Report of the BISR Deputy Director Vitaly Punchenko
at the 10th International Scientific and Practical Conference of the SCO RATS
Dear colleagues!
I am happy to welcome the participants of the 10th International Scientific and Practical conference of the SCO RATS. I cordially thank the organizers for the kind invitation to the BISR to take part in such a representative forum. It is a great honor and responsibility for us, taking into account the full-fledged accession of our country to the "SCO family".
The dynamics of social relations, the development of technology, the emergence of new professions and activities where the transfer of experience from the older generation to the younger is not required, form the youth's demand for subjectivity and autonomy, create conditions for weakening the succession of generations [1]. In conditions of open information borders, channels of positive influence on young people from state institutions (education, upbringing, information, organization of public life) cease to be monopolistic and dominant. As interpersonal communications of modern youth is virtualized [2], it becomes increasingly vulnerable to destructive information and psychological effects, the use of management technologies and provocation to illegal actions.
The discrepancy between the demands of youth for activity and the possibilities of its manifestation in the legal framework, the lack of experience of participation in constructive political activity, the segmentation inherent in youth and the heterogeneity of perception of political processes creates the risk of transformation of youth political activity into destructive forms.
The legislation of the Republic of Belarus and international law use the term "destructiveness" to characterize the negative impact of certain processes, factors, phenomena on the realization of the legitimate interests of an individual, society, and the state. For example, phrases such as destructive forces [1], destructive influence [2], destructive information [3], destructive ideological doctrines [4] are applicable.
The key stages of involving a young individual (group) in destructive political activity are:
- stimulating interest in radical ideas and concepts;
- formation of a radical subculture, including online communities, based on like-minded people association;
- organizational convergence and centralization of radical youth structures;
- the development of new, including non-prohibited forms of political activity that can involve politically neutral youth in destructive activities;
- going beyond a radical subculture, followed by scaling into illegal activities.
The highest harm to national interests is represented by acts that fall under the sanctions of articles of the Criminal Code, primarily related to the category of extremist. However, special attention should be paid to non-criminal manifestations of destructive political activity of young people, including those that do not formally violate the law, acting as an integral step or stage of radicalization of young people. Their negative impact on national interests lies not only in creating prerequisites for unconstitutional activities, but also in removing a significant part of young people from the influence of the state.
Formally, non-contradictory forms of destructive political activity of young people are constantly evolving depending on the presence of legal gaps, the emergence of new channels for the implementation of activity, and the dynamics of the political will of the youth themselves.
A good example is the one that gained popularity in certain circles of Belarusian youth in 2005-2006 "flash mob" and its "reanimated" version in 2011 in the form of regular protest actions organized by the Internet community "Revolution through social networks".
Along with flash mobs, destructive forces periodically used other "creative" formats of political activity designed to ensure relative impunity for participants due to the novelty and external political apathy of the techniques used. Among such formats, the following should be highlighted:
- political performance [1], which, unlike a flash mob, does not involve demonstrative spontaneity of actions and is not designed for casual viewers, the organizers choose the place and time in order to have the greatest impact on the target audience [2];
happening, in the classical sense, is an action, event or situation that occurs with the participation of the organizer (usually an artist, theater-goer, musician), but purposefully not completely controlled by him.
- a kind of happening is monstration (from Latin monstratio), a mass artistic event in the form of a demonstration of extremely absurd, allegedly apolitical, but at the same time politically conditioned slogans and banners that participants use as the main means of communication with the audience.
Network formats of political activity which imply the active use of social networks, popular video hosting sites and mobile messengers (Telegram, Viber, etc.) to form stable groups of like-minded people united not by geography, but by network principle, deserve special consideration.
The mass form of expression of destructive political activity is Internet actions with a wide arsenal of means of struggle, including Ddos attacks, virtual strikes and sabotage, Internet demonstrations, creation of twin sites, theft and dissemination of information, damage to websites, etc.
The tactic of "declassification" and publication of information about law enforcement officers and their family members in telegram channels was used as a popular technique for the network destructive political activity of young people in the period 2019-2020.
