The paper analyzes approaches to defining parliamentary and humanitarian venues of diplomatic cooperation. It is shown that institutionalized inter-parliamentary cooperation began to develop in the last quarter of the 19th century, while examples of the influence of parliamentarians on the foreign policy process in their nation-states can be traced back even earlier, at least since the time of the Great French Revolution. It has been revealed that the early forms of parliamentarian influence on foreign policy were based on humanistic arguments and appealed to a sense of humanity. The humanistic orientation of the emerging parliamentary diplomacy in the last third of the 19th century is explained by focusing on factors such as the development of the media and the growing influence of public opinion on the domestic and foreign policies of European nation-states. The similarity of the initial organizational forms of parliamentary and humanitarian diplomacy illustrates the example of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Both types of diplomatic interaction emerged via multilateral conferences. The final section of the paper is devoted to an analysis of the origins of Russian parliamentary and humanitarian diplomacy. It is shown that Russia played an active role in the development of these forms of diplomatic interaction. The paper concludes by arguing that a thorough definition of parliamentary diplomacy is only possible when both the actor and organizational dimensions of parliamentary diplomacy are taken into account. It argues further that the more or less common paths of development of parliamentary and humanitarian diplomacy result in their thematic affinity. The third conclusion is that the parliamentary methods accepted by diplomatic agents profoundly affected the development of cooperation between nation-states during the 20th century.

: In August, 2023, six more states joined the BRICS format, many of which, like the five previously cooperating countries, are involved in humanitarian diplomacy. The article aims to identify new trends in the BRICS countries’ humanitarian diplomacy with Latin American countries. AidData databases, press releases, websites of humanitarian agencies and foreign ministries are used to identify trends in the bilateral humanitarian activities of the BRICS countries. In the process of comparing data, the existence of bilateral (in some cases multilateral) projects with Latin American states has been systematized. The bilateral relations of BRICS countries with states excluded from humanitarian ties were also analysed in order to identify possible contradictions. As a result, it is shown that among the BRICS states, all states except South Africa are proactive in Latin America, implementing humanitarian projects with the majority of states in the region. South Africa continues to receive aid from major Latin American countries, but does not engage with the region as a donor. Among the new BRICS participants, three groups of countries are distinguished based on activity of their humanitarian diplomacy in the region: those actively cooperating with Latin American countries, those cooperating with individual states, and states with insufficient resources or insufficient interest in investing in the region. The BRICS countries that are actively involved in humanitarian ties with the region have room to develop multilateral cooperation in the humanitarian sphere.

With a multicentric world forming and stratification of resource potential taking place, as well as with more small states in Europe and the world and emerging big multinationals here, small states receive more and more researchers’ attention: there appear papers analyzing activities of small states in Europe in the international arena in general and in international negotiations in particular. This article answers the following research question: What strategies and tactics allow small European states to strengthen their positions in negotiations (based on the case of the Benelux countries)? The strategies used by small countries in negotiations to compensate for limited resources is of scientific and practical interest as it can be applied by other states, namely Russia. Theoretically, the study is based on constructivist methodology as negotiation tactics effectively (re)formulate the issue, changing it through the use of a different context and/or lexical units, as well as on structural invariants of activity in negotiations. Discourse analysis and case study are used as research methods. The analysis identified the limitations that small European states, in particular the Benelux countries, face at each stage of international negotiations. The authors conclude that the types of behavior small European states demonstrate in international negotiations can be divided into those (1) aimed at increasing the “weight” of the state (e.g., interaction within international institutions, with NGOs and lobbies, organizing side events, etc.) and (2) focused on influencing the course of negotiations: tactics within the bargaining strategy (coalition-building, bargaining, etc.) and tactics based on persuasion ((re)framing, appealing to one’s own “example”, etc.). For small European countries, namely the Benelux countries, persuasion tactics are most typical, although other tactics are also used.

The article considers the problems of representation of the humanitarian policy achievements of the Russian Federation in contemporary fragmented information space conditions. Modern digital reality imposes multiple structural limitations on the objectives of the state’s humanitarian activities abroad, expressed in the problems of forming the country’s image through online platforms that actively hinder Russian soft power. The article aims to establish basic scenarios of response to the existing limitations in humanitarian policy representation. The methodological basis is scenario analysis with elements of agent-based modeling in describing the activities of digital platforms in the information moderation process. The paper explores the problems of terminological pluralism associated with “humanitarian policy,” as well as ideological and normative constraints imposed on Russian humanitarian activities. In addition, the paper describes the mechanisms of digital interference of online platforms in the information space and models three basic and one additional response scenario to such challenges. The basic scenarios include an alternative information space formation, convergence with the information space of other countries, and restoration of status in the global space. Each scenario has its own reputational and technical costs, partly addressed by the additional scenario based on less widespread but relatively independent information platforms. The main conclusion of this article is the need to develop a balanced approach within the framework of Russian humanitarian and information policy, taking into account the costs of all basic scenarios and relying on the current correlation between technical capabilities and defined objectives

The article analyzes the declining outbound tourism from Russia in 2022 and 2023 and its effects on the states which introduced sanctions. First it reviews the data on the inbound and outbound tourism, then studies the impact of COVID-19 and sanctions on the tourism industry, the consequences of tourism decline on related industries and services including aviation, food, and accommodation. Finally, the article considers alternative destination places for Russian tourists including the expansion of internal tourism and policies favoring it to replace outbound destinations.