Globalization and digitalization of political institutions / Глобализация и цифровизация политических институтов

1. The concepts of «digitalization» and «globalization»

Digitalization is an irreversible process of the 21st century that has engulfed most developed countries. Initially, it began to manifest itself in the economy, and then affected other areas of society[1]. Now we can observe the manifestation of digitalization in almost all spheres of public life.

The process of introducing digitalization into public life accompanied by the growth of technologies that affect both the life of the individual and the life of the whole society. With the development of digital technologies, the ways of production and distribution of goods are improved. Thus, there are changes in the economy.

With the growth of digital technologies, the service sector is flourishing. A second reality, virtual, is being formed. Many people prefer this world more than the real one. They are willing to pay a lot of money to purchase virtual goods and services. Some individuals spend a huge amount of time on this computer reality, preferring network communication to live communication.

The concept of «digitalization» is inextricably linked with other, important concept, informatization. This process manifested in many aspects of the life of society, which aimed at building and developing the telecommunications infrastructure. One of the main tasks of informatization is to combine information resources that can be located quite far from each other[2].

 The main prerequisite for informatization was the development of digital and information technologies, the development of the Internet as a new means of communication. This process is one of the products of post-industrial society. The development of information technology is one of the main characteristics of the society of the XXI century[3].

Thus, informatization has brought changes to all spheres of society, which in turn has left its mark on the methods of managing this stage of social development.

Digitalization and informatization are prerequisites for another equally important phenomenon of the 21st century, globalization. The latest technologies become forms of culture, resulting in the transformation of cultural communities and the integration of representatives of one cultural space into the system of another. As a result, we get the destruction of local cultures and the formation of a single global structure. There is a dominance of one worldview, which is most capable of transformations and accepting the challenges of a new (information) era. Thus, a single global environment is emerging, which involves the integration of all countries and peoples into the system of a single European civilization.

Political scientist and economist, Pankaj Ghemawat, defines globalization as the idea of ​​creating a universal humanity. It brings changes to all spheres of public life. A single economic space is emerging, trade takes place not only within the country and region, between different states and continents[4]. In addition to the general economic environment, geopolitics arises, requiring the grouping of states into various blocs, since a country alone simply cannot represent any significance in the world community and ceases to have any power.

Globalization is one of the main conditions for the formation of world politics. The Russian and American political scientist, Andrey Pavlovich Tsygankov, in his article «World Politics: Content, Dynamics, Main Trends» writes that it was it that caused the transformation of the former structure of international relations and the formation of the geopolitical space that we are seeing today[5].

In this section, we have examined the main processes of the formation of the social environment in the 21st century. They are the foundation for building all spheres of society and are the engines of the political sphere.

2. The impact of globalization and digitalization on the sphere of politics

Economics, politics and technology closely interconnected, therefore, due to changes and transformations in one area, changes and transformations occur in another. The development of digital technologies has become an impetus for the modernization of politics. With the transition to a new (information) era, changes occur in society that the state simply cannot ignore.

Initially, digitalization affected the economy. The beginning of the 21st century is due to the development of the digital economy. The functioning of the economic system of the digital format is mainly associated with the functioning of digital technologies and the Internet. The economy of this type works without an intermediary, and on its basis a new type of business arises – Internet entrepreneurship[6].

The main feature of e-business is the distribution of goods and services not directly from producer to consumer and not through intermediaries, but with the help of such a powerful and productive tool as an information network, the efficiency of which can be higher than most other channels of interaction.

All these changes in the economy could bypass the political component. In the last decade, the priority in the economy and business has directed towards digitalization. In this regard, politicians need to be aware of the developments of this trend, because it is the political sphere. That sets the priority directions for the development of business and the economy.

The government forms a budget is certain areas of supported production; identifies the most demanded, in their opinion, areas of training in universities; funds research grants for scientists.

