Abstract: The article examines the nature of the "Color revolutions" which mark the modern development vector of contemporary international relations since the beginning of 21st century. The text describes the technology of conducting socio-political change in many countries which were targetted by "colour revolutions". Attention is paid to external driving powers that dictate what happens in the world regions affected by these revolutions (North Africa, Near East, South-Eastern Europe, and the Post-Soviet space).The methodological basis of the research is a systemic, structural and functional, comparative political approaches, methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, observation. In light of globalization, the world never became more predictable or stable. Instead, increasing chaos and multiplying international and domestic conflicts became evident. Colour revolutions are one such catalyst for this chaos. Their emergenve on world's political arena leads to the loss of sovereignty of modern countries, civil wars and armed comflicts.

Keywords: interests, political regime, international relations, U.S. foreign policy, world politics, global information space, political system, state, security, color revolutions

Abstract: This article is dedicated to comparative political analysis of the models "soft power" employed by network of terrorist organizations, banned in Russian Federation - "The Islamic State", Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the "Muslim Brotherhood". The object of the study is soft power. Subject of research are the forms, methods, models and technologies of soft power employed by terrorist organizations (on the example of the "Islamic state", Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the "Muslim Brotherhood"). The author draws attention to the fact that, in their ideological and propaganda work, terrorists from various multinational organizations and groups use soft power in order to unite extremists, to involve new adepts in terrorist movements, and to conduct information warfare with their ideological opponents (the governments of various countries that fight international terrorism, as well as with their direct competitors, who are extremists, terrorists and Islamists). Soft power employed by terrorists does not take the same forms and employ the methods of US soft power that we know from the works of American neo-liberals (J. Nye, R. Keohane et al.). It has its own model in the form of a specific set of incarnations, each adapted to the ideology specific international terrorist groups. The "Islamic State, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda each have their own model. In case of the "Muslim Brotherhood", and these models are quite different from each other, even among different cells of the organization.

Keywords: diplomacy, international relations, global instability, world politics, global information space, political system, interests, state, security, color revolutions

Abstract: The article is dedicated to the study of main aspects of the history and the here and now of Polonia in the East: Polish organizations, Polish-speaking media and the government support provided to them. The purpose of this research is to determine the role of the "Polonia" project in the implementation of Poland's eastern policy at the present time. The object of this study is the Polish diaspora in Russia and the CIS as a tool of soft power. Polonia is obviously a political project: Warsaw tries to maintain and strengthen its influence in the former Soviet republics with its help, using it as a primary resource loyal to the Polish diaspora. The methodological basis of the study is a systemic, structural and functional, comparative political approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, observation. The Ukrainian crisis of 2014 marked the beginning of the acute phase of the next stage of geopolitical confrontation that stretches from the Baltic to the Black Sea area, a zone of collision of interests of Russia and Poland for centuries. Official Warsaw strongly declares its "lack of interest" in the fate of land in Western Ukraine  that belonged to the Polish state for centuries, while accusing Moscow of allegedly making secret proposals to "divide Ukraine." But the history of the previous five centuries suggests that the Polish elite have always considered the land located to the east of Poland, the main direction of its foreign expansion.

Keywords: geopolitics, Russia, World politics, Global instability, International relations, Diplomacy, Interests, State, Security, Poland

Abstract: This article examines theoretical and conceptual aspects of studying political interests. This issue lies in the interdisciplinary subject field of conflict studies and political science, and has a heightened importance because interests may be viewed as impulses that put in motion all institutes of a society's political system, giving a start to social cooperation, as well as inter-group confrontation. Attention is drawn to the genesis of the interest group theory, and some aspects of the social choice concept, through which the nature of political interest is studied. The author points out and applies chief methodological paradigms of studying political interests - including normative and value-based, behaviorist, institutional, systemic and other approaches. Comparative analysis of available means and methods of study of political interests allows the author to reveal optimal methodological techniques that propel the advancement of scientific knowledge on the subject. Among them are the institutional and systemic approaches that, according to the author, allow to establish the place of political interest in the system of institutes and relations that supplement the realization of power.

Keywords: political conflict, political system, political process, social conflict, interest coordination, interest groups, political interests, social interests, collision of interests, theory of social choice

Abstract: Using the method of historical reconstruction, the authors show the latent causes of the armed conflict between the Muslim north and Christian south in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire in 2010-2011. A comprehensive analysis of a wide range of sources (media materials, judicial and journalistic investigations, evidence of well-known politicians and diplomats) can justify the view that describing this conflict as "ethnic" does not have sufficient grounds. Researchers propose to consider the situation in Côte d'Ivoire as a socio-economic conflict between the conditional-indigenous population of the country, rooted migrants and migrants decades as the conflict between citizens and non-citizens about the ownership of the means of production, in particular, and about civil rights, which should ensure equal access to economic resources and the resources of power. The methodological basis of this study includes the systemic, structural-functional, comparative-political approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, observation. The accent of the article is made on clarifying the role of France in the outbreak of civil war in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire in the context of the policy of "françafrique." The conclusion that the Fifth Republic has inspired and has long supported the Ivorian opposition in order to maintain economic and political preferences of Paris in this strategically important region.

