http://iorj.hse.ru en-us Copyright 2024 Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:59:03 +0300 https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2024-19-4/993552589.html The article analyzes the role of modern geopolitical fragmentation in the regionalization of the global economic space. The research logic is based on the analysis of changes in the theory of regionalization in connection with tectonic transformations in the world economy and politics. A new stage in the development of regionalism, which is called geopolitical regionalism, has been identified and the methodology for identifying types of regionalization of the world economy has been clarified. Types such as traditional regionalization, based on direct contractual formats of economic integration (integration regionalization), which is determined primarily by economic factors, are considered in more detail: regionalization based on macroregions and subregions (macroregional regionalization), in which the dominant factor is geographic location, and fragmentation caused by political factors (geopolitical fragmentation) and leading to the division of the global economic space into separate opposing blocs of states. Various methodological approaches to identifying separate geopolitical blocs are considered, including the use of a new criterion—geopolitical distance—that shows the degree of foreign policy proximity or distance between the states included in the analyzed group. Unlike other types of regionalization, geopolitical fragmentation is a serious challenge for the global economy as it leads to the collapse of global ties, a fundamental change in existing global value chains, and a weakening of the international regulatory system. This requires constant monitoring of geopolitical fragmentation and analysis of its new manifestations, as well as a balanced scientific discussion on this issue.This article was submitted  11.07.2024 https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2024-19-4/993564294.html This article analyzes current changes related to the international regulation of digital trade.In the context of technological transformation, the concept of digital trade is expanding. Under the influence of political decisions and the priorities of big companies, it includes an increasingly wider range of issues, which complicates the development of international rules.Since 2000, the digital economy has taken an important place on the agenda of negotiations on free trade agreements. At the same time new types of arrangements have arisen—digital trade agreements, including provisions on e-commerce and data movement. Their compatibility with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in terms of preferential regimes raises objective doubts.Key participants in international digital trade (the European Union (EU), the US, and China) have different approaches to the formation of international rules. Their positions on certain issues may be revised and brought closer together. In recent years, Singapore has been increasingly active in developing international agreements on the digital economy, striving to become a global hub in physical and digital trade.Existing agreements of the WTO were designed before the rapid development of the Internet, so the conditions for conducting digital trade and the commitments of members in it are largely uncovered. Today, it is difficult to negotiate in a multilateral format at the organization. In this regard, the development of rules on e-commerce is taking place in a plurilateral format—the Joint Initiative.The findings suggest that despite the stabilization of the text of the WTO Agreement on Electronic Commerce, the outcome of future of negotiations remains uncertain, both due to political disagreements and the crisis in the WTO.This work is an output of a research project “Transformation of the regulatory paradigm for international trade in terms of sanctions”, implemented as part of the Research Program of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at HSE University in 2024.This article was submitted on 26.05.2024. https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2024-19-4/993608618.html Migration policy and its derivates—refugee and asylum policy—are increasingly important items on national and international agendas. This article provides a comprehensive legal and policy analysis of externalization policy and migration and asylum frameworks at the European Union (EU and national levels. Using an integrated approach in methodology, the article theoretically examines the insights from contemporary debates in the field and briefly analyzes the most recent developments in Europe, where the new Pact on Migration was approved in May 2024. Conducting a comparative legal analysis, we analyze the Protocol on Strengthening Cooperation in the Field of Migration, signed between the Albanian and Italian governments, juxtaposing its provisions with international and EU asylum and immigration law. Furthermore, analysis is contemplated with the critique of the judgment of the Albanian Constitutional Court on the compatibility of the protocol with the Albanian constitution and legal standards pertaining to international human rights law.We argue that the agreement is presented as a legal framework to, de jure, strengthen cooperation in the field of migration. However, from the text of the protocol, de facto, the agreement is about placing a certain part of the territory of the Republic of Albania under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Italian Republic, where it can “externalize” its asylum seekers, and deter potential immigrants from travelling toward Italy. It is the latest effort of the EU members to “discharge” asylum seekers onto other, poorer countries as a tool of domestic politics rather than to solve the thorny issue of migration. Conclusions are reached on the developments in EU law and policy on migration and asylum and their impact on relations between EU members and other countries. Finally, we provide recommendations to ensure compliance with human rights standards.This article was submitted on 