Vol 20, No 4 (2020): New Modalities of Regional Peacekeeping

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of Germany’s participation in UN, EU and NATO peacekeeping operations in Africa. The relevance of the research topic is due to conflicting opinions about the need to preserve and prolong most operations in the region. In this regard, the opinions of experts with optimistic and pessimistic views on this problem are considered, and the stages of the evolution of peacekeeping activities are highlighted. The purpose of the study is to prove the validity of the assumption of the critical theory of the use of peacemaking by countries as a tool for realizing their foreign policy aspirations. Based on the analysis of German efforts to increase its military contingent in UN peacekeeping operations and maintain positions (despite the presence of oppositional representatives of the Parliament) in EU and NATO operations, it is proposed to identify the cause-and-effect relationships of such behavior. To achieve this goal, we used the method of historicism, which helped to identify the problems of the past that Germany is trying to get rid of by participating in the operations of international organizations, as well as the method of comparative analysis, which regulates the comparison of Germany’s efforts in missions with its foreign policy tasks. The analysis of the documents of the international organizations under consideration, as well as legislation and foreign policy doctrines of Germany, allows us to assess not only the legality of the country's operations outside its borders, but also to identify foreign policy priorities in order to obtain reliable results when comparing them. In conclusion, we present the following conclusions: the evolution of Germany’s efforts in the UN, EU and NATO missions in Africa. The results of the research reflect the postulates of critical theory in the process of studying German peacekeeping activities in Africa.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), as an international regional organization, unites states that have common principles for ensuring collective security in the post-Soviet space. In addition to military, political, anti-terrorist, anti-drug, migration aspects, the Organization’s practical activities provide for the implementation of peacekeeping missions in the region, as well as beyond. Over the past decade, the CSTO has been systematically raising the level of its readiness to respond to various types of threats, interacting with both states and other international organizations in this area. The purpose of this article is to assess the current state of the CSTO peacekeeping activity, to identify its strengths and weaknesses, and possible ways to increase the effectiveness of peacekeeping. The scientific novelty of the research lays in the consideration, on the basis of a retrospective analysis, of the actual state of the political, military, information components of the Organization’s peacekeeping, which at the present time, obviously, have not yet reached their maximum efficiency. The author examines the reasons for the creation of the CSTO, the historical stages of the Organization’s interaction with the UN, the practical aspects of their cooperation. Special attention is paid to the existing relationship between the member states within the Organization itself, to the political problems of the perception of the CSTO by other subjects of international law as an equal partner. It notes its complete political ignorance on the part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the presence of bilateral contacts with most member states. In conclusion, the author comes to the conclusion that the Organization is currently experiencing an identity crisis and does not show sufficient efficiency in the context of the implementation of close allied relations in the system of ensuring regional security.

Professor Dr. Alexander I. Nikitin is a leading Russian IR scholar, an expert on problems of international security, international conflicts, peacekeeping operations, activities of international organizations. Professor of the Political Sciences Department at MGIMO University, Director of the MGIMO Center for Euro-Atlantic Security of the Institute for International Studies, Director of the Center for Political and International Studies, Professor of the State Management Department of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, Professor of the Public Policy Department of the Research University - Higher School of Economics, President Emeritus of the Russian Political Science Association (RPSA) and Chairman of the RPSA International Cooperation Council. Subject area: International Security, Peacekeeping, Conflict Resolution, International Relations, NATO Policy and Russia - NATO Relations, International Organizations (UN, OSCE, NATO, CSTO, SCO), Nuclear Policy and Non-Proliferation, Regulation of Private Military and Security Companies, Civil-Military Relations. Born in 1958, graduated from the Department of Philosophy of Moscow State University in 1979. PhD (International Relations) in 1983 and 2000. Research work for 10 years (1979-1989) in the USA and Canada Studies Institute (Senior Research Fellow, Head of Section). From 1989 to the present day Dr. Nikitin has been teaching in the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (from 1996 to the present day - Professor of the Department of Political Sciences). From 2004 to the present day - Director of the Center for Euro-Atlantic Security of the Institute for International Studies at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Center specializes in research in the spheres of international security and international relations. In his interview Professor Dr. Alexander I. Nikitin describes the current state of international peacekeeping, current trends and characteristics of conflicts and their impact on international relations. Professor Nikitin assesses Russia’s participation in peacekeeping operations within the UN and other formats of international cooperation.