The heads of state of the most developed countries are engaged in supporting the economy and business, directly associated with the use of modern technologies. For example, the heads of states such as the United States, the EU countries and Japan actively support the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the fields of engineering, energy, electrical engineering, instrumentation, microelectronics, telecommunications and other high-tech industries.

In the field of education and research, in many countries the government allocates the largest number of places precisely to those areas that are associated with the training of specialists in the field of working with the latest technologies. For example, in universities in China, places for training are increasing every year and such areas of training as «digital economy», «network marketing» and «electronic business» opened in many educational institutions[7].

The development of digital media has become one of the main drivers for the manifestation of digitalization in the field of politics. The media have a significant impact on political processes. The media transmit political news to citizens, creating in them one or another image of some event. Previously, one could learn about some important political event only after a long time. When a person learned this news, it could already cease to be relevant, since the citizen could no longer change anything.

For example, the inhabitants of distant provinces could learn about the death of the old emperor and the accession of a new emperor in Russia in the 19th century only after a few months. Now the news is often ahead of the events themselves. A person can learn about the approximate content of the law long before the official publication. The citizens of the Russian Federation learned about the approximate content of the Federal Law «On the procedure for the adoption and entry into force of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation» dated 04.03.1998 №. 33-FZ[8] even before its official announcement.

On the one hand, digital media impose on citizens a certain, often beneficial for the Government, opinion. The speed of the transmitted news makes it inaccurate, since there is no full-fledged verification of the broadcast information. Because of this, completely unjustified rumors arise that create a distorted image of the events taking place among the population. Another aspect is the ability learn about some important incident, which, in turn, gives people the opportunity to become a part of the events that took place. Citizens can express their opinion or oppose the ongoing changes in the country. This leads to the development of democracy and the progress of the legal component of the state.

In the article «Digitalization of politics vs digitalization policy», Alexander Evgenievich Konkov focuses on the inconsistency of such a phenomenon as digitalization. The scientist believes that with the advent of digitalization in the field of politics, we can talk about the rejection of the hierarchical management of society. There is a blurring of boundaries between the state and the public. A person ceases to manage networks, but falls under their influence. Thus, the uniqueness of each individual is lost, and a mass society arises, which becomes easy to manage[9].

In the 21st century, a new kind of democracy has emerged and is spreading, which called e-democracy. Democracy of this type uses information and communication technologies (IT) in management processes[10]. E-democracy has gained momentum in the last decade. It manifests itself at different levels of government: from local to international[11].

The use of IT helps in solving many administrative processes. For example, informing people about some important events (publication of laws, draft amendments to bills). After the introduction of electronic voting for elections, this procedure has become much faster and more convenient. Less time spent on counting votes, and voting results broadcasted live to all citizens. Moreover, not only the result announced, but also preliminary results.

However, the electronic voting system is still inferior to the traditional one. Firstly, this is due the fact that there is no well-designed surveillance system. Therefore, observers simply will not be able to see the violations occurring at the polling stations. Another problem involves the possibility of non-compliance with the law by the executive branch. Having access to personal accounts of citizens, its representatives can vote for a person and change his voice.

The use of digital technologies in elections is controversial. Despite this, the Federal Law of May 23, 2020 No. 152-FZ «On the Experiment on the Organization and Implementation of Remote Electronic Voting in the Federal City of Moscow» was adopted by the State Duma on May 13, 2020 and approved by the Federation Council on May 20, 2020.

This law implemented in the voting for approval or disapproval by citizens of the Federal Law «On the procedure for the adoption and entry into force of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation» dated 04.03.1998 No. 33-FZ. One of the main reasons for the adoption of this project law was the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to prevent a strong congestion of citizens at voting sites, which could result in a second wave of the spread of coronavirus infection, it decided to use a remote voting format[12].

Not all citizens expressed their approval for the adoption of the law on electronic voting. For example, representatives of the Russian United Democratic Party «Yabloko» opposed the entry into force of this law. The head of the Yabloko faction in the Moscow City Duma, Maxim Kruglov, said that voting through the Gosuslugi portal undermines the system of legitimacy of elections[13].

