Contents

Princess Irene of the Netherlands. Speech at the Final Plenary Section of the Second World Cultural Forum (pp. 3–6). Original text and References

Ervin Laszlo. The Culture of “Oneness in Diversity”: A Manifesto Presented at the Second World Cultural Forum (pp. 7–10). Original text and References

Michael Charles Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison. The “Ahimsa Factor”: Ecological Non-Violence Process Analysis in China and Its Implications for Global Paradigmatic Shifts (pp. 11–22). Original text and References

The world is witnessing the Sixth Extinction Spasm in the annals of 4,2 billion years of life on Earth. We are losing some 40,000 discrete populations of organisms every day. Species and habitat loss exceeds anything comparable during the last 65 million years. The human population is poised to hit between 9,5 billion and – in the absolute worst case scenario, 15 billion – with all of its accompanying consumption. A new global paradigm that can set the gold standard for ecologically-humble human behavior is urgently required and the nation of China – the largest country in human history, by far – has the potential to set in motion the global processes that are a prerequisite to a new gold-standard for rectification of ecological violence. This will be no easy challenge, to be sure.

In this essay, authors examine some of the comprehensive biodiversity, global trade, ecological degradation, demographic and animal rights challenges facing the China of 2013 and suggests some solutions.

Keywords: China, ecological non-violence, Ahimsa, Jainism, biodiversity, animal rights, extinction, endangered species, population explosion, demographic transition

Theory

Alexander N. Chumakov. The Theoretical and Methodological Foundations of Globalization Process Research (pp. 23–37). Original text and References

The article analyzes theoretical and methodological bases of modern globalization as a part of general global processes. The author points out fundamental principals of global studies to be considered when solving theoretical and practical tasks in the modern world, especially when the planet is concerned. He focuses on the principle of the world’s integrity; systemic character of economic and sociocultural relations between countries and peoples; interdependence of local, regional and global processes of social development.

Keywords: globalization, Global Studies, methodology, integrity, system, humanity, global problems, social development, governance.

Lu Feng. Reflections on the Global Environmental Crisis from Confucian and Ecological Perspectives (pp. 38–47).Original text and References

The global environmental crisis is one of the symptoms of modernity. The whole modern civilization is anti-ecological, and the global ecological crisis is caused by the global expanding of modern civilization. From a point of view of ecology, we can definitely judge that modern civilization with “mass production, mass consumption, and mass wastes” is unsustainable. Because ancient Chinese civilization remained as agricultural civilization, a kind of eco-civilization, it was sustained for a long time. Confucianism made a special contribution to ancient Chinese civilization. We cannot, of course, go back to ancient eco-civilization, but we can learn a lot from our ancestors when we try to construct a new eco-civilization in the future. We can benefit from valuable suggestions from Confucianism while correcting the mistakes of modernity. A new eco-civilization will also need to inherit good elements from modern western civilization.

Keywords: modernity, Confucianism, eco-civilization.

Stepan S. Sulakshin. On the Causes of the World Financial Crises: The Model of Controlled Crisis (pp. 48–62). Original text and References

The article analyzes the urgent problem of the mechanism of the world financial crises emergence. On the basis of vast statistical data the author reveals deficiencies of existing theories which explain the genesis of crisis phenomena in the world economy and suggests his own model of a controllable crisis. According to the author, the world financial crises of the last two centuries are the result of purposeful activities. This research is based on the interdisciplinary approach.

Keywords: financial crises, Kondratieff waves, Federal Reserve System, dollar emission.

Processes of globalization

Leonid E. Grinin. Globalization Shuffles the World Cards (Where the World`s Economic and Political Balance Shifts) (pp. 63–78). Original text and References

The author predicts geopolitical development of the world in the next decade. One of the main charges which globalization faces is that it widens the gap between developed and developing countries and thus dooms the latter to backwardness. The article shows that the real situation is opposite. The author argues that it is just globalization that makes developing countries develop faster than developed ones; the World System core is weakening, while its periphery is strengthening. He explains why globalization would have inevitably caused rapid upsurge of many developing countries and weakening of developed ones. In the coming decade the tendency to convergence of the core and the periphery’ development levels is going to grow. This convergence is a necessary condition for a new technological revolution.

Keywords: developed counties, developing countries, the core, the periphery, balance of power, convergence of development levels, divergence, convergence, the world order, global technological breakthrough, weakening of the USA, change of the world leader, the world middle class.

Hash-Erdene Sambalkhundev, Enhtuya V. Sandag, and Vladimir I. Krasikov. A Prologue to Globalization: The Imperial Variant of the 13^th Century (pp. 79–82). Original text and References

The article reveals and argues the hypothesis that the empire of Genghis Khan was one of the first forms of Eurasian globalization: barriers between countries and civilization were broken, doors for goods and ideas in the single international overland system were opened. His campaigns led to formation of the first global medieval world-system which integrated five independent cores (regional world-empires): Western Europe, the Arab world, the Indian Ocean zone, China and the Central Highlands. New ideas and social forms that favored the success of the great conqueror as well as side effects of violent “globalization” are considered in the article.

Keywords: empirialglobalization and its main manifestations, Genghis Khan, nomads, peculiarities of military and state organizations, personal characteristics.

