The article presents a brief review of major sessions and discussions to take place at VII General Conference of the European Consortium of Political Research held in Glasgow (Scotland, UK) in September 2014. Special emphasis is made on those sessions dealing with national autonomy and sovereignty issues, eurosceptical attitudes and shaping foreign policy, mass media’s role in forming political agenda and political communication features, self-determination and identity problems. The most interesting and urgent research results advanced by some sections’ participants in their reports and speeches at round-table meetings are referred to. The authors describe in detail the course of the section “Rising Powers: Social Inequality and Political Instability?” to consider issues of interrelation between regional and social inequality in the Russian Federation and Сhina.