This article examines the transformation of Russian-South Korean business relations between 2022 and 2026 against the backdrop of a geopolitical crisis and shifting foreign policy paradigms. It analyses the evolution of bilateral interaction from a model of strategic partnership towards one of “forced pragmatism”, driven both by institutional changes in Russia and by the tightening of the Republic of Korea’s sanctions regime under the influence of the United States. The aim of this study is to identify the structural changes in bilateral cooperation and to determine the conditions under which a “quiet normalisation” might be achieved in the medium term. To this end, the author examines the dynamics of mutual trade turnover and the reasons for its decline, the reconfiguration of logistics chains, and the phenomenon of Korean businesses’ “hidden presence” through jurisdictions of the EAEU member states. The methodological framework comprises a systematic analysis of statistical data, official statements, and sectoral reports, as well as a comparative assessment of the adaptive strategies employed by South Korean chaebols. The findings indicate that the formation of the Moscow-Pyongyang military-political alliance (2024–2026) has created structural obstacles to restoring bilateral relations, rendering a return to the 2021 status quo impossible. It is also shown that the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East has prompted Seoul to reconsider its own energy-related sanctions and to reopen debate on the feasibility of importing Russian hydrocarbons. The conclusion is that future cooperation will be confined to narrowly pragmatic projects, including the Northern Sea Route, the resource base of the Siberian Arctic, and Eurasian intermediary arrangements, while high volatility persists owing to the Republic of Korea’s reliance on its alliance commitments to the United States.
Against the backdrop of the transformation of the international system, the reconfiguration of the global economy, and the global energy transition, the green agenda is becoming a tool for political normalisation and the development of economic relations in the Middle East. The article examines the evolution of Saudi-Turkish cooperation in the field of renewable energy sources (RES) within the context of the overall dynamics of bilateral relations between 2011 and 2026. The aim of the study is to analyse the evolution and prospects of Saudi-Turkish cooperation in the field of RES through the prism of the overall dynamics of bilateral relations, as well as to identify the factors determining the sustainability, investment attractiveness and scalability of this model of cooperation. The methodological framework comprised a comparative analysis of strategic documents, case studies, and the verification of primary sources (official communiqués from relevant ministries, data from sovereign wealth funds, and sectoral statistics). The study found that the transition from political confrontation to systemic cooperation is driven by the complementarity of national strategies: Saudi capital and ACWA Power’s expertise are combined with Turkish manufacturing capacity and state procurement guarantees. The mechanisms for implementing agreements on the construction of 5 GW of renewable energy capacity are examined in detail, including the first 2 GW with a record electricity price of 1.995 euro cents per kW/h and a 50 per cent localisation requirement. It is demonstrated that energy cooperation is not a consequence but a driving force behind political normalization, forming a model of “pragmatic convergence” in which economic expediency and technological complementarity overcome historically entrenched political rivalry. The findings contribute to the development of research literature on energy diplomacy and the theory of regional cooperation.
The article examines the economic nature of the hawala payment system in the context of sanctions-driven fragmentation of the global cross-border payment infrastructure, increasing transaction costs of international money transfers, and growing interest in alternative mechanisms for international settlements. The study demonstrates that the existing literature predominantly considers hawala as an informal or underground remittance channel, with primary attention devoted to its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) risks, while its underlying economic logic remains insufficiently explored. The aim of the study is to provide a theoretical reinterpretation of the hawala system as a decentralised clearing mechanism in which cross-border liquidity transfers are functionally replaced by the recording of mutual obligations, multilateral netting, and alternative settlement arrangements. The methodological framework is based on institutional economics, transaction cost theory, and approaches to modelling financial obligation networks. In addition, the study employs comparative and structural-functional analysis, content analysis of academic literature, and elements of economic and mathematical modelling of clearing networks. The results of the study include the development of a three-level obligation settlement model incorporating bilateral netting of reciprocal payment flows, multilateral network netting, and settlement of net positions through assets and services. Furthermore, the paper proposes a formal representation of hawala as a network of financial obligations based on a net position calculation model, allowing it to be interpreted as a decentralised clearing infrastructure. It is demonstrated that the clearing logic of hawala operates without a centralised settlement institution through the distributed coordination of obligations, thereby significantly reducing the demand for cross-border liquidity. The study concludes that the resilience of the hawala system is determined by lower transaction costs, network-based coordination of obligations, and its high adaptability to institutional constraints. The findings suggest that hawala should be regarded as an alternative international settlement mechanism capable of addressing the challenges posed by sanctions-induced fragmentation of the global payment infrastructure and its ongoing digital transformation.
The development of logistics corridors is one of the key conditions for strengthening economic connectivity in Africa. This issue gains particular relevance in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area, since the elimination of tariff barriers alone does not guarantee the steady movement of goods between ports, inland territories and industrial centres. At the same time, expanding port capacity, building roads and creating dry ports does not always transform transport routes into sustainable development corridors. The aim of this article is to identify the reasons why the expansion of transport infrastructure cannot ensure the deepening of regional integration in Africa. To achieve this, the article sequentially reveals the historical prerequisites for African logistics’ dependence on the “mine-to-coast” model, conducts a comparative analysis of port-corridor systems in West, East and Southern Africa, and examines the role of “soft” logistics, including border procedures, digital services and institutional coordination. The methodological basis of the study comprises comparative historical analysis, as well as the concepts of development corridors, corridor governance and path dependence. The findings indicate that a corridor becomes an instrument of regional integration only when physical infrastructure is combined with coordinated institutions, a stable transit regime and the capacity to serve domestic markets, rather than export flows alone. The main conclusion of the article is that the key constraint on African integration is not so much the state of the road network as the quality of logistics system governance. The practical significance of the work lies in the development of criteria for assessing logistics projects, enabling parties involved to participate in them without reproducing the prevailing export-oriented commodity model.
