Abstract: Design is one of the most popular instruments for administration of policy in different fields and spheres. This is reinforced by creation, implementation, and support of numerous political projects of the local, regional, national, and global levels. At the same time, design and fulfillment of various political projects is complicated by the absence of sound understanding of the content and main approaches towards the key concept of project activity — “political design”. The modern social-humanistic scientific literature has formed explicit approaches towards understanding the stages of political design, the actors of project activity in the political sphere, resources of political design, criteria for the effective implementation of political projects, classification of political projects. However, the very concept of “political design” remains polemical. Its content is saturated with different meanings, which subsequently complicates the study of other aspects and vectors of project activity in the political sphere. This article aims to summarize the main approaches towards elucidation of the concept of “political design”, outline its key parameters, and formulate the relevant definition. Methodological framework for this article is comprised of the theoretical principles of the project approach towards interpretation of politics. The author provides the original definition of the concept of “political design”, systematizes the main approaches towards explanation of its structure and content, offers the socio-technological assessment of the key parameters of modern political projects, and develops additional grounds for their classification. The article identifies and compares the procedural, administrative, pragmatic, organizational, sociocultural, historical, and innovative models of project activity in politics, describes their heuristic capabilities and conceptual boundaries. The author also develops the criteria for assessing the quality of project activities in politics, and correlates them with the basic models of modern political design.

Abstract:  
This article discusses the political projects of civilizational level, which are designed and implemented in South America. The author examines MERCOSUR as the largest regional civilizational political project, its sociocultural foundation and institutional superstructure; functionality of the “core state” in formation and maintenance of the South American civilizational political project; problems of development and future implementation. The article reveals conflict potential of MERCOSUR, as well as sociocultural capabilities for its overcoming by the “core state” of the project. The research was conducted via application of civilizational-project methodology of interpretation of policy, which is based on methodological synthesis of the principles of project approach with provisions of the theory of civilizations. The author was able to determine the value grounds of MERCOSUR, which comprise its sociocultural foundation; identify the countries competing for status of the “core state” within the framework of this project. The nature of commonality between the key participants of the projects is identified. Problems and prospect of further development of MERCOSUR civilizational projects are defined.
 

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the analysis of information space of the zone of military-political conflicts in Donetsk and Luhansk. The authors shift away from the traditional models and patterns of its explanation, which relate to examination of databases, their maintenance technologies and application mechanism, information systems, and information needs of the information environment. Structural and content analysis of modern Ukrainian cinematography, which reflects the key components of information space of the zone of military-political conflicts in Donetsk and Luhansk is proposed as an alternative explanatory model. In accordance with the substantiated criteria, the author selected the film footages for further examination. Research methodology is based on the content analysis and intent analysis for interpretation of the content and focus of dialogues of the core storylines. Additional methods include the models of comparative analysis of film plots, narrative analysis of film micro-plots, and ideological assessment of films. As a result of the conducted research, the author determined the mechanisms of binary structuring of information space of the zone of military-political conflicts, as well as techniques and methods used for implementation of these mechanisms. The peculiarities of “distortion” of information space of the zone of military-political conflicts are described. Techniques of the film director that comprise the backbone of strategies for positioning information space of the zone of military-political conflicts in modern Ukrainian cinematography are explored. The author is first to analyze the films of modern Ukrainian cinematography regarding the positioning of information space of the zones of military-political conflict in Donetsk and Luhansk.