“Country” And “Autonomy” as Accounting Units in Contemporary World

300
DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2017-61-11-66-75

O. Podvintsev, (podvintsev2009@yandex.ru),
Perm Federal Research Centre, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 13a, Lenina Str., Perm, 614990, Russian Federation;
K. Sulimov (k.sulimov@yandex.ru),
Perm State University, 15, Bukireva Str., Perm, 614990, Russian Federation

Acknowledgements. The article has been supported by a grant of the Russian Science Foundation. Project ¹ 15-18-00034 “Securing a Balance in Interethnic Relations: Regional Autonomies, the State Integrity and the Rights of Ethnic Minorities”. 


Abstract. The article examines the usage of the term "country" in describing and studying the forms of the modern world territorial organization. In ordinary discourse, this term is widely used for reference to a class of territorial units which are intuitively characterized by some kind of commonality. However, this commonality can be exposed and understood through some other terms and concepts. Juxtaposition of the terms "country", "state", and "autonomy" allows making the nature and the structure of the modern world territorial arrangement more clear. Also, it contributes to a conceptual discussion about "territories with special status". The term "state" specifies a political-institutional dimension of territorial formation, and the term "country" defines its cultural, including political-cultural dimension. Between these dimensions there are complex relationships of interdependence and repulsion. The terms "country" and "state" have both common attributes (territory and population), and specific ones ("power" — in relation to the "state" and "politicized cultural identity" — in relation to the country). The discrepancy between territorial boundaries of the "state" and the "country" may lead to the emergence of "autonomy" as a territorial entity. That is, "power" and "identity" conflict with each other in the territorial dimension. The emergence of the "country" as a political actor is a condition for realization of this possibility. It raises a question of the "country’s" political and institutional status based on its "cultural" specifics.

Keywords: country, sovereign state, autonomy, colonial and continental empire, territory with special status 


REFERENCES

1. Panov P. V. Mir etnicheskikh regional'nykh avtonomii: predstavlenie novoi bazy dannykh [The World of Ethnic Regional Autonomies: Introducing a New Database]. Perm University Herald. Political Science, 2016, no. 4, pp. 69-97.

2. Ackren M. Conditions for Different Autonomy Regimes in the World. A Fuzzy-Set Application. Abo, Abo Akademi University Press, 2009. 228 p.

3. Elazar D. J. Federal Systems of the World: A Handbook of Federal, Confederal and Autonomy Arrangements. Harlow, Longman Current Affairs, 1994. 364 p.

4. Ghai Y., ed. Autonomy and Ethnicity: Negotiating Competing Claims in Multi-Ethnic States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. 312 p. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511560088.

5. Fasmer M. Etimologicheskii slovar' russkogo yazyka [Russian Etymological Dictionary]. Moscow, Progress, 1987. Vol. 3. 832 p.

6. Definition of Country by Merriam-Webster. Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/country (accessed 05.03.2017).

7. Likhachev D. S. Zametki o russkom [Notes on Russian]. Novyi mir, 1980, no. 3. Available at: http://likhachev.lfond.spb.ru/Articles/zam.htm (accessed 05.03.2017).

8. Loi no 95–115 du 4 fevrier 1995 [archive] d'orientation pour l'amenagement et le developpement du territoire. Available at: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=INTX9400057L (accessed 05.03.2017).

9. Kozyreva A. M. Stranovedenie: ucheb. posobie [Country Studies: School-book].Yaroslavl, YarSU, 2012. 112 p.

10. Sapozhnikova E. N. Stranovedenie: teoriya i metodika turistskogo izucheniya stran [Country Studies: Theory and Methodology of Tourism Research of Countries]. Moscow, Publishing Center “Academy”, 2004. 240 p.

11. Associations. The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Available at: http://www.fifa.com/associations/index.html (accessed 05.03.2017).

12. International Olympic Committee. Available at: https://www.olympic.org/national-olympic-committees (accessed 05.03.2017).

13. Country Codes — ISO 3166. International Organization for Standardization. Available at: https://www.iso.org/iso‑3166-country-codes.html (accessed 05.03.2017).

14. Countries or Areas, Codes and Abbreviations. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49alpha.htm (accessed 05.03.2017).

