Abstract: This article analyzes the research on European youth policy. The subject of the study is the main trends, typology, and principles of functioning of youth "transitions" in European countries. The need to study the phenomenon of youth "transitions" is relevant and timely as today, there is no generally accepted view on the ways to study these processes. The methodological basis of the study was analysis and synthesis, as well as institutional, systemic, and comparative approaches. Based on the studied material, the authors conclude that when considering strategies for youth "transitions," it is necessary to consider several institutional areas, such as the type of socially-oriented state and the specifics of the transition from study to work. The interaction of these strategies provides different models of youth transitions. These studies highlight important interethnic differences depending on the modes of distribution of social assistance, types of capitalism, as well as growth strategies. Thus, we have considered various strategies for structuring the transition to adulthood: to explain the different models of youth "transitions," it is necessary to consider several institutional areas, such as the type of socially oriented state and the specifics of the transition from study to work. The interaction of these strategies gives different models of youth transitions. Although many European researchers argue that age policy is important in this regard due to the aging of society and the growth of "gray power," most of the works devoted to this issue actually refute the hypothesis of bias in favor of the elderly: these studies emphasize important interethnic differences depending on the modes of distribution of social assistance, types of capitalism, as well as growth strategies. As a result, we conclude that young people should be considered part of society as a whole, and, therefore, to understand how they move into adulthood, it is necessary to see the full institutional, political, and economic picture.

Abstract: This article analyzes the research on European youth policy. The subject of the study is the main trends, typology, and principles of functioning of youth "transitions" in European countries. The need to study the phenomenon of youth "transitions" is relevant and timely as today, there is no generally accepted view on the ways to study these processes. The methodological basis of the study was analysis and synthesis, as well as institutional, systemic, and comparative approaches. Based on the studied material, the authors conclude that when considering strategies for youth "transitions," it is necessary to consider several institutional areas, such as the type of socially-oriented state and the specifics of the transition from study to work. The interaction of these strategies provides different models of youth transitions. These studies highlight important interethnic differences depending on the modes of distribution of social assistance, types of capitalism, as well as growth strategies. Thus, we have considered various strategies for structuring the transition to adulthood: to explain the different models of youth "transitions," it is necessary to consider several institutional areas, such as the type of socially oriented state and the specifics of the transition from study to work. The interaction of these strategies gives different models of youth transitions. Although many European researchers argue that age policy is important in this regard due to the aging of society and the growth of "gray power," most of the works devoted to this issue actually refute the hypothesis of bias in favor of the elderly: these studies emphasize important interethnic differences depending on the modes of distribution of social assistance, types of capitalism, as well as growth strategies. As a result, we conclude that young people should be considered part of society as a whole, and, therefore, to understand how they move into adulthood, it is necessary to see the full institutional, political, and economic picture.

Abstract: The subject of the study is to identify the place and role of terrorist organizations in the system of international relations and global security from the point of view of strategic approaches of the Western expert-analytical community and official political institutions of nation states, the EU and NATO. Globalization, the growing influence of non-State actors, including armed groups, as well as changing views on the nature and essence of the State have contributed to the hidden or explicit subjectivization of many participants in the international political process. Special attention is paid in the article to the new concept of "hybrid actor", which is widely discussed among experts and scientists at the present time. For the first time, the paper attempts to compare the positions of the United States and its European allies on interaction with hybrid actors. Thus, in recent decades, non-State actors have evolved in terms of political, social and military capabilities. This trend is evident in the Middle East and North Africa region, where the combination of weak State institutions, the presence of conflicts and instability has provided fertile ground for the actions of armed groups. Non-State armed groups in the Middle East are extremely diverse and include local, tribal and communal formations, transnational criminal organizations and networks, classic rebel opposition groups and so on. Within this broad category, a number of non-State armed groups have evolved to perform political, social and managerial functions.

