Abstract: The relevance of the research is determined by the increased role of regional actors in peacekeeping on the African continent. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is spearheading efforts to promote peace and security throughout the West African region. Through its peacekeeping and conflict resolution activities, ECOWAS has contributed greatly in shaping the policies of West African states. The object of the research is ECOWAS peacekeeping missions in West Africa. The subject of the research is ECOWAS peacekeeping. The aim of this article is to examine the ECOWAS peacekeeping missions in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau and the Gambia, their mandates, achievements, challenges and problems. The objectives of the article are to compare ECOWAS peacekeeping missions in terms of their impact and role in shaping the future of West Africa, and to assess the challenges and problems faced by ECOWAS in improving the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the authors' endeavor to characterize, using a wide range of sources and academic literature, the ECOWAS peacekeeping missions and their impact on West African countries. The methodological basis of the article is the system approach, which is based on the consideration of the object as a holistic set of interrelated elements. Based on an institutional analysis of ECOWAS peacekeeping in West Africa and a comparative analysis of conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau and the Gambia, the authors conclude that ECOWAS continues to be a leader in ensuring peace and stability in Africa and its experience, mechanisms and instruments for crisis resolution in West Africa can be used not only to resolve existing conflicts but also to prevent the emergence of new ones on the African continent.

Keywords: Conflict Resolution, Security, ECOWAS, West Africa, Regional Integration, Peace Missions, Economic Development, Geopolitical Challenges, National Reconciliation, Peacekeeping

Abstract: The theoretical basis of Xi Jinping's concept of global security governance and its practical application to UN peacekeeping is the subject of this study. The aim of the article is to form a broader picture of Xi Jinping's concept of global security governance, including through an analysis of its practical application in UN peacekeeping activities. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the crisis of the world order after the collapse of the bipolar world, the ideas of global security governance in Xi Jinping's policy, as well as the concretization of China's Global Security Initiative in peacekeeping activities under the auspices of the UN. From the perspective of global security governance, including peacekeeping activities, is disclosed much less frequently (in the Russian-language sources this direction is practically not covered), which indicates the relevance of this article. The conceptualization of the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and its communication to the general public in April 2022 add to the novelty of the study. Using the systematic method, the author concludes that the Global Security Initiative (GSI), responding to a wide range of Chinese national interests, was a response to the imbalanced international security order dominated by the collective West. One foreign policy priority is to position the PRC as a new reliable provider of global security. The participation of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) in UN peacekeeping activities essentially solves this task.

Keywords: The Belt and Road, national interests, Xi Jinping, United Nations, cold war, unipolar world order, multilateral cooperation, peacekeeping, GSI, PRC

Abstract: Since its creation, the United Nations (UN) has acted as guarantor of bringing peace and stability to the world. In accordance with the UN charter, Member states are required to contribute to the collective security mechanisms prescribed by the organization, as a means of maintaining global peace and security should the need ever arise. The article is aimed at the discovery of importance of peacemaking activities in Ghana’s foreign policy and the analysis of peacemaking experience. The subject of the article is conflict resolution between countries through diplomacy. The developing countries have employed several other means to advance their foreign policy agendas and one key avenue has been peacekeeping since it provides them with a platform for global visibility. Countries such as India, Ghana, etc, have adopted a proactive approach to UN peacekeeping as part of its new foreign policy orientation in the post Cold-War era. Moreover, Ghana has a long standing history of participation in international peacekeeping since it provides it with the same opportunities as India in that regard. The Soft Power advantages in continuous contribution of troops to international peacekeeping assignments have given the country the international attention it needs. This paper seeks to analyze the involvement of Ghana in these peacekeeping activities and the importance of its foreign policy objectives. The author considers Ghana as a key global peace actor through the provision of military and civilian personnel to United Nations peacekeeping operations.

