http://iorj.hse.ru en-us Copyright 2026 Sun, 05 Apr 2026 01:05:37 +0300 https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2026-21-1/1148465356.html The article explores the peculiarities of the UN activities in Afghanistan in connection with the changing situation in the country and the priorities in the work of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) after 15 August 2021. Due to the growing humanitarian crisis, the main task of the UN in the country has become the provision of basic needs of the local population. The author has tried to show the complexities of UNAMA's co-operation with both the new authorities and donor countries, which was with variable success.       The paper substantiates as important the decision to unite within UNAMA all strategic goals of the UN's continued political presence in Afghanistan. The author emphasises that in order to reliably address all the pressing problems of the Afghan people in both the medium and long term, in addition to humanitarian assistance, it is necessary to create conditions for the development of the country's economic opportunities. The prospects for the effectiveness of the UN Strategic Framework for Afghanistan for the period from 2023 to 2025 are critically analysed. The article also compares UNAMA's achievements and failures during the period of work with the new Afghan authorities. The article identifies the hard-to-implement demands of the UN and the international community to adjust the Taliban's domestic policy. A comparative analysis of the positions of the permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the issue of international recognition of the new regime and development assistance is given. Conclusions are drawn that national development and global sustainable development goals are interdependent, that the international community should seek co-operation with the Taliban authorities on economic development, and that the UNSC should play a more active role in addressing the Afghan crisis.This article was submitted 11.03.2025,approved for publication10.09.2025© Machitidze G.G., 2026Materials are distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2026-21-1/1149203401.html Tax sovereignty, traditionally understood as a state’s authority to impose taxes, has been increasingly challenged by globalization, resulting in the adaptation of domestic tax regulations under international influence. At present, the OECD and G20 play a significant role in shaping domestic tax policy through soft law frameworks that guide reform. This article analyzes the baseline standards of the BEPS initiative as tailored for developing countries and examines the associated enforcement challenges. It further highlights how states have adjusted their domestic tax structures to align with OECD/G20 guidelines, reinforced by continuous monitoring and peer review mechanisms. Since 2015, the BEPS initiative—particularly its four Minimum Standards—has been stringently enforced. Despite differing national interests and the complexities involved, the OECD’s peer-review process has steered national policy adjustments, fostering a shift toward a more unified global tax framework, which has, in turn, diminished national tax sovereigntyThis article was submitted 15.01.2025, approved for publication02.10.2025© Tambunan R.U.D. M., 2026Materials are distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2026-21-1/1150764968.html BRICS is a relatively new and rapidly developing association. The article examines the foundations that ensure intensive cooperation between the cities of the BRICS countries. It is noted that at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries Russia, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa have undergone significant economic and social reforms, which have led, among other things, to the development of cities and an increase in their numbers. Apart from the reforms, the cities of the BRICS countries have a number of other common points. Thus, they are located in countries with vast territories, diverse natural resources, and diverse ethnic composition. The presence of common characteristics creates common challenges, which encourages cities to cooperate and share experiences. BRICS pays great attention to the development of relations at the city and municipal levels. To this end, the Association of Cities and Municipalities of the BRICS+ countries was established at the International Forum in Kazan in 2024, taking into account the large-scale expansion of the BRICS.The article analyzes the issues of interaction between the cities of the BRICS countries in a number of areas, including questions of sustainable development, higher education and digitalization.This article was submitted 15.04.2025, approved for publication17.12.2025 © M. M. Lebedeva, 2026Materials are distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2026-21-1/1151117435.html The article examines the problems of ensuring the sustainable development of the agro-industrial complex of Central Asian countries with the assistance of multilateral development banks (MDBs) present in this region. The emphasis is placed on the increasing dependence of agriculture in Central Asia on limited and ever-decreasing water resources, which actualizes the acceleration of the search for opportunities to increase the sustainability of agriculture in such a vast region. At the same time, special attention is paid to the issue of greater involvement of MDBs operating in the region and implementing large-scale climate and agro-industrial projects. The main conclusion of the analytical material is that the major MDBs are able to give an even greater impetus to the sustainable development of the agro-industrial complex of Central Asia by increasing the coordination of their operations in the region and pooling their resources, including through the implementation of syndicated projects with an integration effect for the region.This article was submitted 03.12.2024, approved for publication13.01.2026 © V.Pereboev, 2026Materials are distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2026-21-1/1151133907.html The Arctic region, which has occupied a special position in the discourse of international political science for more than ten years, has gradually acquired various and often diametrically opposed images on the pages of both English- and Russian-language studies. For a long time, the central intergovernmental forum, the Arctic Council, designed de jure to promote international cooperation and maintain peace in the region, served as a kind of “barometer” of the state of “exceptionalism” of transnational relations in the region. There is no generally accepted consensus regarding the role and state of the forum after 2022 either among researchers of international relations or among official representatives