Lyubov Bisson’s scientific contributions

The monograph examines the combination of ethnopolitical, migration and electoral processes in contemporary European countries. The authors use both qualitative and quantitative research methods within the framework of a political science approach. The paper analyzes the attempts of European Union institutions and member-states to address various challenges associated with the continuously growing influx of ethnically diverse migrants, implement reforms in migration and asylum policy. The role of ethnicity in electoral processes, the influence of migration on them, the activities and discursive practices of ethnoregional and nationalist parties in European countries are also studied, as well as an attempt to classify them. The formation of ethnic enclaves, changes in the ethno-confessional balance, and the threat of irredentism in certain regions of Europe are also within the authors’ scope of study. Special attention is paid to the problem of extremist and terrorist organizations using artificial intelligence and efforts to combat these phenomena.

The authors of the present edited volume analyze some key aspects of ethnopolitical dynamics in the contemporary European countries. The authors draw attention to such issues as the role of ethnicity in the European political order, problematic classification of ethnic minorities, the crisis of the nation-state model, integration and disengagement measures aimed at external migrants, transformation of the right-wing anti-immigrant populism. The special focus of the book is the regional cases of practical ethnopolitical management, with evidence taken from Northern Ireland, Nagorno Karabakh, Ukraine, and the Balkans. The authors show that ethnicity retains its role as one of the most important sources for political mobilization in Europe, and ethnopolitical management is still one of the key aspects of state policies.

Using Lipset and Rokkan's concept of political cleavages as a base, the authors identify the contours of new social and political divisions in EU countries which have been exacerbated by a series of crises. New divisions are caused by two kinds of factors: socio-economic and value-based. The authors characterize the growing gap between the center (metropolis) and the periphery (province cities and towns). The article also examines the processes of erosion of the middle class and the formation of a new working class in European countries, which go beyond the classical opposition of employers and employees. The article outlines the impact of these splits on value orientations of EU citizens and the possible emergence of new political conflicts. The authors conclude that new divides can lead to protest mobilization in the European Union, a vivid example of which was the "yellow vest" movement and demonstrations against lockdown measures during the COVID pandemic. Another consequence of those divisions will be a change in the electorate structure and the transformation of the party landscape. The article concludes with a brief analysis of the significance of new social cleavages for further development of European integration. It is noted that during the coronavirus crisis citizens' demand for a "Social Europe" has increased.

This collective monograph results from the researches of groups of experts in Islamic studies from different regions of Russia. Its articles are joint by the topic of dialogue of Islamic and European civilizations on the territory of the Old World. New times set new challenges: migration, demography, pandemic etc. And sometimes Europeans do not have adequate responses to the new challenges of modernity. This study is the first, but, hopefully, not the last, experience of scientific dialogue on this topic. Russia as the territory of peaceful coexistence of various religions, including Christianity and Islam, can share its experience with European countries, for many of which the dialogue of religions and coexistence of different cultures is a new and complex challenge.