However, it is worth considering the fact that the disadvantages of electronic voting are associated with the misuse of this resource. The electronic elections themselves are a great progress, since with their help people who are not able to come and vote in person can do it through the electronic portal.

As already mentioned in the first section, the development of digital technologies in the economy and education leads to the formation of a single global space. If digitalization more pronounced in the field of education and the economy, then global processes carried out in the political element.

Globalization is an important part of the new post-industrial or informational type of society. The 21st century is the time in which the formation of a single universal space takes place. During this period, the formation and development of world politics is taking place. International relations have become capable of exerting a significant influence on the processes taking place in the domestic politics of individual countries[14].

The formation of a global space is one of the reasons for the increase in the scale of global problems, the solution of which requires the efforts of not one country. States alone are no longer able to solve them. To maintain security in the world.

In addition to the positive aspects of digitalization and globalization, it should be not that these two phenomena have led humanity to global problems. No nation alone is able to solve these problems, therefore, international organizations created, which include several countries. The UN is one of the most striking examples of an organization of this kind. It is the largest international organization. Today it includes 193 states. The purpose of the organization is to maintain and strengthen international peace and security, development of cooperation and interactions between states.

Both digitalization and globalization are rather contradictory phenomena. On the one hand, the development of digital technologies simplify and improve human life, but on the other hand, there is a threat that artificial intelligence can prevail over the human mind.

Globalization is no less controversial than digitalization. At first glance, it may seem that countries and peoples have become closer to each other, as their interaction has increased. Despite this seemingly unity, the number of conflicts only increased[15]. Moreover, the consequence of the formation of the global space.

If we combine all the positive and negative aspects of globalization and digitalization, we can conclude that they are the engines of progress. Their shortcomings mostly lie in their incorrect application and not fully formed strategy for their development.

3. The manifestation of the processes of globalization and digitalization in the implementation of policy on the example of modern Russia.

Political processes in the Russian Federation, as in other countries, are involved in digitalization and globalization. This is manifested both at the level of building the political strategy of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and in the management of the whole country as a whole.

In the economic sphere, the areas related to the use of new innovative technologies for the production and distribution of goods and services enjoy the greatest support from the state. In 2018, the Russian government allocated 3,955 grants in the field of digital technology development. In financial terms, this amounted to $37.1 million[16].

In 2014, the President of the Russian Federation, V.V. Putin, in his Address to the Federal Assembly, notes the need to develop modern technological production in the country. The message was one of the reasons for the development of a national technology initiative. The policy of the Russian Federation aimed at maintaining and developing business strategies based on innovative technologies.

Over the past two or three years, the state policy of Russia has given great emphasis to a new scientific direction, e-science. A result of the development of electronic science, a network of computer cyber centers is emerging that allows you to track the latest scientific achievements. For state policy, the functioning of this mechanism is very important, because with its help the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation has an idea of ​​the level at which Russian science is now.

In Russia, great importance is attached to the development of e-learning. The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education support the development of a system of distance education, the educational process of which conducted, as a rule, with the help of electronic technologies. The development of education using electronic technologies shows the fact that the state understands the importance of the opportunity to receive education for everyone, including the disabled and people with disabilities (disabled health).

However, despite this, this type of education has not fully developed, and therefore cannot function on a par with traditional full-time education. Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation, Rector of Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov, Viktor Antonovich Sadovnichy, spoke at a meeting of the Council for the Development of the Digital Economy. One of the main topics of this meeting was the discussion of the transfer of lectures to an online format. «Lectures on a computer screen cannot be compared with traditional lectures». Viktor Antonovich notes in his report: «I think that there can be no talk of transferring all lectures to an online format yet. Such a format of knowledge transfer can only be considered as an additional one»[17].