Abstract: 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. The authors, using a comparative method, conduct a study of the relationship between energy and foreign policy in the EU and the USA through the prism of different cognitive structures used by subjects to assess the landscape of global energy. On this conceptual basis, the authors explore the evolution of the relationship between energy and foreign policy in the EU and the United States: to what extent energy is a useful tool of foreign policy, and, conversely, how deeply the goals of energy policy are embedded in foreign policy. By making such a comparison, the authors identify differences and potential similarities between the EU and the US in this area. Thus, comparing the approaches of the USA and the EU, one can see a tendency towards their convergence. Despite the significant difference in the energy landscape of the EU and the United States, Brussels and Washington agreed that they included a common vision of the global energy architecture in their foreign policy. The use of energy as a political tool, at least in rhetoric, was condemned by both sides.
Nevertheless, at the national level, energy issues in the EU are often determined by the foreign policy considerations of a particular country. It is also worth remembering that LNG exports from the United States to Europe are considered to a certain extent as a means of increasing competition for Russian natural gas, as a way to provide US allies with an alternative and help them reduce dependence on Russia, sometimes even as an energy weapon, but in any case as a very effective foreign policy tool.

Abstract: The successful implementation of the Minsk Protocol has been impugned from the moment of its signing due to ambiguous interpretations of its nature and intentions. The main issues pertain to understanding of the conflict in the Southeast of Ukraine as an intergovernmental, internationalized or domestic political one, the legitimacy and status of the parties to agreement, as well as the role of the international community in settlement of the conflict. The indicated contradictions are also reflected in the difference of approaches towards definition of the conceptual apparatus, as well as its interpretation. The problem at hand goes beyond the scope of political science or legal analysis, and requires comprehensive examination based on the variety of theoretical and methodological approaches. The author agrees with the characterization of conflict in the Southeast of Ukraine as a formalized political unsettled situation. From the political and legal perspectives, the agreements on halting the war demonstrate typical examples of challenges and problems that emerge during negotiations and implementation of the internationalized peace treaties of the post-Cold War period. The refusal of one of the parties, usually the country which territorial integrity is disputed by the non-state party, to meet the other party in the course of peace negotiations is a typical complication of the negotiation processes. Direct negotiations, i.e. meetings where the parties to negotiation make eye contact, can be interpreted as the acts of implicit recognition of non-state parties, their representatives, as well as respective claims. Such different perspective on the mandate, accountability, responsibility, and the status of “direct” and “third” parties in course of negotiation and implementation of peace treaties are typical contradictions. Throughout the entire period of elaboration, signing, and implementation of the agreements, the clash of interests virtually shifted towards the interpretation of terminology.

