Pub Date : 2020-12-30DOI: 10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-09
A. Maltsev, V. Maltseva
This review examines the key 2019 expert reports on the digitalization of the global economy in the context of the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Noting the beneficial overall impact of digitalization on the implementation of the key SDGs in relation to reduced poverty and misery, and increased social equality and ecological balance, the authors of the reports focus on the challenges that digitalization poses. Among the most important are: the threat of increasing social inequality as a result of the new international division of labour, the hyper-concentration of the digital market, the growing digital inequality, the threat to information security, and the weakening of the regulatory capacity of the state. The authors of the reports note that digitalization is a controversial process that can both help to achieve the SDGs and unwittingly hinder their implementation. In order for digitalization to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs, targeted and coordinated intergovernmental policy involving national and business stakeholders is important.
{"title":"Digitalization of the Economy in the Context of the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals: An Overview of Key Expert Reports in 2019","authors":"A. Maltsev, V. Maltseva","doi":"10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-09","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-09","url":null,"abstract":"This review examines the key 2019 expert reports on the digitalization of the global economy in the context of the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Noting the beneficial overall impact of digitalization on the implementation of the key SDGs in relation to reduced poverty and misery, and increased social equality and ecological balance, the authors of the reports focus on the challenges that digitalization poses. Among the most important are: the threat of increasing social inequality as a result of the new international division of labour, the hyper-concentration of the digital market, the growing digital inequality, the threat to information security, and the weakening of the regulatory capacity of the state. The authors of the reports note that digitalization is a controversial process that can both help to achieve the SDGs and unwittingly hinder their implementation. In order for digitalization to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs, targeted and coordinated intergovernmental policy involving national and business stakeholders is important.","PeriodicalId":42976,"journal":{"name":"Vestnik Mezhdunarodnykh Organizatsii-International Organisations Research Journal","volume":"15 1","pages":"189-195"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45710575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-30DOI: 10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-06
Y. Subramaniam, T. A. Masron, N. Hadiyan, S. H. Hassan
Poverty has been a critical issue for a long time and continues to affect developing countries in the era of booming digitalization. This study investigates the contribution of digitalization to poverty alleviation, confirming that it can promote economic growth. However, utilizing a sample of 37 developing countries in 2014 and 2016, this study observes that the extremely poor are deprived of their share of the benefits that digitalization can offer. Therefore, while strategies to further promote digitalization are critical to economic development, support systems or policies meant to bring those in extreme poverty into mainstream development are badly needed.
{"title":"The Digital Divide in Developing Countries","authors":"Y. Subramaniam, T. A. Masron, N. Hadiyan, S. H. Hassan","doi":"10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-06","url":null,"abstract":"Poverty has been a critical issue for a long time and continues to affect developing countries in the era of booming digitalization. This study investigates the contribution of digitalization to poverty alleviation, confirming that it can promote economic growth. However, utilizing a sample of 37 developing countries in 2014 and 2016, this study observes that the extremely poor are deprived of their share of the benefits that digitalization can offer. Therefore, while strategies to further promote digitalization are critical to economic development, support systems or policies meant to bring those in extreme poverty into mainstream development are badly needed.","PeriodicalId":42976,"journal":{"name":"Vestnik Mezhdunarodnykh Organizatsii-International Organisations Research Journal","volume":"15 1","pages":"115-139"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46082200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-30DOI: 10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-04
A. Morozkina
This article is aimed at evaluation of regional digital inequality in BRICS countries. Using the data for 2014-2018 on internet usage and access to fixed broadband author calculates inequality ratios, including coefficient of variation and Theil index. Also author analyzes rural/urban differences and their dynamics. On the base of this calculations author shows decrease of regional inequality in all five countries. Further analysis is devoted to national digitalization strategies, which are aimed at development of remote areas and bridging digital divide. Author shows that there are measures in each strategy aimed at bridging digital divide on all three levels (infrastructure, usage and results). In a final part of the article author suggests directions for cooperation in BRICS, including exchange of best practices in realization of national strategies, composition of best practices in integrated measures aimed at development of remote areas and joint financing using opportunities provided by the New Development Bank.
