Abstract: The article analyzes the degree of influence of the Ukrainian caucuses in the House of Representatives and in the Senate of Congress on the adoption of foreign policy decisions in the United States regarding Ukraine from 1997 to 2021. To fully understand the significance of the caucuses in the legislative process, their typology, adopted by the Congressional Research Service, is described in detail, as well as their composition, goals and main activities are analyzed. The work is based on the analysis of legislative documents of the US Congress, with the help of which the activities of Ukrainian caucuses are disclosed, and on the systematization of the annual financial reports of the US Department of Justice, according to which the main directions of lobbying of Ukraine can be identified. A comparative analysis of the activities of the US Ukrainian caucuses and Ukrainian lobbyists helps to determine their common interests and points of divergence. The relevance of scientific research is determined by the international situation that has developed after the "revolution of dignity", as well as threats and tensions that periodically arise due to the unstable situation in Ukraine. In conclusion, it is noted that the Ukrainian caucuses in Congress, especially the Ukrainian Senate Caucus, are a political tool of the United States to protect its national interests in the Eastern European region, expressed in the promotion of democracy, and are used mainly to solve military aspects.

Keywords: military cooperation, energy security, lobbyists of Ukraine, congressmen, Senate Ukrainian Caucus, Ukrainian Caucus, Member organizations of the Congress, US Congressional Caucuses, European integration, democratization

Abstract: The author studies such aspects of the topic as political cooperation between Thailand and Russia from 2014 till present. The concepts of national interests, the balance of power and neoliberalism are used as the analytical framework of the study. The current bilateral cooperation has positive dynamics in the political field which is demonstrated by the visits of the heads of government since 2015. These visits have led to the development of cooperation for the both countries in all aspects and dimensions. However, the political leverage hasn’t achieved the optimum level, and the cooperation between the two states faces particular problems. The author outlines some of them: first of all, political instability in Thailand affects cooperation. Several transformations in the government of Thailand, which had taken place from 2006 till 2014, as well as domestic problems caused by the coup, have affected the foreign policy of the country. The author arrives at the conclusion that the main factors, influencing Thailand-Russia relations, are the political and diplomatic mechanisms. High-level visits and bilateral discussions help deepen and strengthen the connections between the two states. Nevertheless, these relations will not progress if Thailand fails to solve its domestic problems.   

Keywords: Coup d’état, Great Powers, Political Instability, Political Cooperation, Russia, Thailand, The United States, China, Problems, Visits

Abstract: The authors study the cooperation between China and the African Union during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic within the Forum on China-Africa cooperation, and consider the peculiarities of relations between China and the African continent. The article studies China’s regional interests before and during the pandemic. Using the analysis of China’s humanitarian work in Africa and its comparison with the assistance of the U.S., Europe, and Russia, the authors detect the obvious interest of Beijing in the cooperation with the countries of the continent, and its urge to press the U.S.’s hegemony in Africa and strengthen China’s positions in the region through cooperation within the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation bypassing other global actors. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the analysis of cooperation between Beijing and the African continent in the context of the Forum on China-Africa in the coronavirus period. In the pre-COVID epoch, China’s activities in Africa, its political, economic and imperial ambitions have been actively studied; the economic, political and military perversion of China through the Forum on China-Africa, ASEAN, the Asia-Pacific Region and China’s initiatives like “One belt and one road” have been studied thoroughly. However, the assessment of the COVID period has become possible only recently when the results of new cooperation concepts became visible. The authors formulate the following conclusions. The effectiveness of cooperation between China and Africa in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic is still high and is further deepening. The Forum on China-Africa, in which each country of the African Union is represented and has a voting right on the equal basis with other member-states, plays a significant role in cooperation strengthening. The authors believe that it is early days yet to speak about China’ supremacy over the U.S. and Europe in Africa, but Beijing is moving in this direction.   

