Keywords: conflict studies, foreign policy, Russia, geopolitics, conflict, diplomacy, interests, values, security.

Abstract: The aim of this article is to describe the so-called «vetting», within the framework of transitional justice policies. In order to do that, it is first necessary to answer a series of preliminary questions.In general we talk about post-authoritarian justice (term which I do prefer to others, like transitional justice), dealing with the past, coping with the past, but also «militant democracy». The latter is a concept not usually employed in writing on these matters but, as I will explain, still very pertinent to the issue. In fact, I consider necessary to highlight the relation between vetting and protection of democratic legal order. Vetting is only one of the transitional justice measures, aimed at removing from public life representatives of the leadership and management of the old authoritarian regime (political élite, administrators).The definition and the meaning are not the same in other languages. The methodological basis of the research is a systematic, structural-functional, comparative approaches, methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, observation. Main results of this article: 1. Linguistic and definition problems: vetting in the framework of post-authoritarian justice; 2. Transition to democracy: a record; 3. A brief history of vetting; 4. Circulation of models and comparison between countries and areas; 5. The phenomenon of lustration in post-communist Europe; 6. Conclusion: vetting as a protection of democracy.

Keywords: Konfliktologiya, politika, pravo, post-authoritarian societies, politicheskii rezhim, gosudarstvo, interesy, tsennosti

Abstract: This article is focused on the research of modern territorial conflicts, and the prospects for state border changes in Africa. The borders of African countries that were drawn by the parallels and meridians by the British and the French at the dusk of the colonial era, are bound to change drastically. It is something that everyone knows, and Thabo Mbeki, the President of South African Republic, addressed this issue during his speech before South African Parliament, the day before the opening of 2002 First African Union Summit in Durban. The methodological basis of this work is the systemic, structural-functional, comparative-political and comparative-historical approaches, as well as methods of comparative conflict studies. The problem of state borders remains an acute political problem for the majority of African countries that emerged from ex-European colonies. The moment that African countries became independent, the borders that previously were dictated by purely administrative reasons, separating areas of influence of European countries, became the separation lines of nations, peoples and ethnic groups, creating a multitude of problems. This article contains the evaluations for risks and threat of conflicts that might emerge on the grounds of revising the old borders that are the legacy of European colonialism.

Keywords: international relations, conflict studies, Africa, borders, political instability, diplomacy, state, interests, values, security.

Abstract: This paper analyses the problems connected with dismantling of political regimes in modern countries (both of authoritarian and democratic kind) that takes the form of colour revolutions. The role of state-organised party building in prevention of colour revolution and stabilisation of political situation is also considered. After the outbreak of the Arab Spring and the Ukrainian crisis, the problems mentioned have become acute and highly topical. In the world history there have always been place to dismantling of political regimes. In the past, however, it was performed through the use of force in its classical form, with the methods used during military takeovers, local military conflicts, civil wars, and military interventions. The global community succeeded in developing effective measures for combatting this threat and creating efficient mechanisms for political regulation at the international level. Though the severity of the problem connected with the threat of military takeovers in different countries is still on the agenda, the world community as a whole is familiar with this category of threats and knows how to counteract them.

Keywords: Conflict studies, foreign policy, USA, soft power, colour revolutions, dismantling of political regimes, international conflict, international stability, international security, international relations.

Abstract: Based on the analysis of events that lead to World War I and modern events that are linked to the realization of anti-Russian policy of the leading European countries as a result of the situation in Ukraine, this article reaches a conclusion that this is the dusk of Europe as an independent subject of global politics. The author substantiates the main grounds for calling European political elites biased and controlled by United States of America, and formulates projections of possible consequences of Europe’s anti-Russian political and economic course. The methodology of this research is based on systemic, structural- functional, comparative-historical and comparative-political approaches, the methods of induction, deduction, analysis, synthesis, observation, analogy. The events of World War I, its 100-th anniversary being commemorated rather modestly in most participant countries, and the developments in modern international political processes, within and around Ukraine, in particular, give grounds to Hegel’s postulate of all world’s tragedies being repeated twice — first time as a tragedy, the second, as a farce.

Keywords: Conflict studies, foreign policy, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, political regime, state, anti- Russian sanctions, Donbass, World War I.