Global issues

Vladimir I. Maslov. The Role of Education in the Contemporary World (pp. 83–92). Original text and References

The transition to a new, innovative economy causes changes in the aim of production: nowadays it is required not to produce more goods and services while reducing their costs, but to create new, different goods and services. In the new circumstances the formation of a new type of education is needed. In schools and universities, above all, creativity, ability to think rather than memorize facts and figures should be taught. A truly modern education consists of three elements: formation of a creative person, training and upbringing. To meet current demands, education should be available to anyone, especially to the most talented individuals, rather than to the rich only. Therefore, a qualified education is becoming a top priority for the state. In my opinion in order to be available for every young talented and gifted person education should be free of charge. Only an educated and spiritually healthy population of the country can make a nation competitive in the era of globalization.

Кeywords: innovation economy, intellectual employees, formation of creativity, innovations, free education, spiritually healthy population.

Ivan A. Doroshin. The Global Dimension of Religious Protest in the Risk Society
(pp. 93–100). Original text and References

Religious identity appears to be the determinant factor in the story with civilizations which often resembles a plot of a play. Those groups whose identity and solidarity is based on their race increasingly use global media to declare their dissatisfaction. Without liberal values, democracy can appear a good instrument to disseminate the most intolerant fundamentalism. Globalization, incredible as it may seem, is driven by the very aspiration of protest religious groups to self-determination.

Keywords: globalization, religion, protests, fundamentalism, identity, risk society.

Victor A. Galichin. The International Market of Educational Services: General Characteristics and Developmental Trends (pp. 101–112). Original text and References

The article is dedicated to the modern developmental tendency of the world education market – an important and rapidly growing world economy sector. The growing competition is typical of the world education market: besides traditional leaders a number of states pursue proactive policy to promote their interests in this sphere. The author considers factors changing the positions of different countries in the world education market as well as the problems of the international education.

Keywords: the world education market, internationalization of education, mobility among academics, institutional mobility, educational service, export of educational services, transboundary education, formation of regional education markets.

Nature, society, and humans

Alexei N. Ilyin. The Influence of Responsible Consumption on the Environment
(pp. 113–130). Original text and References

The article focuses on the problem of interrelation between growing consumption and the ecological crisis. The author describes the problems which are inseparably associated with the given theme: social inequality, uneven consumption of developed and developing countries, an inverse relationship between economy and ecology, the problem of cultural decay etc.

Кeywords: consumption, ecology, culture, needs.

Victor N. Salin, Anna A. Popova, and Elena P. Shpakovskaya. The Position of Statistics in Globalization Processes (pp. 131–142). Original text and References

The article addresses influence of globalization of international economy on statistics, development of macroeconomic statistics, international standards of statistical accounting. Special consideration is given to complex methodological aspects of national accounting. It also reviews the System of National Accounts and approach to macroeconomic analysis based on national accounts, as well as series of amendments introduced to national accounting standards in 2008.

Кeywords: globalization of information space, statistic and state managerial economics, macroeconomic statistics, system of national accounts, macroeconomic indicators, consolidated accounts, statistical methodology, statistical indices, international standards in national accounts.

Aza D. Ioseliani. The Anthropology of the Global World: The Human Being in Contemporary Communicative-Information Sphere (pp. 143–154). Original text and References

The article explores the communicative essence of an individual in innovative global society, analyses the forms of individual social adaptation to the informational reality, and shows that individual’s life values and ideals are the major sources and products of his adaptation. Special attention is given to freedom and choice of strategy for an “information subject” in the new daily life and the global Internet network.

Keywords: globalization, individual, information-oriented society, practical activities of the people, communicational interaction, social context, “information subject”, new daily life, the Internet.

Andrey L. Safonov and Alexander D. Orlov. Nation and Ethnos in the Unified World (pp. 155–166). Original text and References

Actualization of the ethnicity is one of the key trends (issues) of globalization. The author hypothesizes that a nation and an ethnic group are different in the genesis and functioning social groups in which an individual participates simultaneously. The phenomenon of simultaneous participation in different social groups with different social statuses and roles reveals the mechanisms of reactualization of ethnicity and other divergent processes characteristic of globalization.

Keywords: globalization, ethnos, ethnicity, nation, nationality, the state, social group, reactualization, the end of history, identity, divergent.

Russia in the global world

Vladimir I. Avilov and Svetlana D. Avilova. The Energy Security as Russia`s Priority (pp. 167–179). Original text and References

Natural resources are a necessary but nota single condition of our state security. Reasonable exploitation of resources for society interests forms the basis for state energy security. The analysis of ecosystem interactions in the planet sociosphere enables to suggest new principles of a clearer social structure, based on division of property as a product made from nature resources. Introduction of these principles is among the state priority security tasks.

Кeywords: society, energy security, property, ecosystem analysis.

Scientific life

Ilya V. Ilyin and Alexander S. Rozanov. The Global World: An Opinion from Russia (pp. 180–185). Original text and References

The article is based on the proceedings of the Global Studies Consortium Annual Meeting which was held on 18–23^th June, 2013, in Moscow, at the Faculty of Global Processes, Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Кeywords: globalization, Consortium, Global Studies, education.

Georgi I. Rychagov and Gennady Safianov. New Achievements in the Studies of Natural Environment (pp. 186–187). Original text and References

To the Jubilee! The 75^th Anniversary of Victor I. Danilov-Danilyan (pp. 188–189). Original text and References

The Authors of the Issue (p. 190). Original text and References