20.06.2024. https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2024-19-4/993588415.html The increased sanctions efforts of European diplomacy in recent years have established a new perspective on the European Union's external policy toward neighbouring countries, since one of the criteria of the EU's sanctions policy effectiveness is the so-called "regional leadership"—third countries’ alignment with the EU sanctions regimes. The established academic discourse on the topic in Europe evaluates the effectiveness of the sanctions policy on this parameter extremely highly. However, what, in fact, is behind the facade of the postulated successes of regional leadership? In this article, the author asks this question in relation to Iceland, a country that has increased vulnerability in the face of external challenges and which has incurred incomparably high costs from harmonizing its foreign policy with the EU’s anti–Russian sanctions regimes. Using the theoretical and methodological frameworks of shelter theory, this study documents the negative political and economic consequences that Iceland has faced and shows that there are no such categories as consideration and levelling of possible costs for affiliated countries in the goal setting of the EU sanctions policy. In the Icelandic case, this, in turn, leads to a reformatting and polarization of the existing ecosystem of relations in the Euro-Atlantic, since the costs Iceland incurs from harmonization with EU policy are mostly compensated by the United States, although traditionally the US has been responsible for Iceland's military rather than economic protection. The international political situation in the conditions of sanctions sets the stage for possible tensions in Iceland's relations with the EU and a stronger US direction in its multilateral foreign policy. Nevertheless, despite these tensions, Iceland will continue to synchronize with the EU sanctions regimes, as other options are either fraught with even greater costs (synchronization with the US sanctions policy, which is substantially tougher than that of the EU) or unrealizable in the international realities after the start of the special military operation (developing its own sanctions regime).This article was submitted on 14.04.2024. https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2024-19-4/993590254.html In this article, the author examines the main approaches to water management in Africa in the context of realizing the right to clean water and sanitation. The features of both public and private water management, as well as the public-private approach, are shown. The author also presents the attempts to find a “third way” through decentralization of the management system based on the theoretical developments of Nobel Prize-winner E. Ostrom, a representative of the Bloomington School. Differences in water management in urbanized and rural areas of African countries are shown. In the latter case, the normative and value attitudes of the local community play an important role, and water is not only an important economic resource but also has great socio-cultural significance. The experience of Burkina Faso illustrates the key role of the public operator in water supply, which has generally remained despite the structural adjustment programmes of the 1990s. The article presents the main features of the privatization of water management in the countries of the Global South and the expert criticism that has been gaining momentum in this regard. At the mid-2000s, the anti-privatization agenda shifted to the promotion of the human right to clean water. The process of adoption of United Nations General Assembly (UN GA) resolution 64/292 “The human right to water and sanitation” on 28 July 2010 and the mechanisms for its implementation, including within the framework of the sustainable development goals (SDG 6), as well as the place of water issues in the discussed draft of the International Covenant on the Right to Development are shown. The main stakeholders of the global water governance mechanism within the UN and the World Bank are presented, and the special role of leading water multinational corporations (MNCs) and specialized consulting firms, as well as France, are highlighted. Particular attention is paid to the implementation of the right to water in Africa, including within the framework of the 2019 Guiding Principles on the Right to Water in Africa, Agenda 2063, and the Results Matrix, as well as in national legislation (the case of South Africa). The article ends with conclusions about the current state of implementation of the right to clean water in Africa.The article was prepared within the project “The “Clean Water” project as the most important component of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the countries of the Global South: socio-economic and technological dimensions” supported by the grant from Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation program for research projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development (Agreement № 075-15-2024-546).This article was submitted on 10.06.2024. https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2024-19-4/993591785.html Emissions trading systems are essential for combating climate change and the energy transition because they create incentives to limit and control emissions. However, there is also a perception that taxing pollutants is a more effective way to limit emissions than setting caps on pollution. This creates an ambiguity in which taxation predicts the cost of collective action but not the volume of emissions. Caps, on the other hand, make pollution quantifiable but not its cost. Emissions trading systems, which set a ceiling on pollutants but allow companies to set a price on the market by trading allowances within the cap, provide an alternative to this ambiguity. However, the issue of equitable allocation of allowances to developing countries and the most vulnerable countries remains. The importance of allowances is directly related to political stability, as governments implement measures and instruments to regulate greenhouse gas