Keywords: United Nations Peacekeeping, United Nations, Diplomacy, Conflict Resolution, Security, Soft Power, Peacekeeping in Congo, Ghana Arm Forces, Ghana, Ghanaian foreign policy

Abstract: The activity of the UNO and other actors of the world politics aimed at peacekeeping in the context of restoration of states, which had undergone the active stage of internal armed conflict is the important research subject of Russian and foreign scholars. This article considers the experience of the UN peacekeeping missions, the specificity and the problems of improvement of professional potential of police officers of post-conflict states in the context of guaranteeing the rule of law and reforming the national law-enforcement institutions as elements of regional and international security strengthening. The author compares the measures realized by the UN peacekeeping missions in Kosovo, Liberia, Timor-Leste, Sudan, Mali, Haiti, South Sudan. The scientific novelty consists in the complex analysis of the problem under study based on the current documents of the UN and OSCE, works of Russian and foreign scholars, and the personal author’s experience of participation in UN peacekeeping activities. The author formulates the proposals, which can be used during UN peacekeeping missions and OSCE field operations in the activity aimed at the improvement of professional level of national police service of post-conflict states, and for the system of improvement of qualification of internal affairs officers of the Russian Federation for them to participate in peacekeeping missions. 

Keywords: guaranteeing the rule of law, post-conflict reconstruction, peacekeeping missions, peacekeeping activity, UN, regional security, international security, police component, local police reforming, local police training

Abstract: The research subject is the UN peacekeeping program “Responsibility to protect”. The author considers one of its components – the “responsibility to react” and its practical application during the events of the Arab Spring in Libya and Syria. Special attention is paid to the comparison of final documents of UN institutions (Security Council, different commissions, etc.) with the “Responsibility to protect” concept. The author points at the significant divergences between the theoretical part of the concept and its practical realization in particular situations. The author applies the method of historicism, comparative analysis, the method of conflictology, the information and political method and the behaviorist approach. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the identification of the place of the “Responsibility to protect” concept in the UN peacekeeping program in conflict settlement during the Arab Spring. Besides, the author reveals this concept’s role in armed conflicts in Libya and Syria since 2011 and defines the practical steps which had been taken within this program on the initial stages of these conflicts. 

Keywords: humanitarian intervention, UN institutional mechanisms, the Arab Spring, "responsibility to protect", political process, armed intervention, political settlement of conflicts, United Nations Security Council, peacekeeping program, armed conflict

Abstract: Статья рассматривает правовой статус участников миротворческих операций ООН с точки зрения международного гуманитарного права. Целью исследования является политический и правовой анализ влияния положений международного гуманитарного права на все три компонента (военный, полицейский и гражданский) современных миротворческих операций и операций по принуждению к миру. Особое внимание уделяется положениям Женевских конвенций 1949 года и дополнительных протоколов к ним 1977 года. Анализ выявил отличителные черты миротворцев ООН как комбатантов и некомбатантов. При проведении исследования использовался комплекс методов, включающих специальные исторические методы, сравнительно-правовой, формально-правовой и политико-правовой методы. Новизна исследования заключается в том, что данная работа - первое англоязычное сравнение позиции российской доктрины международного права и иностранных доктрин по вопросу правового статуса миротворческих сил ООН в случае их участия в вооруженных конфликтах.

Keywords: Geneva Conventions, non-combatants, combatants, right to life, applicability, international humanitarian law, peacekeeping operations, UN, Additional Protocols, armed conflict

Abstract: The problem of preserving the due level of security in Afghanistan remains topical, and keeps gaining topicality. To a great extent it is related to the intention of the USA and its allies to bring the military forces out of Afghanistan by 2014. There are worries, that after the US leaves Afghanistan, their place shall be occupied by the Taliban, them being the only real force capable of taking political power in the states. No one believes that the “puppet” regime of Hamid Karzai shall be capable of staying in power. If Afghanistan returns to the civil war situation, or yet again becomes controlled by the Taliban, it shall become a “gunpowder keg” for the region, where many states are balancing on the verge of falling apart even in current rather peaceful conditions (such as Kirgizstan and Tajikistan). In fact, many regional players are getting ready to the possible chaos in the region and the maneuvers within the frameworks of the OSCE and the SCO.

Keywords: political science, ISAF, the USA, the Canada, Afghanistan, national security, foreign policy, international relations, conflict, national interests.