The article analyzes the potential of religious diplomacy in the settlement of the Afghan conflict. The Russian and foreign research discourses highlight the importance and examples of using religious channels as a tool of reducing tensions and resolving conflicts. However, the emphasis is mainly done on the Western practice of specialized (mainly Christian) institutions in preventing the escalation of existing conflicts. This article, in turn, is focused on the analysis of the latest, previously not studied examples of foreign policy initiatives of Islamic religious leaders in post-conflict Afghanistan. Current examples of the activity of Afghan theologians in national and international formats in mobilizing international condemnation of the methods of force against the government of the IRA are discussed. Based on the analysis of expert comments and reports of the media, it is concluded that the main task of the Afghan religious diplomacy to attract the support of the official Afghan authorities in Kabul from the Muslim world was only partially reached, since it was not possible to achieve a unanimous condemnation of the Taliban movement activities. However, in assessing the prospects for further use of religious channels to reduce mistrust and international tension, the author concludes that this tool is in demand in establishing a constructive dialogue with the societies of the Islamic world, overcoming the crisis of trust and preparing a favorable environment for future political dialogue. The author argues that the use of the peacekeeping potential of Islam in the settlement of the Afghan conflict has both potential and limitations due to the current international political situation around Afghanistan.

The current decade has seen a growing role of the Gulf States (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar) in global aid architecture as a result of the Arab Awakening. The largest packages of assistance have been provided by this group of donors to Egypt, which followed an especially tortuous path, shaped by the factor of political Islam. This paper examines the logic, dynamics and the role of such assistance in Egypt’s tumultuous history after 2011. It consists of four sections - each depicting a particular phase of the post-revolutionary period and containing an in-depth study of the logic of and linkages between the GCC members’ donor initiatives as well as an assessment of their influence on the domestic and external policies of consecutive Egyptian administrations and the behavior of extraregional actors. The general conclusion is drawn that during each of four stages the Gulf States’ actions played a pivotal role in Egypt’s turbulent development. Contrary to a widespread belief in predominance of cultural and religious solidarity in Arab donors’ aid-giving, they mastered foreign assistance as a tool of statecraft as aptly as established donors, while often restructuring it in response to the changes on the ground and/or economic environment. An increased role of the GCC members in Egypt’s fate is explained not only by their growing ambitions and capabilities but also by an excessive cautiousness of the Western countries. In comparison with the latter group - the Arab donors, which did not demand any improvements in quality of governance from the Egyptian authorities and acted very swiftly and decisively, looked as much more reliable partners. Their growing impact forced the established donors to turn a blind eye to the defects of Egypt’s political system or economic governance in order to avoid a complete loss of influence. This interdependence between the behavior of the Western and Arab donors reveals a trend, which deserves a more scrupulous examination on a wider selection of country cases.

The second decade of the 21st century is often described as the time of a new rise of right nationalist and right populist parties all over the world. The rising presence of big right factions in European parliaments makes experts talk about a “right turn” phenomenon. At the same time Turkey, a country that unites in itself both European and Middle Eastern political and civilizational specifics, is witnessing an apparently similar process to occur. The authors of the article analyze the reasons of right parties’ success in Europe and conditions that provide popularity for the right wing. Primarily, this success has been associated with an inner structural crisis of the European Union, which was acknowledged by the general public following the 2015 migration crisis. The authors mostly focus on the 2018 parliament elections in Turkey, which gave the majority of seats to right and center-right parties. They also survey the history and the place of nationalism in the country’s political system, and investigate the reasons making the Turkish political elites to turn to the nationalistic ideology at present. The authors conclude that in spite of a formal similarity in the observed political processes and the literal congruence of some of the reasons that have determined the right rise in Europe and Turkey, we shouldn’t consider the right wing’s successes in the Republic of Turkey and in the European Union to be the parts of the same global process, as their endogenous causes differ.

