Initiative “Development of a Societal (Integrated) Security System for the Caspian Macroregion (Greater Caspian region)” enters the top five fields crucial for the region development and supported under the “Priority 2030” program.
The leader of the strategic project is the director of the Institute for Southern Russia and Caspian Region Studies, professor of the Chair of Cultural Studies Anna Romanova. The key author of the project is the head of the Laboratory for Research of Social, Political and Cultural Dynamics of Lower Volga and Caspian Sea Region Mikhail Topchiev.
The mission of the project is to increase the international influence of Russia on the Caspian region by creating a common scientific and educational space focused on fundamental and applied researches devoted to the Caspian macroregion; to develop innovative technologies and solutions contributing to its security preservation. In addition, the initiative focuses on supporting the socio-political stability, on preserving ethnic and confessional identity of the multicultural environment, sustainable economic development, high level of ecological security as well as the information security of the Caspian macroregion.
According to the key author the aim of the project is to create the center for strategic analysis and mathematic forecast of possible problems, risks and threats for military, state, national, cultural, religious, social, geopolitical, economic, ecological security in Greater Caspian region.
To implement the project it is planned to involve the potential of various structural units of the university: Institute for Southern Russia and Caspian Region Studies, Innovative Institute of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Social Communications, Department of Social, Political and Economic Studies of Eurasia and Orient, Center of Sociological Survey, Faculty of Economy and Management, Institute of Physics and Mathematics, and other. The ASU’s leading researchers will take part in the project.
“What is more, a scientific consortium will be created on the base of Astrakhan State University. It will include universities and research centers of the Russian part of the Caspian region, representatives of the state and municipal government, relevant ministries and organizations, clergy, representatives of ethnic and religious communities and public organizations and associations”, – Mikhail Topchiev said.
The main result of the project will be the creation of the societal security system that will take into account interrelations and interinfluence of many factors, which have an impact on preservation and development of the current state of the Caspian macroregion, on the basis of major complex scientific studies.
According to the head of the project Anna Romanova, this system will aim to reveal the disadvantageous areas and to stabilize possibly problematic situations, to form a new metacultural Caspian collective identity of the countries that share the water area and resources of the Caspian Sea.