Abstract: The critical part of preparation for conducting a mass survey is the proper wording of questions that allows revealing and assessing the preferences, experience and motives of respondents’ behavior. Despite the importance of adequate sampling of respondents and use of effective processing techniques of the acquired information, the result of research would be inaccurate without properly worded and comprehensible questions. The choice of words and putting them together is crucial for understanding of the question and its interpretation by a respondent; even small differences in wording may significantly affect the results. This article is an attempt of carrying out a sociological-linguistic analysis of the problems associated with wording of questions for mass surveys on the relevant political topics. The analysis of survey questions used in public opinion polling determined a number of important factors that influence the veracity and accuracy of research results. The detected problems are multifaceted and reflect different aspects of working survey questions. The analysis of structural aspect demonstrated the significance of proper choice of the type of question, either open-ended or close-ended. The suitability of one or another type is first and foremost defined by the content of question, objectives and tasks of research, and characteristics of respondents. Examination of the spoken form of questions (linguistic aspect) emphasized the importance of selection of linguistic units for comprehensible wording. The paramount role is played by lexical and syntactic linguistic units. The results of semantic analysis of the wording of survey questions is also important. The key problems within the framework of this aspect are associated with imposition of certain answers using imbalanced or suggestive questions, as well as various negative effects that appear as a result of particular placement of questions in a survey or creation a necessary context. All of the aforementioned problems significantly affect the quality of the conducted surveys.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia in response to the Ukrainian events of 2014. Leaning on the available empirical data and expert assessments conducted by various financial and analytical structures, an attempt is made to identify the nature and severity of impact of sanction pressure upon different economic sectors of the Russian Federation, implemented for achieving the foreign policy goals. Emphasis is placed on the absence of uniform sanctions policy due to the specificity of foreign policy goals and peculiarities of sanction mechanisms used by the United States and the European Union. It is underlined that anti-Russian sanctions and Russia’s response in many instances are substantiated by the preceding trends in strategic vision of foreign and domestic policy by the Russian Federation, as well as the nature of its relations with the West. The conclusion is made that the focus in studying the problem of sanctions has shifted towards the political analysis and further analytical and scientific examination. The author believes that in the conditions of uncertainty of the economic effects and absence of common approaches towards understanding the prospects of sanctions policy by the Western countries the two main scenarios of its further development. It would either gradually fade out without “renewed efforts”, slowly negating its practical effect, and prompt the United States and the European Union intensify the dialogue with Russia, avoiding the problematic issues on the status of Crimea, implication in the events in South-Eastern Ukraine, etc.; or it can lead to full “politicization” of sanctions polity and its integration into the negotiation process on settlement of the Ukrainian situation and turning into a powerful tool for conducting negotiations.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the analysis of the work of the European “brains trust” necessary for the preliminary assessment of the relevance of the expert-analytical activity in the European political space, as well as an aptitude for generating ideas and provision of the required information on the pertinent issues of the European Union. The article examines the EU political system, as well as formal and informal political processes, within the framework of which the political entrepreneurs attempt to influence the EU policy. In addition to that, the authors conduct identification of the types and levels of the think tanks activity of the European Union, specificities of their work in particular “areas of effect”.  Considering the set tasks, this work uses the traditional for humanitarian disciplines methods of comparative analysis, case studies, theory of political decision-making, etc. The conducted analysis allowed acquiring an idea about the trends of development and work of the think tanks oriented at the European Union. Taking into account the high level of competition within the political environment of the European Union, we can suggest that in the midterm perspective only the large, well-structured, and finances think tanks will be able to continue their existence. One of the most noticeable trends of modernity consists in the expansion of research dedicated to the European Union in the programs of the national think tanks, which reflects the growing influence of the EU policy.

Abstract: The subject of this article is the activity of the European expert analytical centers, which attracts substantiated academic interest in the area of applied and theoretical research. The relevance lies in the questions associated with the functional responsibilities of similar centers, their sponsorship, presence or absence of the ideological component, and most importantly, level of their influence upon the process of domestic and foreign policy decision-making. In the conditions of complicated circumstances in Russia-Europe relations, a more adequate understanding of the latent mechanisms of functioning of the European policy seems necessary. Due to this fact, the authors note the need for an in-depth analysis of the forms and active work of the EU oriented expert analytical centers. The authors made the following conclusions based on the analysis of the EU oriented expert analytical centers: in general, the increase of the number of expert centers complies with the extension of European integration and expansion of control; as a rule, the research of the analytical centers, correspond with the EU political realities and its impact upon the domestic legislation alongside the increased awareness of actions. The analytical centers located in Brussels and oriented exclusively towards EU were established at the time when EU member-states agreed to rejuvenate the European project, finish the internal market, and revisit the possibility of the economic and currency union. Naturally, the national expert analytical centers located in the EU member-states began developing more sequential versions of the research programs on the EU topic. It is evident that the national centers have captured the rising opportunity to affect the all-European political agenda and reacted with the activation of their own work.