Keywords: regional stability, China-Africa Forum, COVID-19, pandemic, lockdown, China, Africa, regional security, interstate dialogue, bilateral cooperation

Abstract: The object of this collaborative study is the evolution of Azerbaijan-Venezuela relations since the moment of their establishment in 1995 till the present day. The purpose of the article is to define the main stages of development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Venezuela, detect the potential prospects of their development, denote areas of common interest in the global agenda, and study the source base of bilateral relations. Using the case study method, the authors not only analyze the actions of both parties aimed at the development of bilateral relations, but also predict the official strategy of Baku and Caracas of further advancement of the interstate dialogue. The authors arrive at a conclusion that the geopolitical grounds of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy have been influenced by its defeat in the First Karabakh War (1992 - 1994) and the occupation of 20% of its territory by the Armenian armed forces. In subsequent years, all foreign policy maneuvers of official Baku were reduced to one goal: to restore its territorial integrity. That was the reason for Baku’s aspiration to garner the support of other states. In this direction, the most fruitful one was the work of Azerbaijan diplomacy in Latin American countries including Venezuela. Notably, official Baku and Caracas have similar stands on many issues of global and domestic policy. For Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, close connections with Azerbaijan is an additional proof of his legitimacy in political in-fighting against the opposition. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that it is one of the first attempts to analyze Azerbaijan-Venezuela relations from a comprehensive perspective.  

Keywords: Ilham Aliyev, Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, First Karabakh War, OPEC, Latin America, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, Nicolas Maduro, Non-Aligned Movement, multi-vector, multi-vector

Abstract: The article studies the specificity of formation of the concept of the information and communication sphere of international relations related to public legitimation of the use of military force. The relations between military and political subjects and the civil society, emerging in this process, are defined by the author as international military and civil relations. The research object is the international military and civil relations discourse formed by the participants for the purpose of organization, preparation and use of military force. The research subject is the peculiarity of its formation at the present stage. The author gives special attention to the issues of information activities of the military policy subjects on the Internet, noting the leading role of electronic media and social networks. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the application of the discourse approach to the analysis of the information activities of military and political subjects. Based on the current understanding of a discourse, the author considers it in terms of the reproduction of ideas in the public conscience. Being a component of the military and political discourse, the international military and civil relations discourse has some peculiarities determined by its purpose, the subjects, producing it, and the specificity of its formation at the present stage. The author suggests considering the international military and civil relations discourse as a developing in time communicative event with different levels of representation which are in constant conceptual connection. The textual level is represented by official documents and statements of heads of states and their coalitions. The contextual level - by discussions, debates and negotiations in Mass Media. The pre-contextual level is represented by feelings, emotions and conditions contained in the public mind and manifested in social networks users’ posts. The author arrives at the conclusion that the international military and civil relations discourse is used as a means of political influence reflecting the ideology and worldview of the subjects producing it.   

Keywords: meaning, military policy, political communications, military-political discourse, social network, global virus editor, virtual crowd, information war, discourse, international civil-military relations

Abstract: The “Eurasianism” concept originates from the philosophical ideas of the early 20th century emphasising the unity of the Post-Soviet political space and its unique, non-Western direction of development. Recently, the world order is being checked for strength: the global challenges are presenting the states with a necessity to reconsider the existing world order, which serves as a breeding ground for the implementation of the ideas of Eurasianism in the regional context. In such a way, the Professor of the National Eurasian University Aleksandr Dugin, who has devoted most of his career to the research of the Eurasianism theory, in his theory expresses a belief that the historically formed non-Western worldview of the Post-Soviet states justifies the idea about the authenticity of their statehood. Today, the Eurasianism concept is institutionalized within the CIS and the EEU, and is especially relevant in the context of the new global challenges (economic instability, the change of the world order nature, the pandemic threat, etc), which allow specking about the emergence of a new world order.

Keywords: global challenges., political philosophy, new world order, Post-Soviet states, EAEU, Dugin, Eurasianism, Russia, influens, Asia