of the member states and observers of the council. In the context of the unprecedented crisis that has been occurring in the Arctic region since the Cold War, it is especially important to study the role of the Arctic Council as a key format for international cooperation in the Arctic throughout all stages of its functioning, as well as an overview of other formats of regional cooperation that have emerged since the events of 2022, which made it possible to identify the main trends in the development of a complex structure of regional interaction at the current stage of its functioning.This article is an output of a research project implemented as part of the Basic Research Program at the HSE University.This article was submitted 17.11.2024, approved for publication 15.07.2025 © I. Strelnikova, D. Agafonov, 2026Materials are distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2026-21-1/1151163079.html India's economy attracts attention for its size (the third largest economy in the world in terms of GDP calculated at PPP and the fifth in terms of GDP at the exchange rate), its rapid growth (the fastest growth rate among the G20 countries, with an average annual rate of 6% for 1951-2025), the world's third largest consumer market (the world's first country in terms of population, whose wages tripled from 2011 to 2025) and the total volume of foreign trade in goods and services (ninth place in the world). The rapid development of trade and economic ties between Russia and India (trade turnover has increased sixfold in five years) is an incentive to intensify the negotiation process on the conclusion of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the EAEU and India.Over the past decades, a feature of India's trade policy with regard to the conclusion of RTAs has been expressed in the conclusion of bilateral FTAs mainly with relatively weak developing economies. In the current decade, the importance of multilateral RTA mega-formats in international trade is growing. In 2019, India refused to participate in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), but in 2025 it concluded an FTA with the UK. Currently, the country is considering the possibility of concluding FTAs with the EAEU and the EU.The authors study the reasons for India's cautious position on the conclusion of multilateral agreements with the EAEU, with the EU and with the RCEP countries, which, among other reasons, are explained by a low export quota (12.8%), a large trade deficit, low competitiveness of products of many national industries and their orientation mainly to the domestic consumer, and other problems of the development of the national economy. A distinctive feature of India's modern trade policy is the search for an optimal solution to two opposite problems at the same time: opening and protecting the local market when concluding RTAs with regional organizations and large trading partners. The country's insufficiently clearly defined position on this issue does not allow India to optimize the legal framework of its trade relations, becoming part of the global trend in the development of mega-regional RTAs and extracting maximum benefits in trade with the world's leading economies. The conclusion of an agreement with the UK, as well as with the EAEU and the EU, could be the starting point of a proactive trade policy for India in a new formatThis article was prepared with the grant support of the HSE Faculty of World Economics and World Politics in 2024This article was submitted 16.02.2025,approved for publication 12.11.2025 © Zuev V., Ostrovskaya E., Dyachenko N., 2026Materials are distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2026-21-1/1151164000.html The article examines the faith-based organizations' (FBOs) projects aimed at addressing the shortage of clean drinking water in Africa in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The author focuses on the role of religion in achieving relevant SDGs and the geographical alignment of these projects with the countries most affected by water scarcity. The study draws on a wide range of sources, including (a) statistical data that allows us to assess the severity of water shortages in Africa, (b) regulatory documents governing water strategies in African states, (c) news and reports from major FBOs involved in water projects, (d) field-study materials collected in Ethiopia in 2024. It has been established that water scarcity is a major problem in 21 African countries: Somalia, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Mauritania, Tanzania, Madagascar, Niger, Mozambique, Angola, Chad, DRC, South Sudan, Togo, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo. The analysis of regulatory documents of these countries revealed an active involvement of international and FBOs in developing and implementing national water strategies. The major FBOs that lead the largest water projects in Africa include World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Internationalis, the Islamic Development Bank. The advantage of FBOs can be due to the high mobilization potential provided by the moral authority of spiritual leaders and their wide presence in African countries. The comparative geographical analysis revealed the spatial discrepancy between the countries with the greatest water scarcity and the beneficiaries of FBOs projects. The largest initiatives in this field are implemented by FBOs in Ethiopia, DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe, among others. Meanwhile, in several other countries where water scarcity is a more pressing issue, water projects tend to be significantly smaller in scale. This disparity is explained by both the inherent difficulties of operating in some of the water-scarcest countries, such as bureaucratic obstacles, security concerns, and the priorities of funding donors, predominantly Western states, transnational corporations, and international institutions. 