Abstract: The article considers the views on the war presented in "Mozi", the ancient Chinese philosophical treatise. The relevance of the study is derived from the manifestation of the Mohist paradigm of strategic culture in the modern Chinese foreign policy, in particular, with regard to defenсe of the State and control over problem areas (South China Sea). The purpose of the research is to consider the specifics of ancient Chinese ethics of war in the context of the Western theory of Just War as well as to reveal the importance of Mohist views on war for the modern theory of international relations and China's foreign policy strategy. The material of the study includes "Mozi" text as well as official statements of the modern leaders of China. The study applies both methods of world political science (content analysis, study of documents, case method) and methods of philosophy (dialectical, hermeneutic, pragmatic). In contrast to the "liberal "and "conservative" interpretations of Mo Di's doctrine expressed by researchers of Mohist political philosophy, the author of this article makes a conclusion about the practice-oriented approach of ancient Chinese philosophy and "moral practice" as a criterion of political legitimacy. The author makes a comparison of the Mohist ethics of war with the Western theory of Just War and concludes that they are conceptually close. However, "Mozi" is much closer to the ideas of defensive pacifism due to the specifics of the Mohist ideas about the legitimate actor. Among other distinctive features of Mo Di's political doctrine are the focus on highly sophisticated defence, the idea of "humanitarian protection", humanism and mutually beneficial cooperation as a guarantee of international security. At the current stage, elements of the Mohist ideas about the war and the Mohist paradigm of Chinese strategic culture are manifested in the Chinese defensive concept A2AD.

Keywords: Mandate of Heaven, International legitimacy, Humanitarian defense, A2AD, Defensive pacifism, Just war theory, War ethics, Mo Di, Moral practice legitimacy, Humanitarian intervention

Abstract: Using the method of historical reconstruction, the author clears up the causes and the nature of the 1997 civil war in the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), one of the bloodiest conflicts on the African continent for the entire post-colonial period. Comprehensive analysis of historical sources, including media sources materials, memoirs of participants of the events and investigative journalism allow ascertaining the motives and the goals of all parties to the conflict in this cruel confrontation. Special attention is paid to elucidating the role of France and some African countries (such as Gabon, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the outbreak of the Civil War in the Republic of the Congo; to the specific manifestations of the geopolitical doctrine of "Françafrique" in the internal conflict in a sovereign country. The research methodology is based on the system, structural and functional and comparative-political approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction and observation. This article demonstrates the role of the French secret services, the lobbyist networks of Charles Pasqua and the oil company "Elf" in the establishment of dictatorial regimes of Fulbert Youlou and Denis Sassou Nguesso and the assassination of the President Marien Ngouabi, in the organization of the coup and the 1997 civil war inciting. The author concludes that the interference of the Elysee Palace in the internal affairs of the Republic of the Congo was conditioned by the will to preserve the allegiance of the Congo-Brazzaville from the former metropolitan country, to gain unconditional preferences in the development of the oil deposits of the Gulf of Guinea and to ensure military and political dominance in the strategically important region. The study is funded by the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation (RHSF), Project number 15-01-00363 , "External interference in the internal affairs of the Third World countries in the period of the Cold War: the experience of a multi-level analysis ".

Keywords: diplomacy, international relations, global instability, world politics, global information space, France, interests, state, security, risks

Abstract: The article is devoted to the comparative study of the legal status of combatants and non-combatants from the position of international humanitarian law and from the point of view of Russian and foreign international law doctrine. Special attention is paid to differences in the legal status of these persons in land, sea and air warfare. The weak positions of the Russian and foreign international law specialists in an attempt to distinguish these categories of eligible participants of armed conflicts are observed. The provisions of the 1949 Geneva conventions and their Additional protocols of 1977 are analyzed. The objective of this study is to determine the qualitative feature, which may help to delineate clearly the legal status of combatants and non-combatants in international and internal armed conflicts.The research is based on a combination of specific historical, comparative-legal, formal-legal and political-legal methods.The main conclusions of the research are the following: 1) combatants should in any circumstances distinguish themselves from the civilian population; 2) non-combatants are entitled to use their weapons only for self-defense or the protection of the property and persons entrusted to them; 3) non-combatants should include only the medical staff and clergy, all other categories of eligible participants of armed conflict are considered to be combatants. The novelty of the research is that the position of the Russian international law specialists on the question is described for the first time in comparative perspective in English.

Keywords: Russian doctrine, clergy, medical personnel, war, legal position, non-combatant, combatant, armed conflict, Geneva conventions, Additional protocols

Abstract: This article is devoted to the study of the role of the 2003 crisis in Iraq for the world politics at the global and regional levels. The object of study is the Iraq crisis of 2003. The subject of the research includes the reasons, especially the evolution and the consequences, of the Iraq crisis for the system of international relations and global and regional security, and the motives and tactics of the main actors of the Iraq crisis, the role of international organizations, alliances and coalitions in this process. The aim of the research is to define the role of the 2003 crisis in Iraq in the reforming of the system of international relations, global and regional security.The methodological basis of the research includes the systems approach, the structural and functional and the comparative political approaches, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, observation.The 1998 crisis between the Iraqi leadership and the UN Special Commission, which had led to the military operation of the USA and Britain (Operation Desert Fox), was a turning point in the America’s policy toward Iraq. The author pays attention to the fact that the emergence of Iraqi factor in the modern world politics, connected with a permanent statehood crisis, and the regional aspect of the Iraq problem should be studied thoroughly. The present paper attempts to study the dynamics of the Iraq problem development from 1998, the consequences of the invasion for the region and the reasons for the world community’s and political elites’ attention to this country.  

Keywords: international conflicts, geopolitics, Iraq, world politics, U.S. foreign policy, international relations, diplomacy, state, security, USA

Abstract: The Taiwan has great important for the future of China. Unlike the disputes on the Eastern Chinese and Southern Chinese Seas, the issue of Taiwan is a domestic issue of China. The representatives of one nation live on the both sides of the strait, and their unity is the issue of national dignity, perspectives of development of united Chinese nation, taking into the consideration important strategic situation of the isle. The Taiwan problem has historical and political roots, and it is influenced by a number of various factors, including international and domestic ones. It is due to the fact that the Taiwan is an important junction for the Chinese cabotage navigation. The isle of Taiwan serves as a cover for the continental China. Taiwan is situated in the Eastern Chinese Sea about 130 kilometers from the continent. The coasts of the island border the Eastern Chinese Sea on the north, the Southern Chinese and Philippinine Sea on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the east. The length of the isle is 394 kilometers from the north to south, and the width is about 140 kilometers, its area is 35834 square kilometers. The coasts are not much indented, the eastern parts of the island are steep, while the western parts are sloping. The length of the shoreline is 1566 kilometers. The wooded Taiwan mountains are lined along the island, and in the northern part of the island there is a groups of extinct volcanoes. In the western part of the island, there is a coastal value, where 90 percent of the population dwells. Douglas MacArthur called Taiwan “the unsinkable aircraft carrier” and an important part of the first chain of the islands.

Keywords: international relations, foreign policy, China, Taiwan, political instability, diplomacy, state, interests, values, security.