{"title":"Regional Perspective of Digitalization in BRICS","authors":"A. Morozkina","doi":"10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-04","url":null,"abstract":"This article is aimed at evaluation of regional digital inequality in BRICS countries. Using the data for 2014-2018 on internet usage and access to fixed broadband author calculates inequality ratios, including coefficient of variation and Theil index. Also author analyzes rural/urban differences and their dynamics. On the base of this calculations author shows decrease of regional inequality in all five countries. Further analysis is devoted to national digitalization strategies, which are aimed at development of remote areas and bridging digital divide. Author shows that there are measures in each strategy aimed at bridging digital divide on all three levels (infrastructure, usage and results). In a final part of the article author suggests directions for cooperation in BRICS, including exchange of best practices in realization of national strategies, composition of best practices in integrated measures aimed at development of remote areas and joint financing using opportunities provided by the New Development Bank.","PeriodicalId":42976,"journal":{"name":"Vestnik Mezhdunarodnykh Organizatsii-International Organisations Research Journal","volume":"15 1","pages":"70-90"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45100768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-30DOI: 10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-01
S. Vasilkovsky, A. Ignatov
The spread of digital technologies has led to the global digitalization of all types of public activities. The digital economy emerging during this process has become a leading factor in world economic growth and one of the criteria of national development. The digital economy is based on the Internet, which ensures the functioning of new business models, forms of social interaction and public diplomacy. The Internet governance system differs from other modern international systems of public and political relations in that the leading role in it is played by non-governmental organizations, in particular, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Society (ISOC). The activities of states are significantly limited by the basic properties of the system, which complicates the implementation of the state’s digital sovereignty. The aim of this article is to determine ways to resolve this discrepancy.Analyzing the current state of Internet governance, the authors outline the key characteristics that lead to potential conflict. These include decentralization, an insufficient evaluative level of accountability and lack of legitimacy. The authors analyze ICANN and ISOC toolkits and identify the key instruments that actually make organizations central to the Internet governance system. In conclusion, the authors provide recommendations for action by the international community to mitigate the identified imbalances.The article was written on the basis of the RANEPA state assignment research programme
{"title":"Internet Governance: System Imbalances and Ways to Resolve Them","authors":"S. Vasilkovsky, A. Ignatov","doi":"10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-01","url":null,"abstract":"The spread of digital technologies has led to the global digitalization of all types of public activities. The digital economy emerging during this process has become a leading factor in world economic growth and one of the criteria of national development. The digital economy is based on the Internet, which ensures the functioning of new business models, forms of social interaction and public diplomacy. The Internet governance system differs from other modern international systems of public and political relations in that the leading role in it is played by non-governmental organizations, in particular, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Society (ISOC). The activities of states are significantly limited by the basic properties of the system, which complicates the implementation of the state’s digital sovereignty. The aim of this article is to determine ways to resolve this discrepancy.Analyzing the current state of Internet governance, the authors outline the key characteristics that lead to potential conflict. These include decentralization, an insufficient evaluative level of accountability and lack of legitimacy. The authors analyze ICANN and ISOC toolkits and identify the key instruments that actually make organizations central to the Internet governance system. In conclusion, the authors provide recommendations for action by the international community to mitigate the identified imbalances.The article was written on the basis of the RANEPA state assignment research programme","PeriodicalId":42976,"journal":{"name":"Vestnik Mezhdunarodnykh Organizatsii-International Organisations Research Journal","volume":"15 1","pages":"7-29"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47214974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-30DOI: 10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-10
S. Vasilkovsky
Online platforms assumed an important role in the economy and society. They have brought significant benefits to consumers, businesses and governments, for example, by helping them more efficiently interact with significant number of people, trading partners and clients as well as provide government services. In the review the author observes reports of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on the characteristics of digital platforms and their impact on the economy, society and politics. In addition, the author will touch upon the issues of labor market regulation, taxation, as well as the problems of ensuring the confidentiality of the collection, storage and use of data.
{"title":"Towards to Digital: A Review of OECD Reports on the Development and Impact of Online Platforms","authors":"S. Vasilkovsky","doi":"10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/1996-7845-2020-04-10","url":null,"abstract":"Online platforms assumed an important role in the economy and society. They have brought significant benefits to consumers, businesses and governments, for example, by helping them more efficiently interact with significant number of people, trading partners and clients as well as provide government services. In the review the author observes reports of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on the characteristics of digital platforms and their impact on the economy, society and politics. In addition, the author will touch upon the issues of labor market regulation, taxation, as well as the problems of ensuring the confidentiality of the collection, storage and use of data.","PeriodicalId":42976,"journal":{"name":"Vestnik Mezhdunarodnykh Organizatsii-International Organisations Research Journal","volume":"15 1","pages":"196-203"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49214019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-11-30DOI: 10.17323/1996-7845-2020-03-08
M. Pires, L. Nascimento
The election of Donald Trump caused a change in the direction of U.S. foreign policy for Latin America with the imposition of new sanctions on the Cuban government (starting a new cold war with the island) and the attempted regime changes in Venezuela and Nicaragua, whose governments are seen as a threat by Washington’s elite. In September 2018, during a speech at the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Donald Trump took up the principles of the Monroe Doctrine as formal a U.S. policy and rejected the alleged interference of foreign states in the western hemisphere and in the internal affairs of the United States — a direct allusion to China and Russia. This change in U.S. policy toward Latin America has had a great impact on Sino-Latin American relations in the context of political pressures and aggressive rhetoric seeking to curb the Chinese presence there. This article explores the motivation behind the new attitude of the United States in its relations with Latin America and how it impacts Sino-Latin American relations.