Latent, often seemingly indistinguishable formats of non-criminal destructive political activity of young people may include such as:
- "spontaneous" creation of the mass character of illegal mass events held under various pretexts (accidental presence at the place of the action, the need to get to an object located nearby);
- various forms of the "Italian strike": vacation days and not attending classes under legal pretexts, reducing the intensity of performance of work and study duties;
- the use and anonymous dissemination of information from illegal sources of information (foreign and foreign-controlled radio stations, Internet sites, social networks, rumors, etc.);
- moral support for radical unconstitutional ideas that contradict national values and traditions;
- conscious fascination with symbols of mass culture and pseudo-culture that are not peculiar to the national mentality (movies, musical trends, fashion, occult-religious trends, individual sports and gambling, etc.);
- conscious avoidance of participation in constructive forms of political activity.
To date, the classical network formats of political activity are being transformed in the direction of mastering the deep Internet space [1]. The development of virtual political simulators, accessible to the general public and which are no longer just games in the classical sense, but also platforms for communication and exchange of opinions, can serve as a starting point for political activity on the Internet. Among the already proven formats of online political activity are virtual rallies and marches, the creation of political parties and movements, the organization and conduct of elections and debates, the nomination of petitions and demands to the authorities, joining virtual associations pursuing political goals.
The threat-forming nature of non-criminal destructive political activity of young people is due to the following factors:
- it is at this stage that the prerequisites for the "maturation" of criminal activity are created;
- involvement in non–criminal destructive political activity is a process largely latent and unconscious even by the subjects themselves, which creates objective difficulties in identifying and preventing destructive acts of youth;
- non–criminal forms of destructive political activity of young people are a consequence and a marker of not always verified decisions in the field of regulation of the political and legal field.
The development of new opportunities for political self-realization of young people in the Internet space requires further transformation of approaches to youth education and the implementation of state youth policy. At the same time, the effectiveness and justification of prohibitive and restrictive measures will decrease due to the limitlessness of the Internet and the development of tools to circumvent existing legal mechanisms. In modern conditions, the importance of developing approaches to working with young people based on mastering Internet communication techniques, preventive response to risks and threats, and constructing a positive youth virtual political environment is increasing.
In our opinion, given the the universality of the above-mentioned problems and their relevance for almost the entire SCO space, the youth sphere should become a priority object of research through our scientific and expert community.
Thank you for your attention!
[1] Novikov, V. V. The Internet and the generation gap: how to find common ground with representatives of generation Z in the new digital reality? / V. V. Novikov // Zhurnalist. Sotsial'nyye kommunikatsii. - 2018. - No. 4 (32). - P. 99-106. - EDN YYIXPV.
[2] Akvazba, E. O. Virtualization of interpersonal communications of modern youth / E. O. Akvazba, V. P. Bogdanova // Information and graphic technologies in professional and scientific activities: Collection of articles of the III International scientific and practical conference, Tyumen, October 30, 2019 / ed. N. I. Krasovskaya. - Tyumen: Tyumen Industrial University, 2019. - P. 289-291. - EDN ZSTKZW.
[3] On approval of the Military Doctrine of the Republic of Belarus // Law of the Republic of Belarus of July 20, 2016. – National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus, July 26, 2016, 2/2410. – Published in the collection of legal acts "National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus", 2016, No. 30
[4] On approval of the Concept of National Security of the Republic of Belarus // Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of November 9, 2010 No. 575. – National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2010, No. 276, 1/12080 (published - November 18, 2010)
[5] Resolution of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States of November 28, 2014 No. 41-15. – Information Bulletin of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, 2015, No. 62
[6] On the establishment of the republican state-public association "Belarusian Society "Knowledge" // Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of October 1, 2007 No. 472. - National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2007, No. 238, 1/8950 (published - October 8, 2007)
[7] Degot E. Performance - the art of action // Decorative art, No. 5. URL: http://visaginart.narod.ru/POST/perf.htm, 1991 (date of access 10.02.2012).
[8] O.E. Grishin Political technologies in the 21st century: essence, spectrum, character [Electronic resource] / elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=23233324
[9] Akvazba, E. O. Virtualization of interpersonal communications of modern youth / E. O. Akvazba, V. P. Bogdanova // Information and graphic technologies in professional and scientific activities: Collection of articles of the III International scientific and practical conference, Tyumen, October 30, 2019 / ed. N. I. Krasovskaya. - Tyumen: Tyumen Industrial University, 2019. - P. 289-291. - EDN ZSTKZW.