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4Регион и мир, 2022, № 4
The Transformations of the Decision-Making Process under the Challenges to Economic Sovereignty
Gevorgyan Garnik А.
Armenian State University of Economics PhD of the Chair of Management (2002-2005) (Yerevan, RA)
gamikagevorgyan@gmail.com UDC: 330, 330.3, 330.5, 338, 338.1, 338.2, 339, 339.9; EDN: ZOGZBP
Keywords: Globalization, economic sovereignty, economic policy, foreign investments, supranational corporations, decision making
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garnikagevorgyan@gmail.com
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Трансформации процесса принятия решений в условиях вызовов экономическому
суверенитету
Геворгян Гарник A.
Армянский государственный экономический университ, Кафедра менеджмента, аспирант (2002-2005) (Ереван, РА)
garnikagevorgyan@gmail.com
Аннотация. За последние десятилетия проблема суверенитета государств, в том числе экономического суверенитета, считается актуальной как в теоретической, так и практической плоскостях государственной политики. Наиболее характерной особенностью современных экономических отношений являются постоянно развивающиеся интеграционные и глобализационные процессы. Экономический суверенитет, как наиболее вещественное проявление суверенитета, постоянно находится под глобализационным влиянием и угрозами. С
одной стороны, глобализация наиболее остро влияет на суверенитет стран в случае членства последних в надгосударственных структурах, с другой стороны даже страны, не являющиеся членами наднациональных формирований, могут сталкиваться с угрозами экономическому суверенитету в связи с большой представленностью иностранного капитала в национальной экономике с возможностью получать от правительств льготные экономические условия путем угроз вывода капитала со стороны инвесторов. Все эти факторы имеют прямое и непрямое влияние на осуществляемую государством внешнюю и внутреннюю политику, в том числе экономическую политику. Угрозы, направленные на экономический суверенитет, самыми различными механизмами влияют на процесс принятия решений со стороны властей, который, учитывая многочисленные факторы, в основном проявляется как компромисс с целью защитить баланс между экономической выгодой и суверенитетом.
В данной статье обсуждаются угрозы экономическому суверенитету государства в современных условиях с точки зрения влияния на процесс принятия решений. В числе других факторов - на примере членства Армении в Евразийском экономическом союзе, проанализирована проблема ограничения экономического суверенитета, обусловленная членством в наднациональных организациях. Представлены предложения, которые могут иметь практическое значение в разработке экономической политики, для формирования институциональных основ защиты экономического суверенитета в данном процессе.
Ключевые слова: Глобализация, экономический суверенитет, экономическая политика, иностранные инвестиции, наднациональные корпорации, принятие решений
During the recent decades, the issue of state sovereignty, including economic sovereignty, has been considered to be very up-to-date both in theoretical frameworks and in the practical sphere of the state policy. The most characteristic feature of the modern economic relations is the ever-increasing processes of integration and globalization. The economic sovereignty, as the most objective manifestation of sovereignty, is constantly under the influence and threats of globalization. Globalization, on one hand, more acutely affects the sovereignty of countries in case of their membership in supranational organizations, on the other hand, even states that are not members of supranational structures may face threats to economic sovereignty due to the large representation of foreign capital in the national economy, as they extract preferential economic conditions from governments through the threat of capital outflow. All these factors have a direct and indirect impact on the foreign and domestic policy implemented by the state, including the economic policy. The threats to economic sovereignty affect the decision-making process of the authorities through a variety of mechanisms, which mainly act as a compromise taking into account many factors with the aim of protecting the balance between economic profitability and sovereignty. In this article, the threats to the economic sovereignty of the state in modern conditions are discussed, as how they affect the decision-making process. Among other factors, on the example of the membership of the RA in the Eurasian Economic Union, the problem of limiting economic sovereignty due to the membership in supranational associations was analyzed. Recommendations were presented, which can be of practical importance for the development of the economic policy of the state, for the formation of institutional bases for the protection of economic sovereignty in that process.