{"title":"The Monroe Doctrine 2.0 and U.S.-China-Latin America Trilateral Relations","authors":"M. Pires, L. Nascimento","doi":"10.17323/1996-7845-2020-03-08","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/1996-7845-2020-03-08","url":null,"abstract":"The election of Donald Trump caused a change in the direction of U.S. foreign policy for Latin America with the imposition of new sanctions on the Cuban government (starting a new cold war with the island) and the attempted regime changes in Venezuela and Nicaragua, whose governments are seen as a threat by Washington’s elite. In September 2018, during a speech at the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Donald Trump took up the principles of the Monroe Doctrine as formal a U.S. policy and rejected the alleged interference of foreign states in the western hemisphere and in the internal affairs of the United States — a direct allusion to China and Russia. This change in U.S. policy toward Latin America has had a great impact on Sino-Latin American relations in the context of political pressures and aggressive rhetoric seeking to curb the Chinese presence there. This article explores the motivation behind the new attitude of the United States in its relations with Latin America and how it impacts Sino-Latin American relations.","PeriodicalId":42976,"journal":{"name":"Vestnik Mezhdunarodnykh Organizatsii-International Organisations Research Journal","volume":"15 1","pages":"202-222"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47442171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-11-30DOI: 10.17323/1996-7845-2020-03-01
Angela Attrey, Anne Carblanc, David Gierten, Dirk Pilat, Andrew W. Wyckoff, Brian Kahin
Фокусом настоящего доклада является оценка многочисленных вызовов, которые цифровая трансформация бросает существующей политической практике. В подавляющем большинстве своем, политические меры сегодня вырабатываются, исходя из того, что продукты и активы материальны; что географические границы и локации являются фиксированными; что существуют транзакционные издержки, ограничивающие масштабы и охват взаимодействий и продуктовых предложений; и что спрос и предложения формируются в условиях ограниченности ресурсов. Цифровая трансформация радикальным образом воздействует на все эти факторы и эффективность основывающейся на их анализе политики. Концентрируясь, скорее, на природе обусловленных цифровой трансформацией перемен, а не на технологиях самих по себе, доклад является попыткой предложить всеобъемлющий взгляд на происходящие изменения для достижения понимания на более фундаментальном уровне того, где при выработке политики будут возникать точки напряжения. Авторы стремятся раскрыть последствия цифровой трансформации для политики в различных сферах, с тем чтобы выработать аргументы в пользу целостного, кросс-секторального подхода к разработке последовательных и взаимно усиливающих друг друга политических мер. Цель доклада состоит в том, чтобы дать старт разработке чек-листа, с которым можно было бы сопоставлять действующие и вновь разрабатываемые политические меры для оценки их целесообразности и соответствия требованиям цифровой эпохи. В докладе рассматриваются три ключевые направления, по которым цифровая трансформация воздействует на модели функционирования экономики и общества, а именно: i) масштаб, охват и скорость; ii) собственность, активы и экономическая ценность; и iii) отношения, рынки и экосистемы. Эти три направления рассматриваются через призму семи «векторов» цифровой трансформации, пронизывающих практически все области политики. Изменения в масштабе, охвате и скорости являются результатом конверсии информации в цифровые биты, которые могут обрабатываться и анализироваться компьютерами. Удешевление и ускорение оцифровки информации, экспоненциально нараставшие в последние 50 лет, влияют на природу активов, которые генерируют ценность, а также на то, как распределяются права собственности и где создается ценность. В свою очередь, эти изменения, подкрепленные появлением цифровых платформ, воздействуют на структуру и функционирование рынков и тем самым создают новые экосистемы предложения, спроса и обмена. А уже эти сдвиги влияют на то, как развиваются, поддерживаются и локализуются отношения, как экономические, так и социальные. Для каждого из семи векторов цифровой трансформации в докладе приводятся примеры последствий для политики, а в ряде случаев описываются возможные подходы к адаптации политики. Будучи иллюстративными, эти примеры позволяют сформировать дополнительную точку зрения на векторы цифровой трансформации. Значимую роль при разработке настоящего доклада сыграли комментарии Комитета ОЭСР по политике в сфере цифровой эконо
