Abstract: This study describes the reasons for the escalation of tensions between contemporary states, as well as the roots of the causes for such conflicts. Research shows that the measures of threat prevention employed by governments had their effect over time. Furthermore, the author closely studies aspects like population growth rates and statistical data for Central Asia's population. The issues that arise and will keep increasing in magnitude due to population growth, such as the shortage of resources, labour migration and its negative consequences. The author focuses attention to the issues of national security and public security. The author provides the results of a philosophical analysis of the topic studied, as related to issues of national security. The main conclusion of the study is that necessary measures must be taken, aiming to prevent the factors that put the country in danger. The author's main contribution to the topic's study is drawing attention to periodically emerging consequences of national security threats caused by population growth and the shortage of resources. The study outlines the concept of national security developed with nation in mind. This, presenting the nation as the leading principle serves to enhance its standing in the global society.

Keywords: strategy, competition, concept, demography, threats, aspect, resource, world population, state, politics

Abstract: The subject of this research is the social activity of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USA in 1867-1917. The goal of the article is to study the activity of the North American Orthodox diocese, which can be viewed as a tool of "soft power" employed by the Russian Empire. Since the above mentioned body of the Church was traditionally focused on close work with government authorities, and during the viewed chronological period the Most Holy Synod was an official part of the government apparatus, it seems only logical that the usage of the Church's resources as a conduit for Russian interests in foreign policies had great potential. Using the historical, genetic, comparative-historic and the institutional methods, the author analyzes the social activities of the Orthodox diocese in the USA and the broadening of its public functions. Despite the fact that numerous studies dealing with the history of the Orthodox church in the USA, the aspects of the possible role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USA between the XIX-XXth centuries have not been sufficiently studied from the "soft power" point of view. The key conclusion of the article is that the social activity of the Russian Orthodix Church had the potential to positively affect the perception of the Russian Empire among the American parishioners.

Keywords: missionary activity of the ROC, Orthodoxy and politics, Orthodoxy and society, social activity of the ROC, Orthodoxy in the USA, soft power, Russian Orthodox Church, international church activities, Russian-American relations, Russian foreign policy

Abstract: The subject of this study is the methodology of studying the interaction between the regional state authorities. The goal of the study is to analyze the existing methodological approach to studying the constitutional design of power distribution (the separation of powers) between the prominent actors of the political process (executive and representative branch authorities), and to demonstrate that this approach may become the first step to understanding the nature of conflict between the heads of the region and regional parliaments. The methodological approach employed by the author involves the analysis of the region's legal acts which regulate the powers of region heads and parliaments. The use of comparative studies reveals that the existing methodology is mostly employed by Western researchers (USA, France) to study the separation of powers models between the Federal authorities, while Russian researchers use its modified version to study the interaction between regional authorities. The central conclusion of this study is that the institution-based methodology of the power distribution models in Russian federal regions allows to understand the causes for conflict between regional heads and parliaments. Undoubtedly, the legal analysis of powers is but the first step on the way of understanding such political conflicts, because, along with the formal causes, there may be other, informal causes which require other methods of study. Overall, however, the constitutional design of separation of powers between the state authorities represents a crucial empirical field, a starting point for defining the political regime and identifying the success factors for democracy and scanning for distinct contradictions between state authorities.

Keywords: executive authority, checks and balances, the powers of the authorities, political conflict, branches of power, political regime, legislature, democracy, power, institutionalism

Abstract: The phenomenon of ethnic conflicts and accompanying factors in the various regions of the world is one of the global problems that mankind faces today. In this article the author examines the history of emergence and resolution of the ethnic conflict in the delta of the Senegal River, that started in the late 1980s. The core of the conflict was in the mutual territorial claims between the black population of the left river bank and the Arab population who resided on the right bank of the Senegal river. The author spotlights the historical preconditions, characteristics and deeper motives of the conflict. The foundation of the study consists of the method of historism, including detailed study of cause and effect relations between the phenomena covered in the article, as well as the comparative historical analysis of literature covering the Mauritania–Senegal conflict. The academic novelty of this study is based on the fact that the article analyzes the foreign literature on Mauritania–Senegal conflict, as this issue is practically untouched in Russian historiography. Based on this analysis, the author highlights the specific traits of the ethnic conflicts in West Africa - for instance, their dependence not only interreligious contradictions, but also climate change.

Keywords: berbers, Moors, drought, refugees, Mauritania, Senegal, ethnic conflict, Fulani, West Africa, deportation

Abstract: The subject of this study is the conflict between the two Palestinian movements - Fatah and Hamas. The author outlines the key reasons for the collision between the two organizations, the dynamics of their confrontation and the attempts at third-party reconciliation. The article study examines the specific traits of the intra-Palestinian territorial and ideological fracture, which became a major obstacle on the way to the peace process between Israel and Palestine. Attention is focused on Egypt as a mediator strategically interested in the formation of a unified Palestinian government, which will decrease terrorist activity levels in the Sinai region. From the methodological standpoint, the study is rooted in the principles of cooperation of two unequally powerful actors. The Fatah, being one of the key links in the Palestinian National Authority, which is integrated into international organizations and is a legitimate presence on the global arena, and the Hamas as an armed enclave controlling the Gaza strip and employing terrorist tactics in their fight against political opponents and Israel. The study concludes that the main reason for the Fatah-Hamas conflict still being unresolved is the lack of trust between the opposing sides and their lack of ability to compromise, and the fear of being left out of the political process. A potential resolution is possible only if the opponents find the resources to make mutual compromises.

Keywords: Egypt, inter-Palestinian conflict, Ramallah, West Bank, Gaza Strip, Hamas, Fatah, PNA, Mahmoud Abbas, Ismail Haniya