Abstract: The paper explores discursive power and related concepts (institutional power, normative power, epistemic power) as an important part of contemporary PRC foreign strategy. As Westphalian identity carries certain risks for Beijing, China is actively trying to reconceptualize its identity through the development of epistemic power, its main manifestation being the emergence of the Chinese IR school. China’s two main strategies of interaction with the Western IR theory are (1) transcending its parochiality through inclusion of Chinese concepts and research methods and (2) creating radical alternatives to Western IR theory. At a more fundamental level of theorizing about non-Western IR, the former strategy is broadly aligned with the project of “global IR” and the latter with a decolonial/postcolonial approach to IR. Decolonial hermeneutics allows for revealing the main shortcomings of “global IR” and the underlying epistemic culture, as well as for examining problems that arise from China's accumulation of discursive power. Based on the analysis, we can conclude that there are three potential strategies of the PRC: Westphalian discursivity, Westphalian discursivity with Chinese characteristics, and critical discursivity. The first two strategies can potentially lead China into the trap of discursive power: trying to resist Western discursive aggression through accumulation of discursive power, Beijing begins to internalize power structures and narratives inherent in the Western political model or romanticize alternative systems for the reproduction of power in imperial China, hence reinforcing international suspicions regarding its true intentions and taking a less advantageous strategic position. The paper proposes a number of ways out of this trap (development of cooperation with countries of the global South, interaction with their epistemic cultures, critical rethinking of modern Chinese concepts of international relations).

Keywords: global international relations, discursive power trap, Chinese IR theory, dichotomy of identity, colonial house of IR theory, non-Western IR theory, decolonial theory, epistemic power, discursive power, foreign strategy

Abstract: The creation of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt in 1928, and the success of the Shiite Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, led by the Khomeini movement, are important events in the twentieth century for the Muslim world and the Middle East. The role of these two movements is clear and important in all the historical events that have taken place in the Middle East over the past 60 years. The two movements have converged in some ideology since the 1950s, despite the existence of a Sunni-Shiite conflict 1,300 years ago. In this article, we will try to answer the question of why there are strong relations between the Sunni movement and the Shiite movement by telling about the historical events between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Khomeini revolution in Iran, using an analytical approach to the events that took place in the Middle East that united these two movements, such as the Khomeini Revolution of 1979 The Iranian-Iraqi War of 1980-1988, the Palestinian crisis and the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. We will also clarify the relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Turkish-Qatari-Iranian triangle. The article explains the long-standing relations between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian revolution, and focuses on the continuation of these relations to the present, which has influenced the situation in the Arab region, especially in the Arab Republic of Egypt. This article proves the relationship between this group and Iran, even though Iran is a Shiite state and the Brotherhood is a Sunni group. The emphasis was placed on the fact that these relations had a great negative role on the events in Egypt after the Egyptian revolution of 2011, as well as on the form of relations in the Persian Gulf region with the union of Iran, Turkey and the State of Qatar.

Keywords: Qatar, Turkey, Middle East, Mohamed Morsy, color revolutions, The Egyptian Revolution, The Iranian Islamic Revolution, Egypt, Muslim Brothers, Iran

Abstract: The subject of the article is the process of forming the CERN sanctions regime regarding Russia's participation in global scientific megaprojects in the field of theoretical physics. The purpose of the article is to reveal the content and organizational mechanism of CERN sanctions aimed at ending institutional cooperation with Russia. The objectives of the study include determining the algorithm of the long-term bilateral strategic partnership between Russia and CERN; revealing the grounds and logic of CERN's unilateral termination of promising cooperation with Russia, as well as predicting the negative consequences of sanctions. The authors pay special attention to testing the research hypothesis that CERN's anti–Russian sanctions policy is based on a combination of, on the one hand, politicized principles, and, on the other, extreme prudence, which resulted in the "stretching" of the measures taken over time and their focus on taking into account the current geopolitical situation. This indicates the incompleteness of the transition from the logic of scientific diplomacy to the rigid logic of sanctions, which makes it possible to predict the preservation of some elements of scientific diplomacy in relations between CERN and Russia. The methodological base of the research includes traditional methods and approaches (analysis and synthesis, abstraction and generalization; modeling; forecasting; the general scientific principle of dialectical development; a systematic approach), as well as new methods (meta-analysis, discursive analysis, stochastic factor analysis). It is concluded that CERN's sanctions policy, based on an appeal to value motivations, is characterized by flexible consideration of the current geopolitical situation and the gradual nature of the restrictive measures taken. The research hypothesis about the preservation of a certain potential of scientific diplomacy in relations between CERN and Russia has been confirmed in the work. This is reflected in the continuation of cooperation and fulfillment of obligations under existing bilateral agreements. It is proved that, by their nature, CERN sanctions belong to an independent category of sanctions against Russian science, which are imposed by international structures operating in the field of megascience. The novelty of the research lies in the actualization of the need to develop a special direction of Russian scientific and technical policy aimed at mitigating the consequences of sanctions complications in relations with international organizational structures in the field of megascience.