Introduction. The first ever mention of the concept of "sovereignty" is found in the works of the 16th-centuryench political thinker Jean Bodin. One of the most famous definitions of the state belongs to him. "The state is the law-based administration of multiple families and their property by sovereign authorities." Thomas Hobbes also made a significant contribution to the interpretation of the phenomenon of "sovereignty". "Sovereignty means final authority." ." J.-Jacques Rousseau, E. Kant, Sh. Montesquieu and others had a remarkable contribution to the development of the theory of sovereignty as well [1, volume 2, pp. 689-695].
The theory suggested by J. Locke, T. Hobbes, and J.-Jacques Rousseau on the civil contract defines sovereignty as the reservation of rights of the social groups of the contracting parties, which means the voluntary relinquishment of sovereignty in favor of the sovereign and its state power and the extension of that power to other states in order to maintain political and economic well-being within the country [2, volume 2, pp. 29-30]. The civil contract thesis was also developed by J.-Jacques Rousseau, according to which the civil contract is an inseparable part of state sovereignty, which is expressed as the power of the people through direct democracy, thus legally regulating the renunciation of absolute power by the monarch [3, pp. 134-135]. According to Sh. Montesquieu's juridical-political model, the sovereignty of the state is based on the system of separation of branches of power (legislative, executive and judicial), which in turn is based on the independence and mutual control of each of them [4, pp. 789-792]. Max Weber's ideas about sovereignty are also noteworthy, which he presents in the form of a legal system of violence [5, pp. 644-706].
The thinkers of later period differentiated the "political" and "economic" components of sovereignty as well. "Political sovereignty" can be considered to be the right of the state to develop and implement the
Регион u Mup, 2022, № 4
main directions of domestic and foreign policy. Economic policy is a component of state policy, therefore, it is logical to consider economic sovereignty (in the formal sense) as a private manifestation of political sovereignty. Meanwhile, in practical terms, economic sovereignty is beyond the boundaries of political sovereignty, as it includes the need for economic self-sufficiency of the state [6, pp. 19-20].
The concept of "sovereignty of governments" is also highlighted. It is particularly relevant because of the growing role of supranational capital, and it ends up to the ability of governments to defy the conditions dictated by that capital. In that sense, the mechanisms of economic sovereignty are vital, which can ensure effective legal balance for all subjects of economic relations in the management system. In the modern world, sovereignty cannot be considered as a universal mechanism of complete control over all economic decisions. The problem is the process of defining those decisions, which must be under the control of governments to ensure an effective level of economic sovereignty [7, pp. 230-238].
The problem of economic sovereignty in the modern world is more acutely expressed, especially in the context of membership in supranational economic associations. As a rule, states' concessions in the process of membership in supranational associations lead to the fact of fully or partially renouncing the right to make decisions on the most important issues in the life of the country. Countries voluntarily give up the right to make decisions in order to obtain more favorable conditions for the country's economy through membership in supranational associations.
The Republic of Armenia has joined the EEU since January 2, 2015. The "Eurasian Economic Union" Treaty signed in Minsk on May 29, 2014 (hereinafter referred to as the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty) became the basis for the creation of that structure, to which the RA joined on October 10 of the same year. The analysis of the founding document of the EEU, as well as the agreement on the accession of the RA to that Treaty, shows that they contain a number of provisions to directly, and more often, indirectly limit the economic sovereignty of the member states of the union. Thus, it is recorded in Article 1 of Section I of the EEU Treaty: "With this Treaty, the Parties establish the Eurasian Economic Union, within the framework of which the freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and labor is ensured, the implementation of a coordinated, agreed or unified policy in the branches of the economy defined by this Treaty and international agreements concluded within the framework of the Union..." [8, Article 1, Clause 1]. The provision "the implementation of a coordinated, agreed or unified policy" itself implies a certain limitation of the
economic sovereignty of the member states of the union to the extent that the common goals of the EEU will require it. For example, if the RA decides to diversify its natural gas imports, it may hinder the "implementation of a coordinated, agreed or unified policy" provision, taking into account the fact that one of the members of the Union, for instance, Russia is one of the largest gas exporting countries in the world, and the RA also imports it. The EEU Treaty also limits the freedom or sovereignty of member states in their relations with third parties [8, Article 12, Clause 15], giving the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Economic Union such powers and the possibility of making decisions that may be considered superior to the EEU member states over the decisions made by the authorities.
