Review: The paper studies political and socio-economic consequences of revolutionary events of 2011 – 2012 in the Arab Republic of Egypt. The authors give special attention to internal political struggle in the context of revolutionary events in the republic, which had led to the increase of influence of the Muslim Brotherhood society. The consequences of the “color revolution” in Egypt are primarily negative: political and socio-economic instability and the threat of terrorist activity are still significant in the Republic. The research methodology is based on the system and institutional approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction. The scientific novelty consists in the complex analysis of the consequences of revolutionary events of 2011 – 2012 in Egypt. The authors prove that these consequences are primarily negative: political and socio-economic instability and the threat of terrorist activity are still significant in the Republic.

Keywords: Morsi, Mubarak, Muslim Brotherhood, consequences, revolution, Egypt, Colour revolution, Arab spring, terrorism, Middle East

Review: The research subject is the peculiarities of the Russian-speaking community in the State of Israel. The author studies such aspects of the topic as the character of ties forming in the community of the Russian-speaking population of Israel. Special attention is given to the factors promoting the formation of a unique identity of the representatives of “Russian Israel”, the main stages of evolution of the Russian-speaking community in the political life of Israel and the formation of the Russian-speaking media space in the State of Israel. It is reasonable to consider the Russian-speaking community as a long-term phenomenon, which at the present time is an important actor on the political stage of the country. The main research methods are the system approach, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the complex analysis of the “Russian Israel” phenomenon on the basis of original sources. The author concludes that among the factors of consolidation of the Russian-speaking community of Israel were territorial localization, preservation of the cultural environment of the country of origin, a special status of the Russian language in Israel and its place in the media space, support for various community symbols and the socio-political development program. 

Keywords: integration, subculture, repatriates, media space, Russian street, Russian-speaking community, Russian language, The State of Israel, self-identification, Russian lobby

Review: The author studies the Italian parliamentary debates of 3 July 2012 on the draft law about the participation of Italian troops in the UN peacekeeping operation called the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS). The purpose of the research is to study the mentioned debates in the context of the 2015 European migration crisis caused by intensification of military activities in Syria, provoked by both the confrontation between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the opposition, and by the struggle against the largest terrorist organization – the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The main research methods are the comparative-legal and the descriptive-narrative. The author concludes that the opposition and the majority had been united by the wish to avoid the intervention into Syria. But while the opposition didn’t offer any alternative variants, the majority block called upon to combine the efforts for diplomatic settlement of the conflict. The scientific novelty consists in the fact that the issue under discussion hasn’t been studied in the Russian science so far.
The author concludes that despite the fact that the Chamber of Deputies of Italy had considered various issues connected with the Syrian conflict, and the measures and activities which could have prevented it, the parliamentarians couldn’t predict the situation in Syria to go beyond the regional borders and provoke the critical situation on the external borders of the European Union. Since 2013, the Syrians have topped the rating of the total number of migrants. The Syrian conflict is still far from being managed, and the causes of the migration wave are still urgent. 

Keywords: Syria, Italian troops, the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria, migration flows, crisis, European Union, migrants, Italian Parliament , migration crisis, Italy

Review: The rise of China and its turn to active foreign policy creates new challenges in international relations and world order. The paper considers various scenarios of economic and geopolitical growth of China till 2020 – 2030s, and the possible transformations of international relations in the context of the post-bipolar world order. The research subject is the Chinese factor in the construction of the new world order. The purpose of the study is to consider and formulate the prognoses of the ascend of China and analyze the geopolitical consequences of its rise including its possible impact on international relations (relations with the USA, Russia, Africa, countries of Central and Latin America). Based on the approaches of well-known Russian and Chinese sinologists, the author offers her critical analysis of the modern ideas about the role and the place of China in the processes of globalization and establishment of the new world order. The research methodology includes the system, structural-functional, comparative-political and cultural-civilizational approaches, and the methods of critical discourse analysis of Chinese mass media and observation. The methodology is based on the author’s method of complex discourse analysis combined with applied political analysis. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the fact that the author translates, comments, systematizes and introduces some resources of Chinese scholars, defining the formation of China’s foreign policy, in conjunction with their ideas about China’s role in the new world order; using critical discourse analysis and content-analysis, the author provides methodological analysis of the Chinese-language media in relation to China’s positioning itself as a rising state or a super-power. The author concludes that China is not interested in any confrontation or in any transformations of the world order. Xi Jinping’s foreign policy has taken aggressive forms with political content as an alternative to the Western concepts of development: realization of ambitious projects the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road proves it. The author believes, the development of the Eurasian direction would be an ideal variant for Russia. 

Keywords: soft power, international relations, prospects, trilateral relations, rivalry with the U.S.A, prognosis, post-bipolar world, the rise of China, critical discourse analysis, China`s media space

Review: The present article considers the relations of Krasnodar region with leading Latin American countries. The author gives attention to particular examples of interaction in the spheres of cultural and economic cooperation and outlines the peculiarities of cooperation of state bodies in these spheres. The author focuses on the intensification of economic relations. The author concludes that in the context of the current economic and political circumstances, interaction between Krasnodar region and the countries of Latin America is very promising, and describes the key opportunities of its development. the research methodology is based on such principles as scientific objectivity, reliability, and system analysis used as a complex. The research methodology is based on the system approach, therefore, the processes are studied in their interdependence. The scientific novelty of this work consists in the attempt to comprehensively analyze connections and cooperation of a territorial unit of the Russian Federation with Latin American region after the change of Russia’s foreign policy in 2014. The author outlines the promising directions of cooperation with the countries of Latin America in the spheres of economics and culture and interaction between state bodies. 