The article is devoted to the Kurdish issue in the context of bilateral relations between Turkey and Syria after the start of the 2011 Syrian crisis. Particular attention is paid to the role of the Kurdish issue in the Turkish-Syrian relations. The author describes the Turkish policy on the Kurdish problem and its place in the context of Turkey’s national interests. The article covers gradual development of the Syrian-Kurdish policy of Turkey and dynamics of relations between Ankara and Damascus in the context of strengthening the Kurdish national movement in Syria. The activities of the Kurdish political parties and organizations in the northern and northeastern part and the development perspective of the Kurdish issue are especially analyzed. Turkey’s relations with Syria, Iran, Iraq, where Kurds live, have always been based on the Kurdish issue. Contrary to the differences and conflicts between Kurdish parties in the Middle East, the Kurdish issue is regional in nature. In addition to being a domestic political problem, Turkey considers the Kurdish issue as a foreign policy problem. Turkey presents its fight against the Kurdish PKK forces as a fight against terrorist forces, seeing the intensification of political and military activities of the Syrian Kurds as a direct threat to its national security. Over the past years, Turkish-Syrian relations have substantially changed and transformed from strategic partnership to militarypolitical confrontation. Despite the existing contradictions, Turkey and Syria have common interests, including the Kurdish issue, the stability of the region, the predictability of the development of political events in the Middle East region, and economic relations. However, regardless of the outcome of the Syrian war, Turkey needs a predictable Syria without a strong Kurdish element. The Syrian crisis has given new opportunities to the Kurds of Syria in terms of strengthening their positions, but clearly demonstrated the problems existing in the way of creating a Kurdish state. Currently, the preservation of the territorial integrity of Syria allows taking into account the interests of all parties involved in the conflict, including external players.

The incident of 9/11 is said to be a watershed event in the history of international relations. After this ferocious incident Pakistan was forced to join the Global War on Terrorism in September 2001 and since then it has faced a lot of challenges. After joining this war, the security situation has become worse within few years, and military forces had to start several operations to fight and eliminate the menace of terrorism. The War on Terror (WOT) has greatly affected the economic growth, political and social situation of the country. This paper discusses the reasons behind the terrorism, the ways it has affected the national security, education and economy, and the steps for its elimination. The general conclusion made by the author is that Pakistan like other countries cannot cure this menace alone by the use of force. The government should adopt a complex and wide strategy focusing in priority on the factors that are responsible for igniting terrorism, and by solving the problems being faced by the poor masses of the country.

The article analyzes the cultural policy of Italy, which is one of the key soft power instruments of the country, along with public diplomacy, the Italian language, education and scientific activities, through the prism of the cultural strategy of the EU. Despite the presence of a large number of articles on soft power implementation, this issue remains insufficiently covered today, since the concept of soft power emerged at the end of the 20th century in the framework of the American international relations school (J. Nye) and the majority of academic foreign papers are still devoted to the American soft power model. It is revealed that scientific community paid not enough attention to the Italian soft power phenomenon. The author’s goal is to analyze the cultural model of Italy, used as one of soft power component. According to the results of the structural, comparative and institutional analysis, fundamental problems in the development of the Italian cultural model were identified, as well as the links between the successful adoption of cultural diplomacy and economic crisis. The governmental initiatives in Italy in realization of cultural diplomacy and the EU cultural strategy are thoroughly reviewed. The analysis of the activities of specialized government institutions responsible for the cultural promotion of the country and the Italian language abroad is carried out. The soft power rankings, reflecting the effectiveness of cultural policy, in particular, Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index and The Soft Power 30 are being analyzed. Measures to ensure the efficient use of the soft power resources in Italy are proposed. They are mostly aimed at combining the activities of existing institutions and forming an integrated strategy for popularizing, financing and broadening soft power components both within the state and foreign policy strategy.

The G20 is an informal institute of global governance and one of the most prominent international forums for both - key developed and developing economies. The G20’s agenda embraces various issues including international taxation, digital growth, macroeconomic stability, labor market development, fight against crime and corruption, implementation of effective and eco-neutral energy technologies, etc. The G20’s decisions, even lacking legal force, tend to transform into international standards and joint initiatives. Due to the absence of a permanent secretariat, a host country exercises great influence on formulation of the G20’s working agenda. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a key actor in the Middle East and the only Arab state with G20 membership. In 2020, Saudi Arabia will take the G20 presidency for the first time ever and thus take the leading role in shaping its agenda. In this context, several issues regarding Saudi Arabia’s policy towards implementation of its national development agenda, promotion of previous presidencies’ decisions and its influence over further development of the G20’s agenda are of particular interest. The authors analyze Saudi Arabia’s current status and national priorities and recent developments of G20’s agenda to forecast the results of the forthcoming presidency. The authors point out that discussion on digital growth, energy efficiency, climate change mitigation and macroeconomic policy would very likely result in concrete decisions. Modest success is expected in making decisions on gender-related agenda. The core items of G20’s agenda such as reform of international financial institutions and fight against protectionism in global trade are less likely to attract much attention and lead to concrete decisions.