{"title":"Векторы цифровой трансформации","authors":"Angela Attrey, Anne Carblanc, David Gierten, Dirk Pilat, Andrew W. Wyckoff, Brian Kahin","doi":"10.17323/1996-7845-2020-03-01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17323/1996-7845-2020-03-01","url":null,"abstract":"Фокусом настоящего доклада является оценка многочисленных вызовов, которые цифровая трансформация бросает существующей политической практике. В подавляющем большинстве своем, политические меры сегодня вырабатываются, исходя из того, что продукты и активы материальны; что географические границы и локации являются фиксированными; что существуют транзакционные издержки, ограничивающие масштабы и охват взаимодействий и продуктовых предложений; и что спрос и предложения формируются в условиях ограниченности ресурсов. Цифровая трансформация радикальным образом воздействует на все эти факторы и эффективность основывающейся на их анализе политики. Концентрируясь, скорее, на природе обусловленных цифровой трансформацией перемен, а не на технологиях самих по себе, доклад является попыткой предложить всеобъемлющий взгляд на происходящие изменения для достижения понимания на более фундаментальном уровне того, где при выработке политики будут возникать точки напряжения. Авторы стремятся раскрыть последствия цифровой трансформации для политики в различных сферах, с тем чтобы выработать аргументы в пользу целостного, кросс-секторального подхода к разработке последовательных и взаимно усиливающих друг друга политических мер. Цель доклада состоит в том, чтобы дать старт разработке чек-листа, с которым можно было бы сопоставлять действующие и вновь разрабатываемые политические меры для оценки их целесообразности и соответствия требованиям цифровой эпохи. В докладе рассматриваются три ключевые направления, по которым цифровая трансформация воздействует на модели функционирования экономики и общества, а именно: i) масштаб, охват и скорость; ii) собственность, активы и экономическая ценность; и iii) отношения, рынки и экосистемы. Эти три направления рассматриваются через призму семи «векторов» цифровой трансформации, пронизывающих практически все области политики. Изменения в масштабе, охвате и скорости являются результатом конверсии информации в цифровые биты, которые могут обрабатываться и анализироваться компьютерами. Удешевление и ускорение оцифровки информации, экспоненциально нараставшие в последние 50 лет, влияют на природу активов, которые генерируют ценность, а также на то, как распределяются права собственности и где создается ценность. В свою очередь, эти изменения, подкрепленные появлением цифровых платформ, воздействуют на структуру и функционирование рынков и тем самым создают новые экосистемы предложения, спроса и обмена. А уже эти сдвиги влияют на то, как развиваются, поддерживаются и локализуются отношения, как экономические, так и социальные. Для каждого из семи векторов цифровой трансформации в докладе приводятся примеры последствий для политики, а в ряде случаев описываются возможные подходы к адаптации политики. Будучи иллюстративными, эти примеры позволяют сформировать дополнительную точку зрения на векторы цифровой трансформации. Значимую роль при разработке настоящего доклада сыграли комментарии Комитета ОЭСР по политике в сфере цифровой эконо","PeriodicalId":42976,"journal":{"name":"Vestnik Mezhdunarodnykh Organizatsii-International Organisations Research Journal","volume":"15 1","pages":"7-50"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46988920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-11-30DOI: 10.17323/1996-7845-2020-03-03
V. Bartenev, A. Solomatin
In recent years there has been a steady growth of “multi-bilateral aid,” or voluntary earmarked contributions transferred by international donors through multilateral organizations. The World Bank Group’s financial intermediary funds (FIFs) and trust funds have gained an especially wide recognition and have been particularly instrumental in channelling aid to fragile states — a priority group of partners for achieving the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. But researchers have paid much less attention to FIFs than to trust funds.This article identifies characteristic features of World Bank IFIs as a multilateral mechanism to channel aid to politically unstable regions, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa Transition Fund (MENA TF) established in 2012 to support Arab countries undergoing political transitions as a result of the Arab Awakening. The introductory section examines the particularities, benefits and risks of establishing FIFs as multilateral mechanisms to transfer development assistance. These parameters are illustrated in subsequent sections which discuss the MENA TF’s establishment procedures, governance structure, and mobilization and allocation of funds.The article concludes that for each of the parties involved, hypothetically, World Bank FIFs are a quite convenient mechanism for supporting fragile states. However, the example of the MENA TF conclusively shows that everything depends on the concrete political context of their establishment and operation. In terms of some key parameters (establishment procedure, governance structure) the MENA TF mechanism is very similar to other funds of the same type, but its operation is strongly affected by challenges uncommon to the majority of FIFs, which are focused on more politically neutral sectors. These challenges stem from several factors, including the predominance of political decisions within the Deauville Partnership, a unique list of contributors, and a severity of discord among them given the drastic deterioration of the political climate in the Arab world and beyond in 2014. This not only disrupted plans to engage more donors and mobilize the planned amount of funds, but it also stipulated a visible politicization of aid allocation. Political risks which materialized in the MENA TF operations might occur in other FIFs focused on fragile states and situations. The establishment of additional multilateral mechanisms, thus, requires learning from experience and prioritizing risk assessment and mitigation.
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