Significant geopolitical changes taking place in the modern world in recent decades urge us to take a fresh look at the role of Islam and the clergy in the political processes of a number of countries of the Muslim world. This perspective is especially relevant vis-à-vis Afghanistan where a fierce war is being waged under the slogans of Islam for more than four decades. The purpose of this research is an in-depth study of the relationship between the state and the Muslim clergy, Islamic institutions in the development of political processes in Afghanistan since the mid-70s of the last century. The article reflects shaping of the Islamic opposition and its efforts to stand up to innovations and reforms during attempts of the Soviet stile modernization in 1978-1992, and then the efforts to democratize Afghan society, undertaken in Afghanistan since the end of 2001 with the assistance of the international community. The work is based on the study of factual historical material, a chronicle of the events of the last decade and personal observations of the author during his work in Afghanistan during the mentioned period. Analytical materials published on the pages of English and Russian mass media were used. The methodological basis of this study is the comparative historical method; the article is based on the principles of historicism, reliability and scientific objectivity. The author concludes that the conflict is based on mistakes and underestimation by the state the role and influence of the Muslim clergy and Islamic institutions of the country. It has been noted that the recently reached US - Taliban agreements, as well as the assistance of such influential players as Russia, sparkle hope for the launch of a direct inter-Afghan negotiation process, which most likely will not be as simple but thorny.

With its key geostrategic position in the center of the Eurasian continent, Uzbekistan has a prominent impact on the nature of the development of interregional relations in Central Asia. After the transit of power in the republic that took place in 2016, a gradual transformation of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy model was carried out - from a closed and isolated to a proactive one. This led to several major changes - there was a significant improvement in both the nature of cooperation and the regional dialogue between the countries of Central Asia. The author analyzes the changes in Uzbekistan’s foreign policy in the Afghan direction, their reasons and the impact they had on the position of the republic both in the Central Asian region and in the international arena. This is especially relevant given both the importance of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan as partners for each other and the degree of threats posed by the difficult internal political situation in Afghanistan and holding back their bilateral interaction. As a methodological basis for the study, we used a systematic and comparative analysis of Uzbekistan’s approaches to solving security issues through the implementation of its foreign policy towards Afghanistan until 2016 and after. They also considered both internal factors influencing the formation of Uzbek approaches to the southern neighbor, and external ones. The theory of political realism was used as a theoretical basis for the study. The change of power in Uzbekistan in 2016 marked a radical revision of Tashkent’s approaches to the Afghan vector of its foreign policy. Uzbekistan has begun to implement a strategy to stabilize the situation in Afghanistan through the pragmatic development of economic cooperation and support for a peaceful inter-Afghan dialogue, abandoning a rigid isolation policy towards its southern neighbor. At the same time, the main emphasis in mediation activities was placed on formats that were supported by the United States. Thus, today, thanks to the revitalization of its Afghan agenda, Uzbekistan is actively increasing its authority in the international arena as an important regional player for Afghan regulation.

This article is focused on special characteristics of formation and development of the interaction between South American countries located on the territory of the Amazon Basin from the development of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT) in 1978 to the signing of the Leticia Pact for the Amazon in 2019. Considering the evolution of cooperation between South American countries in the Amazon River basin, the author relied on the regional integration theory and the Neoliberal IR theory and proposed his own periodization of this process with an analysis of the stages of interaction. The main methods used by the author in the study are systemic analysis and structural-functional analysis, thanks to which the author was able to examine in detail the main directions and characteristics in the sphere of interaction of South American countries in the ACTO. The method of content analysis was used in dealing with documents of the organization. The author came to the conclusion that for South American countries geographically located in the one area, one of the most important components in the interaction was the creation of a common mechanism - ACTO. Without the creation of ACTO and the implementation of coordinated activities in this area, there would be a certain risk of an institutional vacuum in the Amazon, which, due to the activity of illegal armed groups, could potentially lead to the emergence of quasi-governmental entities. In the context of the global transition to a sustainable development model, such format of interaction as the ACTO plays a special role because natural disasters occurring in the Amazon region strongly affect climate change on a global scale. Thanks to the existing coordination among member countries in the ACTO the Leticia Pact was signed.

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