Review: The questions of peace and security are of utmost importance for the government of each African state. In Africa, the conflicts flare up much easily that in majority of countries in the world. After the end of cold war, over a third of peacemaking operations of the United Nations worldwide took place in Africa. As the regional and subregional organizations adopt the path of helping to maintain peace and security in Africa, the role of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the sphere violence control in the West African subregion is being doubted by a the strategic mechanism for peace and security of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). This article examines the peacemaking capabilities of ECOWAS as a regional authority tasked with maintaining peace in the subregion; as well as discusses the structure of its establishment, application of its mandate in conflict resolutions, organization’s tasks in fulfilling its obligations, and the success it was able to achieve. The article traces the connection between France, as former colonial power in Africa and WAEMU, implies a program that duplicates ECOWAS’s role in maintaining security, peace and order in the West African subregion. This author underlines that WAEMU can manifests as a geopolitical mechanism of France for regaining its dominance over the West African states and Africa as a whole.

Keywords: geopolitical mechanism, deploy, brigade, modernization of armies, community levy, West Africa, ECOWAS, WAEMU, Standby Forces, peacebuilding

Review: This article analyzes the phenomenon of the low level of institutionalization of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the factors that led to its under-institutionalization and its importance for the organization and its functioning. The author traces the format of work of the Community, its structure, level of correspondence to the initially claimed tasks, key moments of the history of its operation, and the results. At the macrolevel, the article examines the circumstance of establishment of the Community, purpose of its creation and questions of its activity. The author also covers the problem of the clash of interests of the Latin American countries and the United States, functioning of the Organization of American States, as well as misbalances in relationship between the two Americas. The question of the fundamental idea of CELAC and factors of its preservation in the condition of under-institutionalization is examined. A conclusion is made about the place and role of CELAC within the structure of regional configuration of Latin American subsystem; about the indicated system as such; and principles of creation and operation of the Community.

Keywords: Organization of American States, USA, macrolevel, The Caribbean, institutionalization, integration, regionalism, Latin America, CELAC, region

Review: In the conditions of economic globalization and integration, the relevant issues of ensuring sustainable development to the region can be resolve through the international and transnational cooperation. The article analyzes the regulations of state policy of Russia and China in the area of the Arctic environmental protection, as well as attempts to find the vectors of joint activity of the countries. Such analysis demonstrated that the acknowledgement at the highest level of the serious environmental threats testifies to the intention to overcome them. The Russian political doctrine contains an extensive of measures on environmental protection and ensuring sustainable development to the region. The claimed goal can be achieved exceptionally through improving the system of legal regulation of all types of activities in the Arctic. The article also analyzes the positions of the White Paper “The Arctic Policy of China” in the area of environmental protection, dedicated to China’s involvement in solution of the environmental issues of the region. Comparing the political doctrines of Russia and China pertinent to the Arctic environmental protection, the authors underline the similarity of the tasks and goals contained within. Currently, the most topical are the struggle against pollution, preservation of the Arctic ecosystems, and the fight against global warming. Cooperation between the countries can be realized on the basis of international, as well as bilateral agreements. In order to ensure the interests of the Russian Federation in the Arctic, the authors find reasonable to formulate and sign a separate regional bilateral agreement, dedicated to the problems of environmental protection in the Arctic.

Keywords: pollution, China, international co-operation, nature resources, state policy, environmental protection, Arctic, environment, biodiversity, climate

Review: The subject of this work is the analysis of aggression as an international offence and the possibility of realization of jurisdiction by the International Criminal Court (ICC) pertinent to this offense. Leaning on the doctrine of continuous crime, the author sets a goal to answer the question on potential expansion of ICC jurisdiction onto the offence of aggression after activation of such based on the Resolution ICC-ASP/16/Res.5. of the Assembly of State Parties of the ICC with regards to offences stipulated by the Article 8bis of the Rome Statute. A conclusion was made that aggression falls under the definition of continuous offences. Therefore, the author makes an assumption whereby with regards to the acts of aggression, the initial moment of which is preliminary to the Resolution ICC-ASP/16/Res.5, and the final moment is yet to occur, ICC in compliance with the conditions stipulated by the Article 2 of the indicated Resolution is legally qualified to exercise jurisdiction.

Keywords: continuing crimes, jurisdiction ratione temporis, imperative provision, universal jurisdiction, International Criminal Court, aggression, international offences, continuous crimes, military occupation, forced annexation

Review: This article examines the establishment and development of integration ties in modern Europe on the example of the European Union. The evolution of European communities into the European Union is demonstrated. The author notes the separate negative factors (nationalism, separatism, socioeconomic difficulties, etc.) that lead the decline in the rate of European regional integration. The article underlines the international legal nature of the EU, determines the role of communitarian structures of the European Union in realization of the “federalist” potential, as well as provides various expert opinions pertinent to the development prospects of the EU. The author notes that the European Union is one of the international legal models of the regional integration associations; while at the same time, the Union transforms the nature of its member-states. Delegation of competencies from the states to the benefit of the supranational authorities of the European Union reveals the new approach towards establishment of European integration through the procedure of specification of obligations of the EU member-states with regards to each other and the Union.

Keywords: confederation, international organization, separatism, national identity, migration, population, regional integration, European Union, sovereignty, European law