Keywords: armedconflict, native peoples, Chrstians, Muslims, Alassane Ouattara, Laurent Gbagbo Kudu, France, security, risks

Abstract: The article analyzes the main trends of the evolution of international terrorism in the modern world. The goal of this study is  international terrorism. The object of research is to determine the current trends of international terrorism and the forms and methods of counteracting them at the present stage. The subject of research are development trends, as well as forms and methods of combating international terrorism in the modern world. Based on the data presented in the "global ranking of terrorism 2015" developed by British analysts, as well as the analysis of other terrorist acts that are not included in the rating, the author determines the dynamics of the growth of terrorism in the present and in the near future. The methodological basis of this study includes the systemic, structural-functional, comparative-political approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, observation. The increase in the number of terrorist attacks and their scale largely contributes to the tendency of the development of terrorism. For example, the transition from the implementation of the individual terrorist acts to large-scale acts; dramatic change in the violent, intimidating means employed by terrorists; the use of advanced information technologies by terrorist groups; coordination between the various terrorist groups; the desire for legitimation of terrorism, terrorist organizations by positioning as a state-organized bodies. Such trends contribute to the transformation of international terrorism to the global problems of modern global political processes.

Keywords: political system, Russia, world politics, U.S.foreign policies, internatpional relations, diplomacy, interests, state, security, risks

Abstract: The Author of This article analyzes a situation in various regions of the World from the point of view of integration processes and the disintegration of communities and comes to a conclusion that Separatism as the phenomenon is quite natural presently. At their genesis, communities based on national, ethnic, religious, territorial, or some other basis united to the states, confederations of the states, empires and colonial powers emerged. Then came the era that marked the fall of empires, the disintegration of colonial powers and multinational states. The wave of revolutions and national liberation movements swept worldwide, the Renaissance of release was endured by the countries of Africa, Asia, Middle East. The methodological basis of this study are the systemic, structural-functional, comparative-political approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, observation. This process was in many respects accelerated by events of World Wars I and II, when attempts of restoration of a colonial world rearrangement were made by great powers, and the subsequent disintegration of the Organization of the Warsaw pact countries and the USSR. In modern conditions of globalization separatism openly walks on the Planet, and takes the form of an epidemic when many nations, ethnic groups, communities based on confessional and to other bases, seek to protect their political, social, economic and other interests by separation from the states or creation of wide autonomies in them.

Keywords: political system, Russia, world politics, U.S. foreign politics, international relations, diplomacy, interests, state, security, "colour revolutions"

Abstract: The subject of this article is the cultural foreign policy of modern Germany that became a key traditional tool for the forming of a positive image of the state in terms of foreign policy. The author examines the major vectors of German cultural foreign politics, outlines key platforms and strategies that allow to enhance the competitiveness of the actor's political image, defines the aims and goals of modern cultural foreign policy of Germany. The article analyzes the historical development of cultural politics of Germany, describes the key stages of German's Kulturpolitik's evolution that became the basis of German's post World War II political image. The methodology of this work includes historic method, and the method of political analysis. The empirical basis employed by the author includes the data on modern strategies of German Ministry of Foreign Politics in cultural policies. The novelty of this work is the analysis of transformations of cultural policies of Germany, starting at the first decades of the XXth century to the present day. The article provides a survey of the main cultural programs aimed to improve the image of Germany which suffered significant damage after World War II.

Keywords: foreign policy of the state, image of the State, Federal Republic of Germany, Germany, Soft power, The image of Germany, Image strategy, Cultural policies, cultural diplomacy, image

Abstract: The article analyzes international conditions that influence the image of Russia, and sheds light on the psychological mechanisms of its perception in the EU. Attention is focused on the analysis of objective and subjective factors of constructive and negative perception of Russia and its leader. The author examines status conflicts, as well as the methods and tools for purposeful misrepresentation of Russia's image in Europe. Aside this, the author provides examples of studies of Russia's image by European scientists. The author focuses attention on the influence of the image of a political leader in the formation of the image of a state. The methodological basis of this study includes analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, observation. Aside from that, the author employs the interdisciplinary approach. The novelty of this work is based on a detailed examination of the influence of psychological mechanisms on the perception of the image of a state on the background of globalization. The author reaches the conclusion that a negative image may be the result of not only objective factors, but subjectove factors, as well.

Keywords: state image, image perception, status conflict, image, perception factors, European countries, perception of Russia, stereotypes, EU

Abstract: Book Review: Nikolaichuk IA Political mediametrics. Foreign media and Russia's Security: monography. / IA Nikolaichuk; Ros. Inst strategist. Issled. - M .: RISS, 2015 - 230, [20] p. : Ill. The work of a senior researcher of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, IA Nikolaichuk "Political mediametrics. Foreign media and the security of Russia" is dedicated to researching the activities of foreign media in analytics, and the information space by the methods of statistical processing of published materials in order to identify and analyze the dynamics of the disposition of the so-called "fourth power" towards Russian Federation, forming public opinion and, ultimately, the policies of country leaders on in global politics. The methodological basis of the research includes the systemic, structural and functional, comparative political approaches, methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, observation. The interest directed towards this work is due to the fact that the issue of forming public opinion and media influence on public policy is considered by the author is not in theoretical terms, but based on the analysis of a large volume of materials that are published abroad that cover the policy of Russian leadership on pressing international issues over the past few years. It ensures a high degree of reliability of the study's results, and allows to create an information system for monitoring the situation using the methods proposed by the author of political mediametrics that were developed based on personal professional experience in the Russian analytical agencies.

Keywords: political system, Russia, World politics, Global instability, International relations, Diplomacy, Interests, State, Security, USA