Review: This article examines the key problems of the evolution and functioning of United Nations peacekeeping in the post-bipolar period. On the example of peacekeeping missions after 1990 and key documents in the field of peacekeeping operations, an assessment is given of the challenges facing the UN both at the stage of defining the mandate of operations and in the field of their financing. Based on the position of the United States of America regarding the payment of contributions to the UN budget, the imperfection of the mechanisms for financing UN peacekeeping is demonstrated and the negative consequences for the system of peacekeeping operations as a whole are highlighted. Today, UN peacekeeping is becoming multifunctional, with the main focus gradually shifting to the problems of conflict prevention and peace-building. At the same time, such a change of priorities exposes the problems inherent in the very architecture of UN peacekeeping, primarily related to the definition of the mandate and politicization of the activities of the Secretariat and the financing of missions. In connection with the departure from the traditional function of maintaining the ceasefire, costs are increasing, and non-payment by member countries, such as the United States, of contributions to the budget of operations entails a decrease in their effectiveness. It seems to us that the solution to the above—mentioned problems lies in the continuation of the UN reform process, especially in the field of approving the military part of the mandate and creating a single budget of the OPM integrated into the general UN budget. If there is the political will of the member countries, this process seems to us quite feasible and follows in line with the reform of the UN peacekeeping of the last thirty years.

Keywords: UNTAG, ONUC, UN budget, post -bipolar period, USA, UN reform, UN, peacekeeping operations, peacekeeping, UN Charter

Review: The subject of this study is the policy of "soft power" of the BRICS in Latin America, including its tool such as analytical centers. The purpose of the study is to determine the specifics of the activities of BRICS analytical centers in the studied region and their political functions. The relevance of the topic is due to the growing importance of multilateral institutions in the modern world, which necessitates the study of their activities and mechanisms of influence, including the policy of "soft power". The prospects for the expansion of the BRICS due to the entry of new participants depend, among other things, on the image of this institution, which serves as an additional factor in the relevance of studying the policy of "soft power" of the BRICS and its results. Research method: document analysis. As a result of the study, it was found that an important impetus for the creation of the BRICS analytical center in Brazil is the diversity of the BRICS countries, which necessitates their mutual study. The activity of the BRICS analytical center is aimed at studying ways to solve global problems, studying the BRICS countries, the countries of the Global South and their interaction. In addition to research, the Center sees as a task the exchange of information between the research structures of the BRICS countries, the promotion of the BRICS agenda. The author comes to the conclusion that the policy of "soft power" of the BRICS in Latin America is at the stage of formation. One of its elements is the activity of the BRICS Research and Development Center, which performs research, organizational and informational functions.

Keywords: international institutions, Global South, global problems, think tank, analytical center, Brazil, Latin America, the image of BRICS, soft power, BRICS

Review: The purpose of the study is to predict and evaluate the scale and effectiveness of the key political and economic instruments of the largest Latin American country – Brazil – when expanding the membership of the BRICS integration association member states. In the context of the growing confrontation provoked by the hostile rhetoric of the West, the configuration of the world order is undergoing an unprecedented transformation: the developed world largely acts as a catch-up to developing countries, as evidenced by the potential of BRICS+. The article identifies and analyzes three constants of the "tropical giant" foreign policy in BRICS+: cooperation with Moscow, recognition of the need to expand the membership of the association, as well as the consensus of local political elites regarding the development of BRICS+ according to the scenario of "integration of integrations". Along with the similarities in the attitudes of Brazil's foreign policy, the association also emphasizes the dichotomy in the approaches of the current and potential administrations: governments lobby for different agendas, take opposite positions on the future of BRICS+, and also focus on promoting bilateral relations with two different countries: in one case, with China, in the other, with India. Considering the future of BRICS+ from the economic point of view, the author pays special attention to the dilemma of developing criteria for those wishing to join the association and proposes the concept of "three barriers": the establishment of low, medium or high barriers to entry into the BRICS market. In conclusion, the article analyzes the meaning of the title of the work "knight's move": the author comes to the conclusion that Brazil will emerge victorious from any political and economic scenario described in the article. Finally, special attention is paid to the harsh historical lessons that the "tropical giant" has learned: having destroyed the two-hundred-year-old web of political and debt dependence on its northern neighbor, Brazil should become the country that will make the decisive move and complete the chess game against the West.

