Abstract: The article considers the historical prerequisites for the formation of the “conglomerate nationalism” fundamentals of local political elites in Syrian Kurdistan as a form of Syrian Kurds’ self-determination shaped in the Federation of Northern Syria (the former self-declared “the Republic of Rojava”), which is the union of canton societies in the form of autonomy inside the federative Syria. The democratic confederalism concept as a form of the Syrian Kurds’ identity is a determinant of the political program of the Democratic Union Party (Syria), representing, basically, the interests of Syrian Kurds in the current historical context. The research methodology is based on the democratic confederalism concept as a conglomerate type nationalism, consisting in the existence of the society in the conditions of the maximum level of respect to the cultural autonomy of ethnical and confessional groups, which together act as the nation-building subjects, aspiring to sovereignty or independency. The author compares the “conglomerate nationalism” of Syrian Kurds (the Federation of Northern Syria, proclaimed 16 March 2016) as a phenomenon, with the canton system of the Swiss Confederation, where the final national identity has been formed by the set of its member nationalities and religious groups, organized in the officially independent cantons. 

Keywords: Salih Muslim, Kurds of Syria, war in Syria, separatism, Kurdish parties, Democratic Union Party, Kurds, Federation of Nothern Syria, Rojava, conflict

Abstract: The research subject is the counterterrorism policy in Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region of China. Special attention is given to the problem of terrorism in Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region and the counterterrorism measures of China against the Uyghur separatist movement. The author considers the following aspects: the historical, economic and political reasons of separatism and religious extremism in the region; the generalization of the “terrorism” concept; the analysis of anti-terrorist and anti-extremist measures, taken by the Government of China. The author applies the historical method to study the causes of terrorism in Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, the method of generalization and comparison of facts, the analysis of the events, connected with the problem of terrorism in China. The author offers the ways to solve the problem of terrorism in Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region of China via the settlement of the religious question, the promotion of the “bilingual education” concept, the stimulation of employment in this region, the increase of investments in education and the solution of the problem of ethnic segregation. 

Keywords: China, opening up the west , the "go beyond" strategy, the openness strategy, reforms , People's Republic of China, separatism, religious extremism, terrorism, Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region

Abstract: The research subject is the state of emergency concept – primarily in the interpretation of G. Agamben. This concept is considered in the two most significant aspects: in the political one (as it is interpreted by G. Agamben) and in the ontological (epistemological) one. The author ascertains the duality of the nature of the state of emergency, its ecstatic roots, traced in the logic of the slave-master relations and the ontological basis, the reconstruction of which is possible by means of a successive comparison of the notions of cognition and interrogation, investigation and research, condemnation and judgement, etc. The research methodology is based on the analysis and the reconstruction of the notions “investigation”, “procedure”, and “judicial proceedings” (substantiated in their genealogy by etymological closeness of the terms “history”, “truth” and “plaintiff”). The scientific novelty of the study consists in the disclosure of the genesis of the state of emergency from the early 20th century till the present days. The author demonstrates the continuity of the concept; proves that the role of “Jews” of the past century at present belongs to “Russians” and partly to “international terrorism”. At the same time, the general conditions of postmodernity leave a stamp on this role. 

Keywords: antisemitism, plaintiff, conclusion, investigation, process, judicial proceedings, procedure, Russophobia, postmodernity, game

Abstract: The research object is Transdniestria as a geopolitically important territory, affecting the interests of different subjects of international and regional political process. The author compares various approaches of the international community to the solution of the problem of recognition of the PMR, appeared in the result of disintegration processes of the post-Soviet period. The author studies the reports of the well-known international law specialists, who had been solving the question about the possibility of recognition of the PMR’s sovereignty. The article analyzes the relations between the Republic of Moldova and the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, and the Russia’s position on the problem of recognition of the PMR’s state sovereignty. The author uses the system approach, helping get the complex vision of the object within its environment and the set of its elements in their interrelation and interaction. The author concludes that, in the context of an apparent failure of international law, the geopolitical and strategical interests of the key international actors, pursuing their own interests, become the defining factor in the questions of recognition/non-recognition of new states. In the result, the object of collisions – Transdniestria – acts as a by-product of their political confrontation. The situation around unrecognized states needs to be revised; the stereotypes of interpretation of statehood should be overcome; such states shouldn’t be considered strictly in terms of the Yalta-Helsinki agreements. These steps could decrease the level of political prejudice in relation to these states on the part of global powers. 