Abstract: This article is dedicated to comparative analysis of social and political communication in border regions of Latin America, by the example of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. Based on the principles state sovereignty and control over its territory, central governments have always strived to limit contacts and flow between border regions and the outside world. Despite this fact, the borders are points of communication between people of different cultures, languages, nations and worldview. The inhabitants of those regions depend on relations with the neighboring countries, and attempt to circumvent the limitations that were imposed by the state without concern for their interests. The methodological basis of this research is the systemic and structural-functional approaches, methods of analysis, synthesis, observation, modeling, expert evaluations, field studies. In Latin America’s case, the struggle between the state and the border was exacerbated by the fact that political and economic centers of the country, historically, were always located far away from the borders — it always was a standoff between the center and the periphery. Moreover, the national elites still focus their attention on the relations with European countries and the USA, at the cost of weakening connections with the neighboring countries. Moreover, the national elites of Latin America were competitors, because the economies of their countries depended on raw goods exports into world economy centers. This gap between countries serves as an obstacle before achieving control over border territories by the government, and became the reason for the emergence of so-called «town twins› — towns separated only by a state border, often running along a street or a river. The flaws of infrastructure connecting the center and the periphery forced the population of border areas to develop their own channels for communication and foreign relations, especially in the field of economy.

Keywords: Conflict studies, foreign policy, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Latin America, border areas, social communications, political communications, partnership.

Abstract: Speculations over the alleged bipolar world of tomorrow (the so-called G-2, China vs. the US), should not be an Asian dilemma. It is primarily a concern of the West that, after all, overheated China in the first place with its (outsourced business) investments. Hence, despite a distortive noise about the possible future G-2 world, the central security problem of Asia remains the same: an absence of any pan-continental multilateral setting on the world’s largest continent. The Korean peninsula like no other Asian theater pays a huge prize because of it.Why is it so? Asia’s success story? Well, it might be easier than it seems: Neither Europe nor Asia has any alternative. The difference is that Europe well knows there is no alternative — and therefore is multilateral. Asia thinks it has an alternative — and therefore is strikingly bilateral, while stubbornly residing enveloped in economic egoisms. No wonder that Europe is/will be able to manage its decline, while Asia is (still) unable to capitalize its successes. Asia — and particularly its economically most (but not yet politico-militarily) advanced region, East Asia — clearly does not accept any more the lead of the post-industrial and post-Christian Europe, but is not ready for the post-West world. How to draw the line between the recent and still unsettled EU/EURO crisis and By contrasting and comparing genesis of multilateral security structures in Europe with those currently existing in Asia, we can easily remark the following: Prevailing security structures in Asia are bilateral and mostly asymmetric, while Europe enjoys multilateral, balanced and symmetric setups (American and African continents too). These partial settings are more instruments of containment than of engagement. Containment will never result in the integration through cooperation. On contrary, it will trigger a confrontation which feeds the antagonisms and preserves alienation on the stage. Therefore, irrespective to the impressive economic growth, no Asian century will emerge with deeply entrenched divisions on the continent, where the socio-political currents of the Korean peninsula are powerful daily reminder that the creation of such a pan-Asian institution is an urgent must.

Keywords: international relations, foreign, political conflicts, political stability, Asia, interests, values, security.

Abstract: Communication Management has become a common tool in the arsenal of the West in the context of trying to build the pretext for war, and then controlling the information flows after the fighting has begun. It is an attempt to justify the seemingly unjustifiable, where reason and logic are distorted, and the use of emotion is actively promoted. In the 21st century, its use has come to be common place in the settling of scores and the advancement of national interest in international relations (Pashenstev & Simons, 2009). Methodological basis of the research is a systematic, structural-functional, comparative political and comparative-historical approaches, methods of analysis, synthesis, observation, simulation, expert assessments. Certainly, one may now even speak of a blueprint for going to war being established. This has been gradually shaped and refined by events such as the 1991 Gulf War, 1999 Kosovo War and the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq.Libya gave the opportunity to operationalize the blueprint, which in political terms proved to be successful, in terms of managing the information environment in order to promote a dubious political agenda (going to war against Libya under Gadaffi). The current situation in Syria points to the urgent need to be able to understand and to counter these tactics.