Keywords: the dilemma of the asymmetry of economies, Brazilian diasporas, presidential elections, Global South, the concept of three barriers, expansion of the BRICS membership, integration of integrations, political forecasting, knight's move, Brazil in BRICS

Review: The subject of the study is expert and analytical assessments of the state, contradictions and prospects of the transatlantic partnership as an essential component of the international security system. The "turn to the East" proclaimed by Barack Obama, the transition to the principles of unilateralism of the Trump administration, and finally, the creation of AUKUS, with an obvious shift of strategic priorities to the Indo-Pacific region, raised a number of conceptual issues for the expert community on both sides of the Atlantic. The authors consider the assessments of the prospects and role of European countries in the transatlantic security system carried out by Western experts and analytical centers both within the framework of NATO institutions and in the context of the European Union's defense initiatives based on the method of expert assessments. For the first time, the paper attempts a comprehensive comparative analysis of the assessments by the Western expert community of the state and prospects of transatlantic cooperation. Particular attention is paid to the possibility of productive cooperation between the EU and NATO in the field of distribution of functional powers. It is concluded that, despite certain positive developments, at present the issue of cooperation between the two key links of the Western security system cannot be considered resolved. The paper uses descriptive and structural-functional research methods. Special emphasis is also placed on comparative analysis when considering expert assessments of various "think tanks" on both sides of the Atlantic.

Keywords: transatlantic cooperation, expert community, NATO, EU, European Strategic Autonomy, Strategic Capacity Concept, Brookings Institution, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron

Review: The paper deals with the Russian-Japanese interests-oriented model of cooperation in the 1990s within the framework of the diplomatic tactics and mechanisms introduced into the bilateral negotiations. In this research, the application of various negotiation instruments applied by the Japanese diplomacy toward the USSR and the Russian Federation in the late 1980s–1990s is analyzed to demonstrate the process of establishing cooperation, despite territorial disagreements. According to the specific historical and political environment, application of the negotiation methods researched in this paper was not allowed before the middle 1980s, and the introduction of a wide range of such tactics within the 1990s is becoming an argument in favor of that point of view that there was welcomed a partnership model between Japan and the Russian Federation. “No-necktie meetings”, leader talks, informal negotiations, “face-to-face diplomacy” applied from the mid-1990s led to the introduction of a positive model of interaction compared to the tactics used by Japan in the early 1990s. The personal contribution of politicians and diplomats to create the foundation for multidimensional cooperation between Russia and Japan was essential. Japanese diplomats Tamba Minoru, Edamura Sumio, Togo Kazuhiko, politicians Nakayama Taro, Hashimoto Ryutaro, Obuchi Keizo, and Mori Yoshiro left a noticeable mark in the processes considered in our research, the works published by them became a valuable source for the analysis of the considered events.

Keywords: Russian-Japanese negotiations, MOFA ‘Russian school’, ‘no-necktie meetings’, leaders talks, Edamura Sumio, Togo Kazuhiko, Tamba Minoru, face to face diplomacy, informal negotiations, Japan’s diplomacy

Review: Energy resources are becoming an increasingly politicized commodity, which at the same time retains special technical and economic characteristics, which complicates the work of the foreign policy leadership. Using a cognitive approach to foreign policy analysis, the authors conduct a study of the relationship between energy and foreign policy through the prism of different cognitive structures used by subjects to assess the landscape of the world energy. On this conceptual basis, the authors explore the evolution of the relationship between energy and foreign policy: how much energy is a useful tool of foreign policy, and, conversely, how deeply the goals of energy policy are embedded in foreign policy and affect the sphere of energy security. The main results of this study should be considered the conclusion of the authors that in order to distinguish energy as a foreign policy area, it is useful to distinguish between short-term and long-term energy vulnerability. The degree of long–term vulnerability is determined by the availability of real alternatives - the ability to diversify energy routes and sources. Thus, energy security is the dominant, but not the only factor determining energy as an area of foreign policy. The problem of energy sustainability is penetrating deeper into the world foreign policy agenda, since it is related to energy independence. Thus, depending on the influence of environmental beliefs on political, economic and social structures, energy sustainability can affect energy needs, energy imports, and hence energy independence. In addition, discussing the importance of energy sustainability, first of all it is necessary to focus on the problem of security, since energy sustainability is associated with the influence of internal resource consumption on the level of energy independence, and energy security focuses on the influence of external factors on ensuring sufficient energy supplies, and hence on energy independence.

Keywords: Energy independence, US energy policy, Issue area analysis, Foreign policy analysis, EU energy policy, Energy security, energy factor, foreign policy, international relationships, global security