trade, including incentives, financial incentives, and accountability. In general, emission quotas are no less a political task than an economic one, since the fight against global warming is a global public good and does not fit into standard market mechanisms. The purpose of the study is to develop a model for distributing quotas for private mathematical calculations that takes into account country variables and allows, based on the level of industrial development, calculation of quotas, as well as the environmental friendliness of production factors. The methodology is presented by mathematical modelling methods through the creation of an equilibrium model for calculating the distribution of emission quotas. As a result of the study, the authors developed a multicomponent heterogeneous equilibrium model for calculating the distribution of greenhouse gas emission quotas, taking into account not only the volume of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) but also the volume of GDP per capita, which prevents excessive underquoting of developing countries, as well as separately regulating the quota system for the poorest countries.This article was submitted on 20.02.2024. https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2024-19-4/993605464.html The expansion of climate change measures on decarbonization and adaptation are implemented by countries in national legislation, including obligations to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) by nationally determined contributions that have an impact on integration processes, as climate obligations are primarily linked to the realization of collective actions by the international community. For example, the World Trade Organization (WTO), in its report on the interaction of climate and trade issues [2022] pointed to 4,355 trade measures in agreements that aim to achieve climate goals. The topic of climate change particularly affects the energy and metals sectors, in which Russia is currently a key exporter. For example, climate change has brought into focus the issue of ensuring stable supplies of critical raw materials needed for the energy transition. Since Russia is currently a key exporter of certain goods, it seems relevant to consider how climate action by Russian importers will affect Russia's positioning in foreign trade under international sanctions. As a result of the study, the authors formulate proposals for Russia to take national measures, taking into account the exports changes.The article was prepared as part of the research work of the state task of the RANEPAThis article was submitted on 14.06.2024. https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2024-19-4/993606973.html This article analyzes strategic planning in Russia’s export of higher education and the prospects for its implementation under the ongoing fragmentation of international relations. The purpose of the study is to assess how much the country’s priorities have changed in the export of higher education and how it has affected its goal setting and geographical guidelines.The article uses a multidisciplinary approach, since the problem of exporting education is at the intersection of two research areas: international relations and foreign policy and higher education and the internationalization of higher education. The empirical material of the study includes strategic documents regulating foreign policy and the export of education, documents of ministries and departments of the Russian Federation, and statistical data on the state of higher education in the Russian Federation. The authors also analyze research publications, analytical reports, and other materials on this topic.This research was supported by Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, project No FSWM-2024-0008This article was submitted on 13.06.2024 https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2024-19-4/996718409.html Purpose – After decades of hypergrowth, since the 2008 global financial crisis there has been a deceleration of globalization and a partial jamming of its main engines (trade and foreign direct investment [FDI]). This study aims to critically reflecton the current phase, labeling it as “win-lose globalization” characterized by firm-firmcompetitionincreasinglyintertwined with that between the respective nation-states, which aim to be the relative winners, even at the expense of joint absolute gains. Acting as “strategists,” states implement policies to weaponize economic interdependences, which the paper analyzes.Design/methodology/approach – The approachis “problem setting” rather than “problem solving.” The latter offers well-defined solutions but often assumes unambiguous definitions of problems, which obscure their complexity. This phase is so intricate that the problem itself is problematic. Thus, to advance knowledge, the focus is given on nation-state policies: FDI screening and the politicization of international trade relations; protectionism; misuses of antitrust and regulation.Findings – The intensification of firm-firm/state-state competition, seeking disproportionate gains over rivals, is the ultimate result of the contradictions and dissatisfactions accumulated over decadesof globalization, the benefits of which have been far from equally distributed. Conflicts in international economic relations are bound to intensify, and a return to win-win globalization is unlikely. International cooperation to strengthen existing/new supranational governance institutions in the interest of absolute global inclusive benefits is urgently needed.Originality/value – The paper integrates the international business debate on the fate of globalization with interpretations from industrial policy studies and international relations theory. This allows for suggestions for policymakers, corporate executives and scholars.Mariotti, S. (2024), "“Win-lose” globalization and the weaponization of economic policies by nation-states", Critical Perspectives on International Business, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/cpoib-09-2023-0089 [1] Sergio Mariotti. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode