Keywords: Turkey, Kurds, kurdish parties, separatism, war in Syria, kurds of Syria, Demirtash, Ocalan, conflict

Abstract: The research subject is the main directions of cooperation between the Emergency Ministry of the Russian Federation and the International Civil Defence Organization (ICDO) since the foundation of the Ministry in the early 1990s. The research object is the cooperation between the Russian Federation (the Emergency Ministry) and the ICDO in the sphere of disaster management. The author considers such aspects of the topic as the establishment of cooperation between the Emergency Ministry and the ICDO in the spheres of humanitarian cooperation and personnel training. Special attention is given to the role and the importance of the work of the Russian Ministry in the development of the ICDO’s projects. The author applies the method of system analysis and the principle of historicism, which help detect the most significant elements of the organizations’ interdependency and interrelation. The author concludes that the cooperation of the Russian Federations with international organizations in disaster management is one of the most important and significant factors of the formation and functioning of the modern international relations system and the maintenance of global and regional security in the 21st century. The article demonstrates that in the modern polycentric international relations system no country can remain uninvolved in the solution of the urgent global problems and industrial disasters management. The author carries out the complex analysis of the main directions of cooperation between the Emergency Ministry and the International Civil Defence Organization in the context of evolution of their formation and activity. The paper detects and systematizes the factors, influencing and defining the Emergency Ministry’s policy in the spheres of disaster management and emergency responses, the peculiarities and the character of interrelations between the organizations’ structures. 

Keywords: Syria, regional stability, emergency humanitarian assistance, natural disaster, global security, global development assistance, civil defence, security, Emergency Ministry of the Russian Federation, International Civil Defence Organization

Abstract: The research subject (object) is the prospects of development of trade and economic relations between Russia and the countries of Southeastern, Eastern and Central Europe on the base of Russian natural gas export via the TurkStream project. The author considers such aspect of the topic as the impossibility to realize the South Stream project in the countries of Southeastern Europe. Special attention is given to the complicated two-year’s path to signing the TurkStream pipeline agreement between the Governments of the Russian Federation and Turkey in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In order to carry out a comprehensive study and obtain full and objective results, the author applies the historical, logical, comparative and analytical methods of cognition and the methodology of system analysis, structural and functional analysis, modeling and prognostication. The paper is a comprehensive innovative study, based on the idea of the prospects of interrelations between Russia and Turkey and other European countries in the gas transportation sphere. The author comes to the conclusion that the TurkStream pipeline agreement symbolizes the new stage of Russia-Turkey relations and expands the horizons of mutually beneficial cooperation of Russia and Turkey in the trade and economic sphere. 

Keywords: TurkStream, South Stream, Botas, Gazprom, USA, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, Southern Gas Corridor

Abstract: The study is focused on the problem of hydro-conflicts in Innermost Asia. The research object is the geopolitical situation in the region after the collapse of the Soviet Union which had led to the revision of the established models of state-to-state relations. Therefore, the research subject is the process of political struggle for water and energy resources. The chronological context of the research is the post-Socialist period, i.e. the period of deconstruction of the system of interrelations, established during the period of a large-scale Soviet presence in this region. The research methodology is based on event-analysis. This method includes the policy study via the successive consideration of events. The scientific novelty of the study consists in two theses: firstly, this study is one of the first attempts to consider the problem of building the water power plant in the Selenga river valley in its political rather than ecological aspect; secondly, geopolitical problems in Innermost Asia are for the first time considered in the context of water and energy resources allocation. 

Keywords: energetics, postsocialism, Mongolia, conflict, resources, water, Innermost Asia, policy, power, geopolitics

Abstract: The subject of the study is the different levels of conceptualization of international relations - a metaphor, an analogy and a model. This article shows the role of metaphors and analogies in the process of scientific cognition of international relations, showing their limits and possibilities. The basic types of models of international relations, including the game-theoretical, econometric, simulation, network and others, are described. The author discloses various approaches to the study of international processes - as unique social phenomena or as subjects used for identification of common patterns. Analyzing the metaphors, analogies and models, the author gives special attention to their characteristics in the context of the laws of logic (inductive or deductive reasoning). The author gives the examples of true (positive), neutral, and negative (incorrect) analogies. Theoretical generalizations are illustrated by a significant number of practical examples from the field of international relations. Metaphor and analogy are not the models of international relations, in fact they are the pre-model forms of conceptualization of international relations. Nevertheless, one should not underestimate the importance and effectiveness of metaphors for the stimulation of a creative process on the initial stages of the analysis of international relations. Metaphor, helping intuitively imagine the phenomenon under consideration, is the first step towards formalized modeling. To harmonize the contradictions, contained in the metaphor, it is necessary to use the analogy, which is an intermediate step between imagination (intuition) and logical thinking. The model helps more accurately transfer the characteristics of international processes necessary for the solution of the problem under study.

Keywords: system model, deductive logic, inductive logic, model, idiographic approach, nomothetics, formalized model, analogy, metaphor, international relations modeling

Abstract: The research object is Russia’s foreign policy towards the Middle East countries at the present stage of development of international relations. Special attention is given to the problems of Russia’s transition from the defensive foreign policy to the offensive one. The authors study the Syrian direction and note that Russia’s military operation in Syria has denoted the restoration of the Middle East region as one of the top priority directions of Russia’s foreign policy. This direction needs a more detailed study of the peculiarities of political links between state and non-state actors within the Middle East region and beyond, and a certain transformation of Russia’s foreign policy in this direction for the purpose of broadening the possibilities of cooperation and interaction and more flexible responses to the new challenges and threats. The study is based on the system analysis and comparison of interrelation between Russia and the Middle East, and the comparison of various stages of development of relations with particular states in the post-bipolar period. The authors apply the method of modeling to create a model of relations with the Middle East countries which would be the most beneficial for Russia. This study is one of the first complex analyses of Russia’s relations with the Middle East in the context of a dramatic transformation of the international relations subsystem in this region, connected with a gradual reorientation of the region to the independent solution of the problems, connected, primarily, with the Islamic State. The authors suppose that Russia needs to change its policy towards the Middle East, to initiate proactive foreign policy in its relations with all states. Otherwise, in the context of interregional cooperation strengthening, Russia would lose the possibility to have an impact on the developments in the region. 

Keywords: conflict in Syria, struggle against terrorism, the Middle East, allies in the East, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt

Abstract: The paper studies the functions of non-state actors of international relations – “actors beyond sovereignty” – playing the key role in the modern world politics. This category includes nongovernmental organizations, non-profitable organizations, international funds, international professional unions, transnational corporations. Besides competing with traditional actors of international relations – national states and international organizations – non-state actors have special functions in the modern world politics, which ensure its sustainability, dynamics and ability to modernize. The research object is global politics in general, the research subject is the functions of non-state actors of international relations and world politics. The research methodology is based on the system, institutional, structural and functional and comparative-political approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction and observation. Non-state actors of international relations and world politics have their special and definite functions in the political sphere. Owing to these functions, typical for non-state actors, “actors beyond sovereignty”, and unusual for traditional actors of international relations, transnational corporations hold their stable position and political and ecological niche in global politics. 

Keywords: self-organization, international relations, U.S. foreign policy, world politics, global information space, political system, interests, state, security, risks

Abstract: The research object is Russia’s value of international trade in the agro-industrial sector. The research subject is the mechanisms of optimization of trade turnover in the context of the modern trade relations, including the creation of the new type of special economic zones. The authors consider the modern tendencies of the turnover decrease in particular groups of goods, connected with sanctions. Special attention is given to the study of the existing instruments of Russia’s foreign trade activation – special economic zones. The authors analyze their activities and prognosticate their development prospects. The research methodology includes the methods of system and statistical analysis and the method of economic planning and prognostication. The authors conclude that the current problems of Russian agricultural producers can be solved with the help of special economic zones. The authors explain the reasonability of creation of agro-industrial special economic zones on the federal level in order to use them for the expansion of the volume of food commodities and raw materials production and the agro-industrial sector strengthening. 

Keywords: agro-industrial sector, economic transparency, import substitution, resident, positive effect, modernisation of the economy, special economic zones, sanctions, agricultural goods, foreign trade