E-learning quite quickly and unexpectedly entered the Russian education system in the spring of 2020. This is to the fact that the spread of COVID-19, all educational institutions in Russia transferred to distance learning. At first, e-learning gave big failures both on the part of the population and on the part of educational institutions. On the part of learners and educators, the difficulty lies in the fact that many people do not have special technical equipment for studying at home. On the part of educational institutions, there is a problem in the unpreparedness for such a rapid transition. Universities and schools did not have time to prepare programs and platforms designed for the electronic learning format.

After one or two months, the e-learning process more or less returned to normal. However, failures still occur and it is not yet possible switch to a remote format, as shown by the example of the Unified State Examination. However, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation are working on the development of distance learning programs, and it is possible that very soon it will become perfect and firmly enter our lives.

In Russia, as in many other countries, e-democracy is developing. In 2010, the Government of the Russian Federation proposed the state program «Information Society» (2011-2020). To implement this program, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia created the federal state information system «e-democracy».

Thanks to this system, it became possible to send collective appeals to state authorities and track the status of the submitted application. Now it has become easier to generate and maintain statistics on the quality of work of public authorities based on the assessments of citizens. The population, in turn, has the opportunity to evaluate how the authorities reacted to the appeal.

Digitalization is more of a domestic policy issue for Russia. Globalization extends to foreign policy, to which the state policy of Russia pays significant attention.

Unfortunately, there is a huge number of international political conflicts going on in the world right now. Examples of such conflicts are military operations in Syria and the radical mood of the Government of Ukraine directed against the Russian population living on their territory. Relations between Russia and Ukraine are not only binary. This conflict included the European Union, the United States and many other countries, geographically located far from the zone of action, the events taking place.

This example is an excellent illustration of how practically the whole world can be involved in political relations between two countries. In the world politics of the 21st century, it is very rare to find purely local conflicts between countries. Now, when politics is becoming global, states that, in fact, have nothing to do with the conflicting parties, find themselves in the conflict zone[18]. As a result, a bloc of states formed that supports one of the parties to the conflict. As a result, in such a system of international relations, the weaker side can win if it supported by a bloc of powerful states.

Conclusion

Digitalization and globalization are rather contradictory phenomena. On the one hand, digitalization has a number of advantages. Advances in technology contribute to faster and less energy-intensive production and distribution of goods from producer to consumer. The development of e-learning, based on the high technical equipment of universities, makes education accessible to people with disabilities[19]. The development of e-science favors the dissemination of knowledge and the development of new directions in science and industry.

However, digitalization also has negative consequences. A result of technical equipment, classical aspects in economics, education, science, medicine and politics are lost. A global problem arises, the essence of which is that artificial intelligence can prevail over the human mind.

The task of the state policy of any country is to maintain a balance in society. It is necessary to stimulate the development of innovative projects through special programs, grants and scholarships. It do not forget about the possible consequences of this phenomenon. The heads of state should not allow the complete transition of entire spheres to the digital format. Digitalization still has positive aspects, as electronic technologies make life easier for people and give them many opportunities.

The policy strategy of the Russian Federation operates in this direction. The Russian government supports the development of young scientists in the innovation field by issuing grants, scholarships and building new technically equipped centers for these developments. In the economic sphere, the initiative to create new business sectors based on the use of innovations is encouraged. There is an active development of e-learning and e-science, which contributes to mass access to educational and scientific resources.

The state understands the importance of developing new innovative technologies, but it also emphasizes the importance of moderation in this matter. For example, a project to transfer all lectures to an online format rejected.

The Russian Federation, like most other countries, is involved in the process of globalization. Based on this, Russia’s foreign policy based on bipolar relations. For the successful implementation of world politics, a fruitful analysis and development of a long-term strategy for embedding a system of international relations is necessary, based on the alignment of forces and events on the world stage.

Globalization, like digitalization, is an evolution in the field of international relations, as it contributes to the unification of countries and peoples, is aimed at the development of education, the economy, trade, science, tourism, sports and other areas of society, the well-being of which is important for heads of state and citizens any state.

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