Abstract: The subject of this article is the activity of the European expert analytical centers, which attracts substantiated academic interest in the area of applied and theoretical research. The relevance lies in the questions associated with the functional responsibilities of similar centers, their sponsorship, presence or absence of the ideological component, and most importantly, level of their influence upon the process of domestic and foreign policy decision-making. In the conditions of complicated circumstances in Russia-Europe relations, a more adequate understanding of the latent mechanisms of functioning of the European policy seems necessary. Due to this fact, the authors note the need for an in-depth analysis of the forms and active work of the EU oriented expert analytical centers. The authors made the following conclusions based on the analysis of the EU oriented expert analytical centers: in general, the increase of the number of expert centers complies with the extension of European integration and expansion of control; as a rule, the research of the analytical centers, correspond with the EU political realities and its impact upon the domestic legislation alongside the increased awareness of actions. The analytical centers located in Brussels and oriented exclusively towards EU were established at the time when EU member-states agreed to rejuvenate the European project, finish the internal market, and revisit the possibility of the economic and currency union. Naturally, the national expert analytical centers located in the EU member-states began developing more sequential versions of the research programs on the EU topic. It is evident that the national centers have captured the rising opportunity to affect the all-European political agenda and reacted with the activation of their own work.

Abstract: The coming shifts in the regional military balance away from the United States and its allies towards China can lead to a deformation of the American containment policy. The goal of this article, which represents a logical continuation of a number of other works of the author on the problems of regional security in the Asia-Pacific Region, is the analysis of Washington’s main military strategic approaches with regards to the People’s Republic of China and forecast of the development of military political situation upon the mid-term prospects. A number of American experts claim that in an event of a military conflict the United States will have no choice but to dominate the military forces of China and neutralize its ability to restrict and prevent access to separate territories, blocking of certain zones and maneuvers within them (concept A2/AD), using a number of offensive and defensive means, including targeting objects on the territory of China with non-nuclear force. The author comes to the conclusion that American policy-making, headquarters, and expert-analytical structures are conducting a targeted work, aimed at maintaining their influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Abstract: The problematic issues raised by the author in this paper, are worded as follows: firstly, what does the concept of "cyberwar" actually mean for the political establishment? Secondly, to what extent is the concept of "cyberwar" applicable for the understanding of global trends, the future of military strategy and instruments for its implementation? The author is conducting a study of the strategic context in which there are currently undergoing debates about "cyberwar" (in particular, the declining value of direct military force perceived by some researches), and also analysing the difficulty of achieving the real strategic effect through "pure" cyber attacks.In this paper, taking into account the objectives, traditional for the humanities comparative methods are used, as well as case studies, and the theory of political decision-making.The main conclusion of the study is that the military cyberpower does not have enough of strategically strong potential, as it was painted in recent years. According to the author, there is every reason to believe that, like military air power, it will be an important element in future joint operations of ground, air and naval forces; but the concept of cyberwar as a strategically crucial form of interstate conflict is misleading and meaningless diversion of efforts and resources on useless objects.

Abstract: This paper analyzes the approaches of a number of countries towards maintaining their military-industrial base that is capable of supporting their national security, as well as a range of maneuvers available to them within the political continuum in the context of globalization. Available empirical evidence shows that globalization has transformed the structure of incentives for small and medium-sized countries. Despite the fact that the countries such as Sweden, South Africa, and Israel have a high level of defense-industrial autonomy, and were forced to make significant reforms in order to preserve the military-industrial complexes in the context of globalization. Considering Russia's initiatives in building the Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, the issues of integration, the specialization and distribution of labor between the two countries, especially in the sphere of military-industrial industry, seem particularly relevant. The author concludes that small countries can restructure their defense agencies to increase their contribution into national security and successfully compete in the global arms market. It is obvious that the government has a number of options to achieve this goal, including various combinations of exports and foreign direct investments. Alternative ways to support countries own defense industry suggests that the military-industrial globalization, in terms of the international system will not lead to the disappearance of the national defense industry, and will not strengthen the larger nations at the expense of smaller ones. Competent and patriotically-minded leaders have all the conditions and institutional mechanisms to be able to raise the level of the national security system in their countries, while maintaining strategic internal capabilities and increasing export of defense components and systems.