of Russia and Brazil are close. In general, in all ratings both countries are located in the lower decimal parts (in lower first and lower second parts) of corresponding indices value intervals. Besides that, it is shown that there is a positive linear trend dependence between country flourishing and tax rate scale progressivity of individuals income. Moreover, by the calculation of the selective correlation coefficients, the authors show that this linear trend dependence is linear functional to a large extent. The flat tax rate schedule adopted in Russia has a negative impact on the country’s prosperity.

Keywords: tax, private person income, gross domestic product, monthly salary, Gini index, national debt, share of gold, progressivity index, prosperity index, flourishing index.

Abstract: In an ever evolving and expanding world, there is a constant quest for both more energy and less external energy dependency. With the fossil fuels bound industry setting an alarming trend of negative ecological footprint, there is a clear and urgent must to predict and instruct on alternatives. And, this is the main purpose of this paper. As our key points of argument will show, there is no alternative decarbonized, greener primary energy mix possible in the future without the considerable share reserved for nuclear power. To this end, the development of nuclear power can only be achieved within the current legal framework of nuclear commerce regime. Consequently, we will rethink and revisit some of the fundamentals: the genesis of the world of atoms, applied nuclear science, its military and geopolitical implications, the nuclear commerce regime, legal framework behind this field as well as the factors speeding up or hindering the process of a renewed nuclear power generation, which can be tentatively named a nuclear renaissance. Hopefully, this process will lead to a safe, cleaner, cheaper and decarbonized, greener energy mix in the near future.

Keywords: Nuclear energy, PEM (Primary Energy Mix), NPT (Non- proliferation treaty), IAEA (Intl. Atomic Energy Agency), nuclear commerce, geopolitics of energy, security, legal framework, green growth, politico-military and security price

Abstract: The subject of this research is the effect of Internet-based social networks upon the emergence, dynamics, and specificity of the process of protest mobilization. The object of this research is the mass mobilization during the course of revolutionary processes and massive antigovernment campaigns. The author examines the possibilities of political mobilization through the social networks in Russia based on the conducted research of user behavior of the popular Russian social network VK. A special attention is given to the problem of spontaneous occurrences of mass protests, as well as the modern dynamics of the events of “Arab Spring” and appearance of the “Occupy” movement within the context of political science. The empirical part of the research is conducting using the descriptive method and statistical analysis of media behavior of the VK users. The theoretical analysis relies on the results of modern research in the field of media and communication studies, social movements, and conflict politics. The main conclusions of this research is firstly, affirmation of limited influence of the social network VK upon involvement of the youth into a mass protest in Russia; secondly, the general supplemental role of the social networks into the process of protest mobilization in the cases of typical political conflicts. On the other hand, the conducted analysis allows us to substantiate the possibility of a quality influence of social networks upon the dynamics of mass protests in the case of emergence of exceptional events that are transgressive for public consciousness, where the “new media” instruments are able to rapidly synchronize local demands, change their scale, and involve broad social groups into the message of protest and the culture of social opposition. The novelty of this research consists in refutation of the thesis of exceptionally high influence of social networks onto the forming of mass protest the ideal-political perceptions within youth. Alternatively, the results of this analysis allow defining the future directions of research on the causes and dynamic characteristics of the mass protests.

Keywords: protest, mobilization, information, social networks, VK, youth, social movements, conflict politics, Arab Spring, revolution

Abstract: The article addresses the work of UNESCO in the field of arts education. It considers goals of establishing this policy, and specific activities organized within the framework of international cooperation in the field of arts education. UNESCO recommended documents in the field of education and arts education in particular are studied. UNESCO programs for the development of arts education are presented. The author identifies the reason for the establishment of an international cooperation policy in the field of arts education. Based on the analysis of UNESCO documents, the author singles out the following reasons for the creation of such a policy: the development of human creative thinking; the promotion of social peace, tolerance and solidarity; and the promotion of sustainable development. The author also identifies two functions of arts education conceptualized in UNESCO documents: the instrumental function of arts education, i.e. its use as a tool and method in education, and, in fact, its peacemaking function. The author argues that the documents developed by UNESCO in the field of arts education have little impact on national education programs because of their non-compulsory nature. At the same time, the article draws attention to the implementation of specific projects under the auspices of UNESCO that despite the limitations of their influence are highly efficient.

Keywords: UNESCO, international relations, arts education, international cooperation, arts, education, recommendations, observatories, principles, projects