Germany is an example of power, which is consistently trying to increase its role in global politics, including more active part in the solution of a wide range of military-political questions. At the same time Germany is facing the growing number of challenges for its own security, coming mostly from unstable Asian and African states. This makes Germany pay more attention on the Middle East in searching of new and strengthening traditional links with the regional partners. In this regard the article covers the dynamics, problems and perspectives of the bilateral interactions between Germany and Saudi Arabia in political-military sphere during the 2010s. Traditionally Saudi Arabia was one of the key partners of the ‘collective West’ in the Middle East and has had rather good relations with Germany. The key research method used in the article is the event-analysis. The research paper profoundly investigates the relations between Germany and Saudi Arabia during the first half of the 2010s. The article stresses the mutual interest in expanding and deepening cooperation in the context of the “Arab awakening”, including the solution of the Syrian problem. The key focus is paid to the growing discrepancies in positions of two parts regarding the Yemen conflict resolution in the context of confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The article also describes the dynamics of negotiations between Germany and Saudi Arabia on the highest and high levels in the middle 2010s. The paper points out the growing recession periods in German-Saudi relations in 2016-2017 (taken into account the execution of Shiite preachers in KSA; Qatar diplomatic crises and the assassination of J. Khashoggi). After the signature and implementation of the Iranian ‘nuclear deal’ Germany has been increasingly inclined towards the tactics of “balancing” between Iran and Saudi Arabia. And in this regard has emphasized the unacceptability of a direct military conflict between them. After Trump’s administration withdrawal from Iranian nuclear deal the article stresses the tougher German pressure on Saudi Arabia both in militarytechnical cooperation and political spheres in order to assure the withdrawal of Saudi Arabian military forces from Yemen. In the conclusion the author specifies the politicization of the bilateral military-technical cooperation and the sharp increase of the influence of Iranian factor over the German-Saudi relations. Three scenarios of future development of the confrontation between two states are proposed. Depending on each of them, the prospects for the development of German-Saudi relations are defined.

King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Abdullah II in 2019 celebrated the 20th anniversary of his ascension to the throne. The article covers the features of the socio-political and economic life of the state and the role of King Abdullah II in the development of the Hashemite Kingdom. The history of Jordan is full of important events, many of which remain significant to this day. One of the main issues for Jordan and its head, King Abdullah II, has been and still remains the Palestinian problem. Considering that the majority of the Jordanian population is Palestinians, represented by both the indigenous inhabitants of the Kingdom and political refugees who have moved to the territory of the Hashemite state as a result of the Palestinian-Israeli wars and conflicts. Currently, the Kingdom is facing quite challenging realities and consequences of international terrorism and extremism, as well as the growth of ideas of radical Islamism within the state. The author’s research goal is not just to present the biography of the king, but through his biography to highlight the history and trends of the modern development of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The political portrait of the king helps to analyze more accurately the multifaceted life of Jordan and present events. A special part of the history of Jordan is the bilateral relationship between the Hashemite Kingdom and the Russian Federation. Regular meetings of King Abdullah II and President V.V. Putin demonstrate the similarity of positions on many foreign policy issues, in particular the situation in the Middle East and in Syria, which emphasizes the importance and priority of cooperation between the two countries. The article also describes the role of the personality of King Abdullah II, his desire to balance the internal political situation of Jordan, as well as his actions regarding international security and the peaceful existence of peoples and religions.

Damir Mukhetdinov got his higher education at the Institute of Arabic Language of Umm al-Qura University in Mecca (Saudi Arabia). Then he graduated from the Department of International Relations of Nizhny Novgorod State University and got a master’s degree, then - PhD (Political Science). He is the first deputy chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation, a member of the Presidium of the Council of Muftis of Russia, a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, rector of the Moscow Islamic Institute, professor of St. Petersburg State University, a member of the Commission on Improving Legislation and Law Enforcement Practice of the Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations under the President of the Russian Federation, a member of the working group of the Commission on Religious Associations under the Government of the Russian Federation, a member of the Public Council of the Federal Agency for Nationalities. He was awarded the medals of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the European part of Russia “For Merit” and “For Spiritual Unity”; by Mufti Ravil Gainutdin decree was awarded the highest award of Muslims of Russia - the Order of Honor “Al-Fakhr”, the Order of Muslims of Russia “For Merit”. The interview comprehends the role of Islam in the modern world, including its role in maintaining peace and stability in regions of Islam. Particular attention is paid to cooperation and development of relations between the Russian Federation and the Eastern countries, including the CIS states, through religious channels. Damir Mukhetdinov emphasizes the importance of improving Islamic education in Russia, as well as the development of such scientific areas as Oriental studies, Islamic studies, Theology.

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