Many provisions of the EEU Treaty refer to customs relations, in which the economic sovereignty of the member states is also limited. Almost all spheres of regulation of Article 25 [8, Article 25] of the Treaty ("Principles of the Customs Union") refer to the scope of the economic sovereignty of the member states of the Union to one extent or another, which, in fact, is limited because the decision-making related to them is reserved to the supranational body. It especially concerns the unification of domestic markets, as well as the customs tariff policy.
The EEU Treaty also contains provisions that indirectly limit the internal economic policy of the member states of the union, which refer to the unified macroeconomic, currency, and foreign trade policies, defining indicators of the budget deficit, the ratio of public debt to the Gross Domestic Product, inflation level of the member states [8, Article 63].
The article of the Treaty, by which the countries entrust the decision-making in vital areas to the supranational body, the various structures of the EEU, also contains provisions that obviously limit the economic sovereignty of the member states. As a result, the independence and sovereignty of state institutions decreases in such important issues, which are considered the key features of state sovereignty, for example, tax and customs policy. Instead, many of the features considered a monopoly of state sovereignty are transferred by this document
The executive body of the Eurasian Economic Union - the Eurasian Economic Commission, whose main directions of activity refer to the spheres under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the state. Thus, according to Annex 1 of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, the Eurasian Economic Commission carries out its activities within the limits of the powers stipulated by the Treaty and international agreements signed within the framework of the Union, in the following areas: 1) tariff and non-tariff customs regulation, 2) customs regulation, 3) technical regulation, 4) sanitary, veterinary sanitary and
quarantine phytosanitary measures, 5) calculation and distribution of import duties, 6) definition of trade regime with third countries, 7) foreign and mutual trade statistics, 8) macroeconomic policy, 9) competition policy, 10) industrial and agricultural subsidies, 11) energy policy, 12) natural monopolies, 13) state and (or) municipal procurement, 14) mutual trade and investment in services, 15) transport and transportation, 16) currency policy, 17) intellectual property, 18) labor migration, 19) financial markets (banking sector, insurance sector, foreign exchange market, securities market), 20) other sectors defined by the Treaty concluded within the framework of the Union and international agreements [ 8, Appendix 1]. Thus, the Eurasian Economic Commission regulates spheres that are either fully or partially within the sphere of state sovereignty.
As a result of membership in supranational integration units, the decision-making process is transformed in its participating countries; the part of the powers that are part of the economic sovereignty of the state before the membership, are transferred to supranational units in order to receive a expected share of the general. In other words, the member states of the supranational associations essentially decide to participate in the "sovereignty for welfare" conditional deal. Despite the possibilities of mathematical modeling, the concept of sovereignty is too comprehensive and, at least, is not fully amenable to numerical measurement. Therefore, it is almost impossible to find direct numerical correlations between one or another concession of sovereignty and the resulting economic good. The problem is the political component of sovereignty, which, unlike the indicators recorded as a result of membership in supranational associations, is not subject to numerical weighting. Especially, as a result of membership in these associations, the governments of participating countries take into account not only economic, but also political and geopolitical factors during their decision-making process.
The limitation of the sovereignty of the state authorities in the decision-making process has two directions: internal and external. The authorities within the state have to take into account the interests of local or supranational corporations with a relatively large share in the national economy during their decision-making process in order to prevent their possible exit from the economy, as a result of which they have to satisfy the demands of the latter. In RA, the above-mentioned problem is more relevant because the structure of foreign direct investments (FDI) made in the country shows the syndrome of "dependence on one country". Thus, as of the end of 2020, the net stock of FDI made in the RA amounted to 2,726,710 billion drams. In the structure of these net stock, Russia has the largest share, 883.691 billion drams, which is
32.4% of the total net stock. There is no other country that has at least an approximate comparable index to that of Russia in the structure of the net stock of FDI made in the RA [11]. On the other hand, already in the external dimension, the country's authorities are obliged to take into account the interests and demands of the supranational organizations to which the state is a member.