Keywords: geopolitical interests, international law, unrecognized state, Kosovo, Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, territorial entity, post-Soviet phenomenon, denunciation, de-facto regime, Transdniestrian settlement

Abstract: The research subject is the evolution of U.S. policy in Afghanistan in 2000 – 2016. The author places emphasis on the war in Afghanistan, launched in 2001 under the pretext of the struggle against international terrorism (the Operation Enduring Freedom) and officially finished in 2015 upon the achievement of the planned military and political goals of the operation. In this context the author assesses the conditions and the factors of implementation of political concepts of two American presidents and outlines the common and the different features in their policies in relation to Afghanistan. The author uses the methods of historiography, source studies and conflictology, the system approach and the system analysis. The author concludes that the modern strategy of Washington in relation to Afghanistan, on the one hand, conforms with the traditional geopolitical views of American strategists, and on the other hand, is the logic continuation of the approaches of the George W. Bush administration. This issue has become one of the points, where the positions of the two American presidents were almost the same: their common point was the implementation of the policy in Afghanistan according to the common plan and idea in the interests of Washington’s influence strengthening in Central Asia. 

Keywords: U.S. military and political goals, evolution of the policy in Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, U.S. policy in Afghanistan, U.S. foreign policy, Central Asia, global dominance doctrine, hegemony concept, political settlement in Afghanistan

Abstract: The research object is the work of the United Nations Support Mission for Libya (UNSMIL). The research subject is the role of the UNSMIL and its head, the Special Representative of the Secretary General, in the organization of inter-Libyan negotiations and political settlement of the armed conflict in Libya in 2014 – 2015. Special attention is given to the study of the dynamics of negotiations and the impact of various factors on their success. The author studies such aspects of the topic as the influence of various factors on negotiations in Libya, the role of the UN in the organization of negotiations, the stages of negotiations and their impact on the political process in Libya. The key research method in the principle of historicism, applied for the detection of the dynamics of the negotiation process in Libya and the cause-effect links in the process of formulation of conditions by the opposed parties to the conflict. The scientific novelty consists in the analysis of the UN-sponsored inter-Libyan negotiations in 2014 – 2015 in the context of the political process in Libya and the influence of external factors on the negotiation process, the study of the role of the Special Representative of the Secretary General in the development of the Libyan Political Agreement. The author studies the institutional mechanisms of armed conflicts settlement by the UN, the possibilities of implementation of the agreements achieved and the impact of negotiations on the political process in the region. 

Keywords: Libyan Political Agreement, Special Representative of the Secretary General, UNSMIL, Libya, political settlement of conflicts, armed conflict, political process, House of Representatives, General National Congress, Government of National Accord

Abstract: The present article is devoted to the research of the modern forms and methods of intervention of a special type of non-state actors of international relations - transnational corporations - in the activities of intergovernmental organizations. The object of the research is the world politics in general and the activities of actors in the world politics, such as transnational corporations and intergovernmental organizations, in particular. The subject of the study is the forms and methods of interaction of transnational corporations and intergovernmental organizations in the sphere of the world politics. The purpose of the research is to identify the forms and methods of intervention of multinational corporations in the activities of intergovernmental organizations.The methodological base of the research includes the system, institutional, structural and functional, and comparative political approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction and observation.The author draws attention to the fact that the interaction of TNCs with intergovernmental international organizations is one of the most urgent problems of international relations and the world politics. Intergovernmental international organizations, created by states, unlike transnational corporations, possess international legal personality and, therefore, are the full participants of the system of international relations. TNCs do not have the same sovereignty and belong to the class of non-governmental actors of international relations. Intergovernmental organizations seek to regulate the activities of TNCs in the world politics and economics, considering the TNCs as their potential competitors. As for the TNCs, they tend to act on equal terms with intergovernmental organizations in the world politics, claiming the equal status and their part in the regulation of global political processes. It inevitably leads to tensions and conflicts between intergovernmental organizations and TNCs for the leadership in the world politics.

Keywords: security, interests, state, self-organization, international relations, world politics, U.S. foreign policy, global information space, political system, risks