The Fourth Annual Scientific Student Conference Topical Humanitarian Issues of Our Time
THE FOURTH ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC STUDENT CONFERENCE “TOPICAL HUMANITARIAN ISSUES OF OUR TIME”
ABSTRACTS
PANEL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
THE NATO STRATEGIC CONCEPT
Balandina Anastasia
The Faculty of political science
3rd year student
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, instituted in 1949, is going through tough times. For some time already, the NATO member-states are lowering their military budget, which means that the USA are playing an increasingly important role. Encountering new problems, old enemies: while the USSR does not exist anymore, Russia has taken its place with one reservation – some ex-soviet countries are turning to the NATO. What is the strategic concept of the NATO and how it may evolve in the future are the issues under consideration in this work.
THE CONFLICT BETWEEN GEORGIA AND ABKHAZIA - THE PRESENT DAY SITUATION
Malyhina Elena
The Faculty of political science
3rd year student
The report is devoted to the consequences of the ethno-political conflict between Georgia and Abkhazia. The aim of the work is to show what impact this conflict had on the present day international status of Abkhazia and explain the reason of the absence of interplay between these two states.
ORATORY OR SPEAKING SKILLS
Kuryndikov Nikita
The Faculty of political science
1st year student
It is common knowledge that powerful leaders had powerful speaking skills. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of oratory in political and social spheres. In his work the author touches upon several key points connected with oratory:
1) The definition of oratory
2) The function of oratory
3) The example of great orators
4) The story of George the Sixth (The most dangerous moment in the history of the British monarchy)
HOW AUTOCRACIES FALL
Sirotina Antonina
The Faculty of political science
2nd year student.
The author makes an attempt to analyze the way and the reason this type of political regime may be overthrown. Though some autocracies have democratic institutions their role is often diminished.
The observers emphasize at least 3 reasons that make a dictator leave his office: the insider-led actions, the mass-led actions or the death from natural causes.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN IRAQ?
Kozhemyaka Stanislav
The Faculty of political science
1st year student
I would like to discuss the topic of latest events in Iraq, their various causes and historical roots.
I would like to speak on the importance of the events and analyze the reasons of why it has happened and what may be the consequences for us and for the world.
MONO- and MULTILINGUAL COUNTRIES
Safarov Yusif
The Faculty of political science
3rd year student
There are lots of countries all over the world with two, three or even more official languages. The examples are Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, which officially support different languages on their territory. As a rule, experts claim that citizens of such countries are lucky, because they've got an opportunity to learn different languages from their birth.
However, is it so easy as it sounds? Doesn't such a phenomenon create difficulties in these countries? In this work the author made an attempt to study this issue and make a conclusion, if monolingual country is better than multilingual one.
THE ROLE OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN THE MODERN WORLD
Miloslavskaya Sofia
The Faculty of political science
2nd year student
Political science deals with different studies, most of them being problem-driven. Among the urgent issues that political science faces today, the problem of leadership clearly stands out. Leadership is an essential feature of government as a whole: weak leadership may lead to government failure, while strong leadership can guarantee success, well-being and stability in society. Leadership is a historical phenomenon; its structures and methods do change in the course of time. Leadership is a part of complicated social processes that bring about concrete political outcomes. There are some types of political leadership that can be distinguished and characterized. According to M. Hermann the main tasks of each political leader are to:
- interpret the existing problems,
- offer the ways and means for their solution,
- propagate personal visions as solutions or, at least, responses to problems
- mobilize followers and supporters to implement those solutions into life (Heifetz 1994)
Some political changes can really pose direct risks to society, and some politics can cause real troubles. Unreasonable political management can turn natural or human-made events into catastrophe. Moreover, political risk is often perceived to be outside of management’s control, making it difficult to define, predict, and align with other objectives.
IMMIGRATION TO SPAIN
Danilova Anastasia
The Faculty of political science
3rd year student
The work deals with an urgent issue – immigration to Spain. The causes and the consequences of this phenomenon, the way it affects the economy, the internal policy and the social sphere of Spain are under consideration.
ROBOTS AGAINST HUMANS OR HUMANS AGAINST ROBOTS?
Lobko Yana
The Faculty of political science
2nd year student
Today humanity is coming close to the time when robots will be used everywhere. But it is not clear if all of them will be useful and safe for people.What if almost invisible in everyday life, the evolution of robots results in the revolution of robots? But there is an alternative version of future events. People worry that In future many of them may lose their jobs because of the robots. So, how will relations between people and technology (robots in particular) develop and whether the neo-luddism attracts many new followers?