In other words, under modern conditions, at least part of the decisions made by the authorities of a country with an open economy and membership of supranational units is an expression of a double compromise, consisting of internal and external compromises. The connection between economic sovereignty and political decision-making is organic and dialectical. On one hand, the authorities of the state make political decisions, taking into account, among other factors, economic interests, as well as economic sovereignty, on the other hand, it is possible to ensure a greater or lesser level of economic sovereignty only by making adequate political decisions and, as a consequence, ensuring the economic interests of the state. .
The best option for states is, of course, to separate economic and political relations, but this is practically impossible, because in the modern world they complement each other and, as a rule, act as factors that condition one another. Problems of political influence are solved by means of economic instruments and vice versa: political influence is used to achieve one or another economic goal.
In case of the RA, there is relatively a syndrome of "dependence on one country", which can be overcome through diversified foreign economic relations and diversification of the structure of foreign investments. From a purely economic point of view, it is realistic, but it can always face political obstacles, because objectively, Russia, with its representation in the economy of the RA, solves not only economic, but also foreign political problems. On the other hand, for foreign investors of other origins, the RA is considered as an area of influence of the Russian capital, and many of them, when implementing investment projects, take into account not only economic expediency, but also political realities.
The desirable option for states in such conditions is the so-called depoliticization of the economy so that foreign investments consider the country exclusively from the point of view of economic profitability, and economic relations are free from political influences. It is an extremely difficult task to implement, however, it is possible through an adequate policy. In order to solve that problem, the state should apply the so-called "economic neutrality" strategy, which will enable economic relations to be kept away from political influence to the maximum extent. The necessary toolkit for solving that problem contains many means
Регион и мир, 2022, № 4
that are institutionally available in the RA. We are talking about the economic legislation of the RA, which according to international expert assessments is considered quite liberal and creates equal opportunities for all investors in the legal sphere, regardless of their countries of origin. Legal practice is another matter, which already requires political will and making adequate political decisions. It is in this domain that political expediency often prevails over economic interest, and this or that economic program implemented as a result of political decisions creates preferential conditions for investors of arbitrary origin.
The organic interrelation between economic sovereignty and political realities is also expressed through the interaction between the political structure of the state, the quality of political relations and economic policy. In that sense, the assumption that real democracy in the country has a beneficial effect on the policy aimed at strengthening economic sovereignty can be considered acceptable. The problem comes down to the decision-making process. in the presence of a real democratic order, in the presence of viable and not merely formal checks and balances, decision-making is significantly freed from arbitrariness, the maximum number of factors are taken into account in the process. And vice versa, in case of centralization of decision-making, even if the attributes of formal democracy are preserved, they become arbitrary, are not made taking into account all circumstances, increasing the range of influence of threats to economic sovereignty.
Conclusion. State sovereignty, including economic sovereignty, is not a stable category, it is constantly under various threats, especially in the conditions of globalization and the ever-increasing role of supranational corporations. The protection of the economic sovereignty of the state is a continuous process, the effectiveness of which is influenced by both the decisions made by the political authorities and many factors beyond the jurisdiction of these authorities. This means that the process of protecting and strengthening economic sovereignty must be anchored on institutional foundations, thus reducing as much as possible the impact of arbitrary, politically expedient decisions. The adoption of the "concept of protection of the economic sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia", which can be included in the framework of the National Security Strategy, can serve that purpose. In the current similar document, economic sovereignty as a separate category is essentially not considered, mainly provisions related to economic security are discussed, which, however, are merely the
components of the economic sovereignty. Meanwhile, the "concept of economic sovereignty" may contain relatively measurable indicators, the exceeding of which will be considered inadmissible for those implementing the economic policy and will serve as an alarm of the need to transform the economic policy. Taking into account the political and economic realities of the Republic of Armenia, its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the obligations arising from it, the concept of "Protection of Economic Sovereignty" should be anchored on the principle of maximum diversification of the state's external economic relations, which will make it possible to reduce the syndrome of "dependence on one country", thus mitigating the politicization of economic relations at the same time. The realization of the principle of "economic neutrality" can be beneficial for the Republic of Armenia, which, however, should be based primarily on the idea of protecting national-state interests and realizing economic opportunities through it.
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