Keywords: Argentina, The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, International activity, regional cooperation, business connections, Latin America, cooperation, intensification of relations, Krasnodar region, Guatemala

Review: The article considers Russia’s participation in the Genoa Conference in 1922 that was some sort of result of five-years’ activity of the Soviet Diplomacy. The research object is the fierce debate about the economic policy of the Bolsheviks, who had initiated a “socialist” experiment in the country, which was getting out from wars and revolutions. The main attention is given to the problem of debt obligations of the czarist and the interim governments, which had been abrogated by the Soviet power. The authors demonstrate how Soviet diplomats defended Russia’s position on this issue in a fierce debate. The authors study the set of historical and legal facts and evaluate them on the basis of the achievements of Russian and foreign historiography. The authors come to positive conclusions about the achievements and losses of Soviet diplomacy in the struggle for the recognition of new Russia by capitalist countries and for the establishment of trade and diplomatic relations with them. The authors estimate the separate treaty with Germany, which helped break diplomatic isolation of Russia. 

Keywords: international consortium, discussion in Genoa, powers' claims, abrogation, debts of former governments, Soviet government, Bolsheviks, the Russian revolution, position of the Allies, Russia's position

Review: The author of the study focuses on the institution of interest groups in the political process in the USA and its influence on the problem of political lobbyism in the context of genesis and development of Russia-United States relations. The author considers the key events promoting the development of bilateral confrontation including the debate about the US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, ratification of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and other aspects determining the character of the dialogue between Moscow and Washington. The author gives special attention to the role of interest groups of ideological and ethnic nature. The author uses the method of comparative analysis of effectiveness and activity of different types of interest groups involved in foreign policy formation. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the author’s attention to the problem of impact of groups of interest on the escalation of crisis in Russia-United States relations. While the role of executive and legislative power in this process has been studied thoroughly enough, the positions and the shadow activities of groups of interest haven’t got deserved attention. The author concludes about the absence of a wide range of interest groups, which would support the constructive nature of Russia-United States dialogue, and about the necessity to intensify the efforts of such organizations in order to overcome the present crisis of relations. 

Keywords: ethnic lobby, think tank, Ukrainian crisis, Obama's Administration , the US Congress , lobbyism, Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence , nuclear disarmament , Russia-United States relations , interested groups

Review: The article analyzes India-Pakistan political contradictions about joint use of water resources of the Indus river basin. The author considers the dynamics of development of the conflict of interests of India and Pakistan in the water issue. The author evaluates the effectiveness of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in the development of India-Pakistan water relations. The author analyzes the polar positions of the parties about the problem of use of the river basin and the objective factors affecting political stability in the region. The author formulates particular suggestions for interstate water disputes settlement. The research is based on the system, structural-functional, and historical-political approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, event-analysis, case-study, observation. Despite the fact that the 1960 Treaty prevented the further escalation of regional political tension about the problem of use of water resources, the author concludes that the current objective realia and subjective factors make the parties reconsider the treaty. Upon the new Indian government coming to power, there’s a possibility of a constructive settlement of water and energy conflict in the Indus river basin. The author believes it would be reasonable to involve China in the process of negotiations. 

Keywords: SCO, hydropower industry, the Indus River, China, Pakistan, India, national interests, cross-border water resources, conflict of interests, political stability

Review: The activity of the UNO and other actors of the world politics aimed at peacekeeping in the context of restoration of states, which had undergone the active stage of internal armed conflict is the important research subject of Russian and foreign scholars.
This article considers the experience of the UN peacekeeping missions, the specificity and the problems of improvement of professional potential of police officers of post-conflict states in the context of guaranteeing the rule of law and reforming the national law-enforcement institutions as elements of regional and international security strengthening. The author compares the measures realized by the UN peacekeeping missions in Kosovo, Liberia, Timor-Leste, Sudan, Mali, Haiti, South Sudan. The scientific novelty consists in the complex analysis of the problem under study based on the current documents of the UN and OSCE, works of Russian and foreign scholars, and the personal author’s experience of participation in UN peacekeeping activities. The author formulates the proposals, which can be used during UN peacekeeping missions and OSCE field operations in the activity aimed at the improvement of professional level of national police service of post-conflict states, and for the system of improvement of qualification of internal affairs officers of the Russian Federation for them to participate in peacekeeping missions. 

Keywords: guaranteeing the rule of law, post-conflict reconstruction, peacekeeping missions, peacekeeping activity, UN, regional security, international security, police component, local police reforming, local police training

Review: The research subject is the energy aspect of competition between China, the EU, Pakistan and India in Central Asia at the present stage. The authors show that China is interested primarily in oil resources of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. China and the EU are trying to diversify external energy supply resources to reduce the dependence on the politically unstable Middle East. At the same time, the EU tries to reduce dependence on energy supplies from Russia. India and Pakistan are trying to realize their interests in Central Asia by planning their projects of oil and gas pipelines. The research methodology is based on the system approach. The authors also use the institutional, historical-genetic, socio-psychological and comparative methods. The authors prove that one of the key obstacles of development of economic connections between the states of Southern and Central Asia is the absence of direct transport link. On the other hand, the geographical closeness of India and Pakistan to post-Soviet republics, together with the readiness of Pakistan to open the access to its ports and the vast South-Asian market, are their main advantages. 

Keywords: EU, China, international competition, energy sphere, Central Asia, India, Pakistan, oil, gas, pipeline