Review: This article analyzes the positions of Brazil and Argentina in Latin America over the period from 2016 to 2020, as well as describes the new alignment of political powers in the region in light of recent presidential elections. Analysis is conducted on consequences of the so-called “rightward turn” for the domestic policy; assessment is given to the succession of Argentina and Brazil in foreign policy considering the shift of political vectors. Special attention is paid to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic upon the leadership potential of Argentina and Brazil in the region. The relevance of this work is first and foremost defined by the shift of political regimes and foreign policy vectors in the countries of Latin America, as well as by challenges and threats faced by the region in recent years. Based on the provided facts and conducted analysis, the authors assess the changes in hierarchy of regional leadership in the region, and conclude the Brazil loses its positions in Latin America, while Argentina was able to shy away from the “rightward” policy and set the trends for the new “leftward turn” in the region.

Keywords: COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, regional leadership, left turn, right turn, Argentina, Brazil, Latin America, Mauricio Macri, Alberto Fernandez, Jair Bolsonaro

Review: This article reviews the regional peculiarities of political processes associated with the struggle for regional leadership that is a mainstream in the modern post-bipolar international relations. The authors give particular attention to the historical and theoretical principles of studying the concept of leadership in international relations, namely: provide various approaches towards determination of the status of a regional power, criteria for regional leadership, and specificities of interaction between the regional and global powers. Emphasis is placed on examination of the aforementioned phenomena and processes in the context of comprehensive impact of such global trends, as globalization and glocalization, decentralization of the system of international relations, and formation of the multipolar world order. The novelty of this work lies in the comparative analysis of regional peculiarities of the struggle for leadership in the European and Middle Eastern regions. The relevance of selecting Europe and Middle East is defined by their fundamentally different nature of the regional international relations. The authors reveal the common features and regional specificity of the struggle for leadership in these regions. The common features include: the significance of non-state actors (of different types), ethnic and cultural diversity, complexity of delineation of political boundaries. The regional specificities include: different tools, nature and goals of the struggle for leadership, unequal presence of global powers in the regions, etc. The conclusion is drawn on the need for further examination of the matter to improve the international political forecasting.

Keywords: regional safety, international relations, European Union, Europe, Middle East, world politics, regional leadership, conflict potential, post-bipolar system, international cooperation

Review:  
This article presents a theoretical approach towards the global political steps of non-state actors. Particular attention is given to a number of theories of international relations, such as neorealism, international liberalism, and constructivism, which are able to encompass current global actions of non-state political actors. For a clearer perspective on the subject matter, the article employs the example of Iraqi Kurdistan (KRI); as a non-state actor, KRI has recently become a vivid example for the theories of international relations. The conclusion is made that security, economy, culture, religion and identity are the key and post powerful instruments of non-state actors of international politics. The example of KRI demonstrates that international relations of non-state actors focus on security, economy and culture, as well as serve as the instruments of interaction with both, state and non-state actors. The article reviews such activity within the framework of neorealism, international liberalism, and constructivism. It is underlines that the example of Iraqi Kurdistan (KRI) fully meets all the criteria of a non-state actor of international politics. It is also a brilliant example for the theories of international relations.
 

Keywords: culture, Identity, terrorism, Constructivism, Liberalism, Neorealism, Non-State actor, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, globalization, Marketing

Review: As a separate issue, sexual violence in the context of armed conflict was first brought to the agenda in 2008; and has been regularly submitted to a discussion of the UN Security Council due to the fact that the acts of violence turned into a tactic of war and/or terrorism. Despite the global scale of the problem. Its significance in the context of peacekeeping and security, the topic at hand becomes another “fault line” in intergovernmental relations, causing a growing number of contradictions. This research aims to determine the key points in of divergence in the positions of UN member-states on the topic and their causes. The methods of applied quantitative analysis were used for calculating the differences in the countries’ approaches towards the problematic in percentage correlation. The analysis relies on the voting results of the state regarding the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council and materials of the sessions of the UN Security Council, including declarations made by the states during open debates. The author indicates the escalation of contradictions, as well as notes that the position of the states on the issue of sexual violence during armed conflict is based not only on the political and economic prerequisites, but also on ethno-confessional peculiarities of the countries. The article also attempts to determine the coalitions of like-minded countries.

Keywords: weapon of terrorism, war, international security, UNSC Open Debates, UN Security Council, armed conflict, sexual violence, war crime, international humanitarian law, international law

Review: The object of this research is an international organization “Human Rights Watch” that conducts and advocacy on human rights. The subject of this research is the activity of this international non-governmental organization since its establishment until 2020. The author examines such aspects of the topic as the history of creation of “Human Rights Watch”, the nature of its activity during the Cold War, the evolution of approaches towards the core issues in the area of human rights protection during the post-bipolar period; as well as analyzes the current campaigns of this international NGO. The methodological framework is comprised of the systemic, structural-functional, comparative-political approaches, methods of historicism, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, and observation. For the first time in Russian historiography, leaning on the primary sources and relevant scientific literature, the role of international non-governmental organization advocating for human rights “Human Rights Watch” is analyzes within the system of global governance since its foundation until the present. In conclusion, the author indicates a sizable contribution of the organization “Human Rights Watch” alongside other NGOs advocating for human rights in solution of global issues; however notes that these actors of world politics as not utterly unbiased and neutral organizations. On the one hand, namely due to the activity of such organizations, the problem of the supremacy of law,  universal human rights and freedoms became one of the key concepts of international relations at the turn of centuries; but on the other hand, they are rightly criticized for prejudice, political bias, and double standards.

Keywords: Freedom of speech, Child's right, Women's right, Dissidents, Human rights, International Relations, World politics, Global Governance, International Nongovernmental Organizations, Human Rights Watch