Keywords: Konfliktologiya, vneshnyaya politika, Liviya, geopolitika, Siriya, informatsionnaya voina, ideologiya, interesy, tsennosti

Abstract: The relations between Senegal with Gambia, an ex-colony of Great Britain, always were special, if not dramatic. Each of the four presidents of Senegal focused their efforts on strengthening the relations with this country, which is the smallest on the African continent, because of Gambia’s unique geographical position — within the territory of Senegal. This small states with a narrow coastal strip by Atlantic ocean (barely several dozens of kilometers) is located right at the center of Senegal, dividing Casamanse, its southern part, from the north. The methodological basis is systemic, structural- functional, comparative-historical, comparative-political, geopolitical and cultural-civilizational approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, modeling and observation. The border areas between Senegal and Gambia are dominated by the Jola people. They were pulled into a prolonged conflict in Senegal’s southern part, Casamance. Over 30 years, this region is a «hot spot» of political instability in Southern Africa, a hotbed for a domestic conflict. Since 1982, a political organization called the Democratic Movement of Casamanse has become an actor, its most radical supporters demanding to secede from Senegal and to create an independent state. The Democratic Movement has broad support of the local population, especially the Jola.

Keywords: international relations, conflict studies, Africa, Gambia, Senegal, diplomacy, politics, interests, security.

Abstract: This article is focused on researching the linguistics factor in the bilateral relations between the two largest world economies — China and USA. In public life, the growth of importance of language leads to an increase of conscious interference into language practices of the «new media», by using special technologies. This article analyzes the role of linguistic representation of USA as an object of geopolitics and the construction of the reader’s world view in terms of China-US relationship. The author examines and analyzes Chinese media texts (information and analytical materials) for information and communication technology applications, and attempts to classify them. The methodology of this research is systemic, structural-functional, political-linguistic, comparativepolitical, approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, observation, content analysis. Chinese media texts serve as units for the analysis of interactions among political science, political journalism, political linguistics and demand further thought and research. The movement towards analyzing the mutual influence of linguistic and political aspects of linguistic manipulation in foreign «new media » appears to be a promising vector for political linguistics and modern communication studies within the structure of Russian political science. Now, from the instrumentarium standpoint, it is more important than ever to have an understanding of projects and technologies of mass-media, social media — especially the foreign ones. Those are systems that permit the filtering of information, for media workers to be aware of media streams, for researchers and analysts who need to process large streams of information.

Keywords: Conflict studies, foreign policy, Chinese new media, linguistic influence strategy, political media course, USA, China, mediatexts, translation, security.

Abstract: The article is dedicated to analyzing the changes in international economic relations which occurred as a result of establishing the BRICS development bank, founded by the resolution of 2014 BRICS summit. The official goals of this international organization include the development of financial and economic cooperation between countries, stabilization of post-shock economies, overcoming financial crises, financial aid and recovery of developing economies. From this point of view, the BRICS development bank will play a unique role in the formation of a new financial system, and the U.S. dollar won’t be the world’s only reserve currency. The subject of this research is the role of the BRICS development bank in stabilizing the world’s financial system. The methodology of this research is a systemic, structural-functional and comparative approaches, the methods of financial-economic analysis, synthesis, modeling, observation, expert assessments. The exacerbation of Ukrainian domestic crisis lead to growing economic pressure on Russia. There are no objective economy-based reasons for this: Russia has a reputation of a reliable economic partner. The testament of this is the creation of the BRICS development bank in 2014. This article presents an analysis of the potential of all BRICS countries on the international economical, financial and political arena. The authors draw historic parallels of cooperation between Russia and international financial organizations.

Keywords: conflict studies, foreign policies, Russia, BRICS, diplomacy, economic policy of Russia, BRICS development bank, international financial organizations, Ukrainian crisis, finance.

Abstract: This article focuses on the studying of the place and role of Iraqi Kurdistan in world and regional politics. Iraqi Kurdistan is a unique model of a just solution to the problems of Kurdish people within a given country, a flexible combination of the two main principles of international Law: the right of nations to self-determination and the territorial integrity of countries. A fairly streamlined democratic administration was established in the Kurdish region, along with the major civil society establishments, independent media, dozens of political parties and hundreds of public organizations. However, the ISIS Islamists are determined to dismantle the Kurdish autonomy in Iraq, transforming it into a Sunnite dictatorship. The methodology of this study is based on a systemic, structural-functional and comparativepolitical approaches, methods of induction, deduction, analysis, synthesis and observation. In this situation, it is important for Russia to keep, if not expand its presence in Iraqi Kurdistan. The prospects of further cooperation of Russia with Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey depend on the fullness of Russian-Kurdish relations. Erbil has long become an independent player in the regional and international politics, and this factor needs to be considered in Russian foreign policy and economy. It seems that, during the period of Russian cautiousness towards Iraqi Kurdistan and building relations with Erbil with an eye on Baghdad is closing to an end. The breaking point was the meeting of Russian President V. V. Putin with the Kurdish president Basud Barzani in February 2013, and the creation of an Islamic khalifat in Syria and Iraq.

Keywords: conflict studies, foreign policy, Iraqi Kurdistan, Barzani, Iraq, regional politics, geopolitics, ISIS, conflict.

Abstract: Brazil is the largest country in size and population in comparison to other Latin American countries, and it is the seventh largest economy in the world by nominal GDP. Since the mid 2000’s, Brazil has become a more attractive global player: it has diversified its economy and its partnerships, and launched the Growth Acceleration Plan (2007) in order to increase investment in infrastructure and provide tax incentives for economic growth. Brazil has also decreased domestic poverty through development plans: according to the World Bank, poverty (people living with USD 2 per day) has fallen from 21% of the population in 2003 to 11% in 2009. An overall view of Brazilian economy shows that the level of foreign direct investment is increasing, the wages are rising, the middle class in growing, and the unemployment rate is low, which offers a wide range of opportunities in different areas. Despite the positive scenario, Brazil is an emerging economy and faces issues and challenges to be surpassed. Brazil is a thriving economy that welcomes foreign investment that is aligned with its main principles. It is also a global player in economic terms and in global and regional issues. The 2014 elections are coming and the unpredictable political and economic scenario is once more arriving. The commercial and economic partnerships should remain both diversified and traditionalist, with Brazil’s national interests set as priorities.

Keywords: mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya, vneshnyaya politika, Braziliya, geopolitika, konfliktologiya, diplomatiya, gosudarstvo, interesy, tsennosti

Abstract: In this article, we offer a political and psychological analysis of reislamization, in the context of mental transformation of the Northern Caucasus. Enhancement of Islam on the south of Russia is explained by a multitude of historic, religious, global and domestic aspects, which have controversial influence on the state of North Caucasian society. The authors point out that one of the key mental and political factors of the political expansion of Islam in its radical forms is the Stavropol region, which is not only a cultural, but also an education and economic center of the Russian North Caucasus, as well as a nexus of intensive communication processes, especially in the polymental environment of youth, which is susceptible to radical Islamic ideologies. The methodology of this research is a systemic, structural and functional, comparative and historical, comparative and political, geopolitical and cultural-civilizational approaches, as well as methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, modeling and observation. The authors reach a conclusion that the global operators of political Islam are realizing a strategy of reformatting of self-identification views and settings of North Caucasian citizens. The goal of this plot is the destruction of a historically established polymentality of this region, and the forming of a basis for a religious dogma-based totalitarian monomentality, which is a part of the «new Islam» project for separating North Caucasus from Russia.

Keywords: conflict studies, politics, North Caucasus, mentality, identity, Islamism, conflict, nation, interests, security.

Abstract: The examination of contemporary information and communication technologies in the modern world drastically changes the principles and methods of administration and education. Today, it lies in the foundation for the revolutions in the fields of international relations and in the art of war. Therefore, one of the prominent tasks before Latin American countries and their defense departments is the usage of information to manage any conflict, because information may influence the perceptions of people. The methodological basis of this work is systemic, structural-functional, comparative-historical, comparative-political, geopolitical and cultural-civilizaitonal approaches, and the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, modeling and observation. Today, a sound strategy of information management enables a country to be victorious in a standoff. The forms of processing, actualization and circulation of information, such as the Internet, the «new mass media and communications», became a new method of conducting modern warfare.

Keywords: conflict studies, foreign policy, conflict, resolution, information warfare, USA, cyber warfare, Latin America, public diplomacy.

Abstract: Professor A. D. Shutov’s book is dedicated to a perpetually contested topic in historical science, by which historians and politicians of various ideologies consistently clash. The discovery of the deeper reasons for Soviet Union’s dissolution, and the study of ways that lead to the revival of a country, define the scientific importance of this work. The research of historical processes is impartial and fundamental, as it lacks diplomatic understatements and politically correct condescension that statesmen and politicians of all ranks are notorious for. As it appears, the book lacks speculation, just the truth, and by shedding light on this truth, the author pursues the only goal — to study ways to revive of our Fatherland, to eliminate complications and to improve the lives of the people. Moreover, A. D. Shutov’s book is one of the first attempts at comprehensive analysis of the work of CIS as an international regional organization. Based on a broad circle of sources and literature, including archive materials, the monography is quite encyclopedic in its content, and presents a profound scientific, theoretical and practical interest, and may serve as a study guide on history and political science.

Keywords: international relations, foreign policy, USSR, political regime, Warsaw treaty, state, interests, values, security.