Keywords: science diplomacy, global science, Russian science, institutional gap, strategic partnership, fundamental physics, scientific sanctions, CERN, megascience, science policy

Abstract: Despite the fact that the Pamir region has been experiencing turbulence for decades, experts agree that lately the central government's course towards Pamir has intensified to an unprecedented degree. The author's hypothesis is that one of the main reasons for this trend is a change in the configuration of external actors' interests. In this regard, the research question is: “What is the impact of key external actors on the dynamics of the Pamir crisis of 2018-2022?” The methodological basis of the study includes a critical analysis of primary and secondary sources, case studies and comparative analysis. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that this topic remains marginal both in Russia and abroad, and in Tajikistan it is often taboo. Another factor preventing this topic from leaving the periphery of scientific knowledge is the inaccessibility of reliable information sources. Based on the results of the study, the author comes to the conclusion that the Pamir crisis is an extremely multifactorial conflict that is becoming increasingly internationalized. Pamir is an extremely resource-rich and promising region, which borders on Afghanistan, ruled by a terrorist regime, and on the Chinese XUAR, where the problems of terrorism, separatism and extremism remain unresolved. All this makes the Pamirs a point of interest intertwining of various external players in economics, security and the military-industrial complex and makes the dynamics of the internal crisis in Pamir dependent on the configuration of these interests.

Keywords: NGO, European Union, USA, Russia, China, separatism, Central Asia, Pamir, Tajikistan, Post-Soviet Space

Abstract: The active development of international relations in the conditions of globalization provokes an increase of the interest towards the individual countries. In this context there occurs a shift in the emphasis within the framework of the state's foreign policy towards attracting political interest in the country through the mechanisms of "soft power". The author examines the features of the Italian external cultural policy and observes its resources which are promoted within the framework of creating a positive image of Italy in the Asian countries, in particular, in Uzbekistan as a post-Soviet space country. Novelty of the research consists in the necessity of an overview of activities of Italian official actors promoting a positive image of a country taking into consideration the apparent shift of the vector of international relations and cultural diplomacy towards the Central Asia region accured with the arrival of a new decade of the XXI century. It also leands to the implementing different approaches of the "soft power" policy depending on the country of presence. With the use of general scientific methods such as analysis and interpretation of information and forecasting, it becomes possible to present a detailed consideration of the components of Italian national culture and the official events conducted by official actors of the Italian external cultural policy. The article is also aimed at finding out the approaches of choosing platforms for promoting the identified resources of the Italian "soft power". The study reveals the Italian culture components promoted in Uzbekistan, studies the directions and spheres they are present and evaluate the prospects for work in the furtherance of the Italian "soft power" resources promoted within the external cultural policy of the Italian Republic in the region of Central Asia.

Keywords: Uzbekistan, Central Asia, Soft power, Italian culture, Uzbek and Italian relations, national culture promotion, international cooperation, cultural diplomacy, External cultural policy, geo-branding

Abstract: The objectives of this work are to consider the features of the activities of Imam Sadiq University and highlight the specific features of an Islamic university. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was the works of Russian and foreign scientists devoted to the analysis of the activities of Imam Sadiq University and its place in the structure of the modern political course of Iran. The study identifies the general features of the Islamic concept of a humanitarian university, defined by the activities of Imam Sadiq University. The existence of significant contradictions that arise when the values of the Western and Islamic worlds collide during the development of the humanities is highlighted. The relevance of the topic under consideration is also emphasized by the growing conflict of interests of the Western and Islamic communities under the influence of the worsening Crisis in the Middle East, which has obviously increased the gap and confrontation between the two vast cultures. In the study, the authors note that today Iran is strengthening its course “to the East”, making a significant contribution to the development of the activities of Islamic universities and strengthening the integration of Islamic and humanitarian knowledge. The authors’ scientifically significant contribution to the study of the characteristics of Islamic universities is the identification of the general features of the concept of an Islamic university using the example of Imam Sadiq University, its activities and the opinion of the country’s spiritual leaders. The article emphasizes that graduates of Imam Sadiq University make a significant contribution to the current course of the Iranian government, since they form the structure of high-ranking officials - in the new government, the influence of Imam Sadiq University, whose graduates have penetrated into all spheres of the highest government power in Iran, is increasingly evident.

Keywords: Institutional structures of Iran, Iranian education system, Iranian government, Imam Sadiq University, Islamization of universities, Government of Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian university, Iran, theory of new institutionalism, Domestic policy