"Political Atlas of the Modern World 2.0": formulation of the research problem

This article gives an overview of the consortium between MGIMO-University and HSE University that was launched in 2022 to jointly implement the "Political Atlas of the Modern World 2.0" research project. Among the central objectives of this project is the study of the characteristics of states that determine their positions within the modern world system. An obvious challenge for the project team is that both the states and the system of which the states evolve are important, yet not only the actors are undergoing various transformations; both the states and the system are sources and targets of countless influences. A good solution to the problem in the context of this challenge is seen in the definition and systematic measurement of the characteristics of states, describing both the resources at their disposal and the features and results of their activities. As part of the research project, it is necessary both to re-conceptualize the previously proven indices of stateness, the potential for international influence, external and internal threats, the quality of life and the institutional foundations of democracy and to clarify the variables used in the indices, and to test new methods of analysis (for example, methods of Bayesian statistics, network analysis, etc.) of the ever-growing volume of time series data. Among other opportunities, this allows to assess the dynamics of states' positions in the world. For example, efforts to re-conceptualize statehood are to account for the problem of state resilience, which is currently the focus of both academic and applied research. The development of software to visualize and provide access to the results of the project to representatives of the academic and expert communities and decision makers is underway. This includes the development of an online encyclopedia of political and socio-economic systems of modern states.