15. Russian Classification of Countries of the World. Approved by the Resolution of the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Standardization and Metrology. December 14, 2001, no. 529-st. (In Russ)

16. The World Factbook: Definitions and Notes. Available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/docs/notesanddefs.html (accessed 05.03.2017).

17. The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States. Original Text at UN Treaties Series, Registration Number: 3802. Available at: https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/LON/Volume%20165/v165.pdf (accessed 05/03.2017).

18. Satow E. Rukovodstvo po diplomaticheskoi praktike [A Guide to Diplomatic Practice]. Moscow, Publishing House of the Institute of International Relations, 1961. 496 p.

19. Macartney C.A. The Habsburg Empire. 1790–1918. London, 1968. 834 p.

20. Lieven D. The Russian Empire and the Soviet Union as Imperial Polities. Journal of Contemporary History, 1995, vol. 30, issue 4, pp. 607-636.

21. Grudzinskii V. V. Britaniya i Rossiya: sud'by dvukh imperii. (K voprosu o politicheskoi evolutsii) [Britain and Russia: the Fate of the Two Empires. (On the Question of Political Evolution). Iz britanskoi istorii novogo i noveishego vremeni [From the British History of Modern Period]. Chelyabinsk, 1992, pp. 19-35.

22. The Countries of the UK. Office for National Statistics. Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/; http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/administrative/the-countries-of-the-uk/index.html (accessed 05.03.2017).

23. United Kingdom. The Commonwealth. Available at: http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/united-kingdom (accessed 05.03.2017).

24. Whyte J. Interpreting Northern Ireland. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1991. 308 p.

25. Dobronravin N. Konets dekolonizatsii: nesamoupravlyyushiesya territorii v sostave obnovlennykh (postkolonial'nykh) imperii [End of Decolonization: Non-Self-Governing Territories as Part of the Renewed (Postcolonial) Empires].Preprint M-47/16, Center for modernization studies. Saint-Petersburg, 2016. 38 p.

26. Katkov D.B., Korchigo E.V. Konstitutsionnoe pravo Rossii. Uchebnoe posobie [Constitutional Law of Russia. School-book] Available at: http://www.bibliotekar.ru/konstitucionnoepravo-5/48.htm (accessed 04.03.2017).

27. Securing a Balance in Interethnic Relations: Regional Autonomies, the State Integrity and the Rights of Ethnic Minorities (In Russ.) Available at: http://identityworld.ru/index/atlas_era/0–4 (accessed 05.03.2017). 


Registered in System SCIENCE INDEX

For citation:
Podvintsev O., Sulimov K. “Country” And “Autonomy” as Accounting Units in Contemporary World. World Eñonomy and International Relations, 2017, vol. 61, no. 11, pp. 66-75. https://doi.org/10.20542/0131-2227-2017-61-11-66-75



Comments (0)

No comments

Add comment







Indexed

 

 

 

 

Dear authors! Please note that in the VAK List of peer-reviewed scientific journals, in which the main scientific results of dissertations for the degree of candidate and doctor of sciences should be published for the “MEMO Journal” the following specialties are recorded:
economic sciences:
5.2.5. World Economy.
5.2.1. Economic Theory
5.2.3. Regional and Branch Economics
political sciences:
5.5.4. International Relations
5.5.1. History and Theory of Politics
5.5.2. Political Institutions, Processes, Technologies

 

Current Issue
2025, vol. 69, No. 7
Topical Themes of the Issue:
  • Fragmentation of Global Social Capital
  • Türkiye and the Gulf Monarchies as Foreign Policy Balancers in Central Asia
  • African Vector of Italian Foreign Policy
  • Greater Middle East
Announcement

Dear authors of the journal!

Please note that the author's copies of the issues in which your texts are published are kept in the editorial office for no more than one year. After this period expires, the editorial office has the right to dispose of unclaimed copies at its own discretion.

Dear authors of the journal!

We would like to inform you that the materials proposed for publication in our journal must be submitted only through the form located on the journal website in the “Submit an article” section.

 

Submit an Article
INVITATION FOR PUBLICATION
The Editorial Board invites authors to write analytical articles on the following topics:
  • changes in the processes of globalization in modern conditions
  • formation of the new world order
  • shifts in civilization at the stage of transition to a digital society

The editors are also interested in publishing synthesis articles / scientific reviews revealing the main trends in the development of certain regions of the world - Latin America, Africa, South Asia, etc.