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 04.03.2025,approved for publication 25.07.2025 © I.A. Zakharov, 2026Materials are distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2026-21-1/1151164730.html The article analyzes the key factors that can have a significant impact on the dynamics of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the near future. The year 2025 was marked by a noticeable transformation of the international configuration that has developed over the past few years. D. Trump's repeated victory in the US elections in November 2024 and the beginning in February 2025. The Russian-American dialogue on the normalization of bilateral relations, which culminated in the August meeting of the two heads of state in Anchorage, has raised serious concerns among Western elites about the preservation of transatlantic unity.The possible prospects for a change in the nature of Russian-American relations have cast some doubt on the implementation of NATO's priority areas of activity, formulated within the framework of the new strategic concept in 2022, as well as in the decisions of the alliance's summits in recent years.The methodology of this study is based on a systematic approach that allows us to consider in a complex the main factors determining the development trends of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as well as key challenges to intra-bloc unity. As part of the study of the processes currently taking place within the framework of the alliance, both general scientific and special methods of scientific research were used. Among them, the comparative method should be highlighted, which was used to compare the strategies of key members of the block, as well as the structural and functional method, which made it possible to identify certain changes in the nature of intra-block relations. The analysis, based on the application of a set of interdisciplinary methods of humanitarian research, seems to be fundamentally significant both in the context of assessing the possible prospects for the further evolution of modern international architecture, and in terms of predicting the prospects for the development of relations between the North Atlantic Bloc and the Russian Federation and other key international actors.Based on the results of the study, conclusions are drawn about the emergence in 2025 of certain challenges to maintaining intra-bloc unity and further effective implementation of the strategic priorities of NATO's activities outlined in recent years.  The noticeable skepticism shown by D. Trump's position on the current system of American obligations to ensure European security, complemented by disagreements between the new US administration and a number of European allies over a possible settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, can become a factor in a significant change in the nature of relations within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.This article was submitted 10.03.2025,approved for publication 28.11.2025 © E. A. Antyukhova, 2026Materials are distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2026-21-1/1152269025.html This article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of international experience in organizing academic mobility programs with the aim of adapting it for the Russian Federation in the context of global changes in international scientific and technological cooperation. In the context of the reorientation of Russia's scientific cooperation from West to East, the relevance of developing international academic mobility with partners from Asia and Eurasia is increasing. And the sanctions pressure and related restrictions on access to various technologies make academic mobility one of the key elements of Russia's scientific and technological system at the moment. Academic mobility programs in the EAEU, ASEAN, SCO, and APEC countries are considered, as the states of these associations are promising scientific partners of Russia, with whom the country already has a contractual framework for the development of scientific and technical cooperation. In the course of the study, information on 68 academic mobility programs was systematized, key models of mobility organization, their goals, target audiences, funding volumes, and support measures for participants were identified. The results of the analysis showed that international practice of academic mobility includes both long-term programs focused on attracting foreign researchers to compensate for the shortage of personnel in the country's scientific system, and short-term internships that promote the exchange of knowledge and technologies between countries. An important element of support is not only financial payments (grants, scholarships), but also additional measures – assistance in obtaining visas, medical insurance, reimbursement of housing expenses, and assistance in the relocation of participants' families. In the conclusion of the article, recommendations were formulated for creating an effective Russian academic mobility system, which will not only attract foreign researchers, but also ensure the integration of Russian scientists into the international scientific community, which is critically important for maintaining and developing the country's scientific potential in today's conditions In addition, based on the results of the analysis, specific partner states were proposed with which Russia could create joint academic mobility programs. The article is based on the study funded by the Basic Research Program of the HSE UniversityThis article was submitted 14.02.2025, approved for publication 09.07.2025 © A. Nefedova, E. Marinina (Chefanova), I. Taskin, 2026 Materials are distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 https://iorj.hse.ru/en/2026-21-1/1151806491.html The article examines the growing role of the bioeconomy within the agendas of major international institutions and explores how global governance mechanisms shape its development. The study analyses conceptual approaches to the bioeconomy — biotechnological, bioresource and bioecological — and highlights the ongoing shift toward an integrated, cross-sectoral transformation model linking innovation, sustainability and circular economy principles. Particular attention is paid to the activities of key organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Energy Agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency, UNCTAD and the World Trade Organization, as well as specialized international platforms and partnerships that facilitate policy coordination and knowledge exchange.The review demonstrates that institutional priorities differ depending on mandates: FAO focuses on sustainability, food security and inclusive growth; energy agencies emphasize technological development and the expansion of bioenergy; while UNCTAD and the WTO address trade rules, market access and regulatory frameworks for bioproducts. International forums serve primarily as spaces for dialogue and policy convergence rather than formal rule-making. The article concludes that the bioeconomy is increasingly framed as a key pathway to achieving climate and sustainable development goals, though tensions remain regarding resource competition, environmental impacts and trade regulation. Overall, the expansion of international cooperation and the convergence of bioeconomy and circular economy agendas signal a deepening mainstreaming of the concept across sectors and policy arenas: the article was written on the basis of the RANEPA state assignment research programmeThis Review was submitted 23.02.2026, approved for publication 07.03.2026© I. Popova, 2026Materials are distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license