PERCEPTION OF POLITICAL IMAGES
Alyona Manuzina
The Faculty of political science
2nd year student
Due to the development of information technologies the perception of political leaders’ images is getting crucial. The sphere of international relations is following this tendency too. It means that the states should care not only about their actions and processes they are involved into but also about the perception of themselves as well. That is why the work is devoted to the study of political image, and the way it influences real developments.
IMAGE VS. IDEOLOGY
Kosheleva Alena
The Faculty of political science
Due to the development of information the Internet has become a crucial part of political campaign. The models of positioning of political subjects in the World Wide Web are becoming increasingly more and more important. Using the web sites, political parties communicate with electorate. This communication is based on feedback mechanism. Ideological values and political issues are translated by means of this channel of information.
The work is devoted to comparison of the two strategies that can be used by political parties in their work on the websites. The main aim is to trace how political ideology influences the strategies of Democratic Party and Republican Party in the USA.
THE PHENOMENON OF RACISM IN THE MODERN WORLD
Smirnova Daria
The Faculty of political science
2nd year student
The problem of relations between different ethnic groups has always been important in our history. It can influence us in different ways, causing various problems, from a slight tension in the society to serious conflicts, which sometimes can even lead to a war. There used to exist different views on this problem, including liberal ideas of equality and peaceful coexistence or radical nationalist and racist theories. The latter can strengthen conflicts, no matter if it is common people’s xenophobia or a state ideology.
Of course nowadays democratic values, which are widely spread and supported by most of the countries, do not allow any forms of discrimination to be established officially by the state. But does it mean that in fact people of different races and other ethnic groups live together peacefully? Although there may be less real conflicts, xenophobia and elements of racism in different forms still exist even in the most democratic countries.
The aim of this work is to analyze the phenomenon of racism, how it developed through years, to look into the roots of it, examining several theories on that subject. I would also like to draw attention to the current situation and the ways racism influences life of modern people. As globalization takes place and different ethnic groups mix together, it's important to understand this process.
GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS OF MAJOR U.S. PARTIES CONCERNING 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
Gabelko Anton
The Faculty of political science
3rd year student
After solid victory at the 2014 congressional elections the Republicans feel quite encouraged about the future presidential campaign, but a number of key states is still held by the Democrats, so no easy victory is to be expected. The conservative "Tea Party" wing of the Republican party has recently increased its influence, so it could provide its own candidate. In the Democratic Party the main question is "who is it going to be, if not Hillary?"
THE NATURE OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
Revazashvily Grigorii
The Faculty of political science
2nd year student
This presentation deals with the origin of American democracy in general and seeks to answer the question why the USA has become such an influential country. By analyzing the main trends and directions of democracy in the USA, the author tries to explain the process of’ ‘westernazation’ that has embraced much of the world.
ARE INSECTS TO BECOME THE FOOD OF THE FUTURE?
Yegorov Yegor
The Faculty of political science
2nd year student
As we know, the population of our planet has been growing from year to year. That is why the problem of food (or lack of it) has come to the fore. There is perhaps no problem worthy of serious discussion as that of food for future generations. Recently a few articles have been published that are concerned with this urgent issue. The author tries to estimate the most important ideas that have been proposed by different writers to show what progress has been made on understanding this issue.
IS OUR HEALTH THE PRICE FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT?
Bogdanova Liza
The Faculty of political science
2nd year student
Human development is something that is impossible to stop. As a result of this continuous progress, life of people has become much easier and more comfortable. But today the mankind has encountered an inevitable problem. One of the most developed nations – I mean Japan- where everything seemed to have been calculated in advance has proved to be helpless before the forces of nature. After the tremendous earthquake, followed by a tsunamy, the atomic power station Fukusima-1 was badly damaged. The further the progress – the more dangerous life on our planet is. Scientific progress and human development cannot go without serious side effects. We will always be paying a very high price for progress.
THE INFLUENCE OF WORLD POLITICAL SITUATION ON EXCHANGE RATE STABILITY
Kononov Zahar
The Faculty of political science
2nd year student
According to the latest events, the exchange rate of rouble is not stable. Consequently, plans of our government for the currency market demand examination. There may be two solutions to a current situation: 1. Russian government tries to freeze a decline of the rouble, buying progressive amount of dollars, 2. it allows the rouble take its course, making no obstacles on its way down. The aim of the work is to give all pros and cons of the above mentioned.
RUSSIA AND UKRAINE – NATIONAL IDEA vs NATIONALISM
Ivanenko Yuri
The faculty of political science
2nd year student
The time we live in is very hard. Peoples all over the world suffer from many problems such as political and social shocks, economic crisis, uneven population explosion and recession, fatal ecological disasters and also the crisis of national identity. It’s an open secret that the increase of national self-consciousness in the whole world is a response to globalization threatening with extinction of many peoples’ original ethnical culture. Nowadays we can see it in Russian – Ukrainian relations. Two urgent issues are under consideration: the national Russian idea and the Ukrainian nationalism.
THE IDEAL OF HUMAN UNITY
Mishina Anastasiya
The Faculty of political science
3rd year student
The article under the headline "The Ideal of Human Unity" is devoted to one of the most important social and political ideas of Indian philosopher Aurobindo Ghose. His idea of Human Unity is of vital importance nowadays, because of both separatist trends and the urge towards multinational unification. In the collection of articles under the title "The Ideal of Human Unity" Aurobindo Ghose speaks about the social or ‘collective’ life. He believes that integration of mankind will definitely take place because it is rooted in the Nature itself.
THE PROBLEM OF ISIS PROLIFERATION
Starikov Kirill
The Faculty of political science
2nd year student
The increasing threat of ISIS attracts much attention. The following questions require serious consideration - the origin of the movement (ISIS) and its aims, the role it plays in the Middle East, and the distinctions between ISIS and other terrorist organizations. The position of the USA is also my focus of attention.
THANK YOU FOR NOT SMOKING
Margusheva Alina
The Faculty of political science
2nd year student
The work deals with the problem of smoking and its influence on health. Government policy concerning the conflict between smokers and non-smokers, moral and psychological aspects of the problem are under consideration. Special attention is devoted to preventive measures.
HUNGARY AND RUSSIA AFTER CRIMEA
Strahov Aleksandr
The Faculty of Political science
3rd year student
The work deals with Russian-Hungarian relations after the Crimean events. Hungary is the only state that openly expresses its dissatisfaction by European politics of sanctions and continues its cooperation with Russia. The author gives his understanding of the events. The perspective of Russian-Hungarian relations is under consideration too.
‘IF YOU CONTROL THE MEDIA, YOU CONTROL THE PEOPLE. MEDIA EFFECT’
Makarenkova Anastasiya
The Faculty of political science.
3rd year student
The work concerns the problem of manipulation in mass media. There are many different theories of mass media influence on people's attitudes, outlooks, and behavior. The author draws our attention to those which are most frequently used: cognitive processing, agenda settings, priming, framing and cultivation theory.
THE PROBLELM OF RATIONAL CHOICE IN OUR UP-TO-DATE LIFE AND POLITICS
Kuznetsova Anastasya
The faculty of Political Science
2nd year student
I bet that almost every person faces a simple problem of choice in everyday life. But is it so easy to make the choice? How does a person act when making the choice? And how to make a right one? It is worth mentioning that we all live in a society, so people, speaking in terms of science, are main subjects of activity and decision-making is an important part of their social life. People work in different spheres, including politics. How should a person act if he works in a political structure responsible for life of entire nation? How should a politician act to make a rational choice with less unwanted consequences? And is it really possible to count all "pros" and "contras"? Can the choice and the situation of choice be predictable? In my report I will try to answer these questions using the theory of rational choice that was and is very important and popular in political science. I will also try to figure out how society makes its collective choice during elections, and whether it is really possible to come to an honest agreement or there will always exist the need in some manipulation techniques because of a very complicated structure of people's mind.
STUDENT ACTIVISM AS A PART OF POLITICAL MOVEMENT
Glebova Polina
The Faculty of political science
3rd year student
Student activism is directed towards political, environmental, economic or social changes. Student movements have influenced the great political events in many countries worldwide. It is a unique phenomenon, but today we do not pay enough attention to it, though its impact on the political transformation is greater than we can imagine sometimes. Students occupy the unique position in our society: they are at the vanguard of a generation that often differs markedly from that of their forebears. There was a great amount of precedents of student activism through history. The most prominent were student demonstrations in France, the USA, Great Britain and Islamic countries as well.
OBJECTIVIST PHILOSOPHY: RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Ananiev Dmitrii
The Faculty of political science.
2nd year student
Objectivism is a philosophical system created by an American writer Ayn Rand in the middle of the XX century. Best described as the philosophy of rational individualism. Its central tenets are that existence exist, consciousness is conscious, A is A. It is all about our reality and that it exists independently and objectively, no matter whether we believe and accept it or not. What is derived from it is that the only thing we can rely on is the human mind, powered by logic and the only way to live in this objective world is through rational thinking and freedom. And freedom assumes complete and well protected individual rights and, of course, capitalism. And here comes our problem. Should we accept this system, may we call it universal and besides, what we, Russians may do with it? This is a philosophy of thought and action and deciding on accepting it or declining may change life not only of some individuals, but as a consequence — of a whole nation.