The contemporary paradigm of consumer demand is characterised by a transition from the industrial model of mass consumption to the economy of individualised solutions. In this context, retail enterprises face the challenge of not only forecasting demand but also ensuring the operational delivery of personalised value to the end consumer in real time. This determines the relevance of the present study, which is aimed at bridging the gap between the forecasting of personalised demand and its operational implementation. The aim of the research is to develop an adaptive management model for personalised demand that synergetically integrates retailers’ digital ecosystems into a closed loop, where the forecast and the response are combined into a single continuous process. To achieve this aim, the following tasks are addressed: identifying unresolved problems in the operationalisation of personalised demand forecasts, substantiating the architecture of an adaptive digital circuit, and incorporating the factor of operational resilience into the system for evaluating personalisation effectiveness. The methodological basis of the study comprises content analysis of current academic sources, simulation modelling of consumer behaviour, and neural network methods for processing unstructured feedback data. The analytical review identified two interrelated problems: the “delay tax”, which entails substantial financial losses for retailers, and the “hypersegmentation paradox”, in which the deepening customisation comes into conflict with profitability. To overcome these problems, the linear forecasting model previously developed by the author has been transformed into a three-module adaptive model that combines forecasting, interactive value prototyping, and automated feedback. The operational viability factor, which supplements economic and technological criteria, has additionally been introduced into the performance evaluation system. The developed model ensures continuous verification of forecasts and incorporates an embedded mechanism for tracking the threshold of economically viable customisation.
In the context of large-scale geopolitical transformation, ensuring national economic sovereignty objectively dictates the need to diversify financial flows and implement alternative capital formation mechanisms. Partnership financing, grounded in ethical principles and equitable risk-sharing, is positioned as a strategic driver of investment activity in priority segments of the real economy, stimulating both technological imports and domestic production. In this regard, the present study aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the legal and regulatory experiment on introducing Sharia-compliant instruments and to identify the factors limiting their subsequent federal scaling. The methodological framework of the work comprised an empirical analysis of statistical data for the period from 2023 to 2024, a comparative legal examination of the provisions of Federal Law No. 417-FZ, and a systematic approach to assessing the macroeconomic and regulatory environment with the engagement of expert evaluations. In the course of the study, the quantitative and qualitative market dynamics in the pilot regions were monitored, institutional barriers were classified, and a concept for overcoming existing regulatory contradictions was developed in order to create a transparent ecosystem. Empirical verification revealed that, despite the confident quantitative expansion of partnership operations in the four participating constituent entities, the emerging segment faces profound systemic imbalances. The persistence of double taxation, the fragmentation of enforcement practices, an acute shortage of specialised human competencies, and the de facto absence of a takaful market are identified as critical growth inhibitors, necessitating urgent corrective measures. Based on the analysis conducted, a well-founded conclusion is drawn regarding the inevitability of transitioning from isolated experimentation to the design of a comprehensive federal infrastructure. The roadmap for mitigating legal and tax risks proposed in the study not only enriches the theoretical doctrine of adapting partnership finance to the Russian legal system but also serves as an applied guide for legislative optimisation, ensuring sustainable growth of this sector.
The article explores the digital transformation of payment systems in Islamic countries against the backdrop of geopolitical turbulence, the sanction-driven fragmentation of the global financial infrastructure, and the growing interest in alternative mechanisms for international settlement. It is shown that the existing literature predominantly treats Islamic payment mechanisms through the lens of religious restrictions and traditional banking, focusing largely on compliance risks and adherence to Sharia norms, whereas their integration with advanced digital technologies and cross-border interoperability remains underexplored. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of settlement mechanisms and to offer a theoretical substantiation of a concept for an independent international settlement circuit, in which traditional operations are replaced by decentralised digital assets backed by real commodities. The methodological framework of the study draws on the principles of Islamic financial law, a SWOT analysis, comparative analysis of national payment ecosystems, structural-functional analysis of innovative instruments, content analysis of the regulatory environment, and elements of systemic modelling of cross-border payment. As a result, the authors’ concept of a Hormuz Pact digital currency is developed a decentralised distributed ledger platform that incorporates the tokenisation of transit capacity, the issuance of stablecoins backed by energy resources, and the direct settlement of obligations with real assets. The platform is formalised as a multilateral clearing network using smart contracts, which allows it to be interpreted as a sovereign international settlement infrastructure compliant with Sharia law. It is argued that the platform’s settlement logic operates without recourse to conventional fiat liquidity or Western clearing operators by virtue of its direct material backing by basic commodities, thereby providing protection against extraterritorial sanctions. The conclusion is drawn that the resilience of the proposed system rests on its Sharia legitimacy, real-asset backing, and high adaptability to conditions of geopolitical turbulence. The findings make it possible to regard the proposed digital currency as an alternative international settlement mechanism that is particularly relevant in the context of the sanction-induced fragmentation and digital transformation of the global payments infrastructure.
