The Contemporary State
№27 Discipline and Punish Again? Another Edition of Police State or Back to the Middle Ages
#27_Valdai paper_Discipline and Punish Again
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“Big Brother” is watching you, - the authors consider.  Restrictions on freedom of movement through introducing practices to control the movement of individuals, tracking private funds on bank accounts, indefinite detention and preventive custody, snooping and wiretapping – these are examples of the ways of the government interference into an individual’s private life which the article studies. And such a practice of interference is justified by general security. Simultaneously with the tendency towards “disciplining of masses”, the authors observe another trend — expression of freedom in the areas of social life that were under prohibition.

Thus, the studied trends influence international relations. From the point of view of the authors, once the control in modern secular societies ceases providing benefits to the society, the medieval model of "Caliphate" will become an extremely attractive doctrine.

The authors of the article: Victor Sergeev, Director of the Center for Global Issues, Institute for International Studies (IIS), MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia. Elena Alekseenkova, Program Manager at Russian International Affairs Council, Research Fellow of the Center for Global Issues, Institute for International Studies (IIS), MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia.