Vol 7, No 3 (2020)

This study critically explores the extent to which the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) (such as the African Standby Force (ASF), the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS), Panel of the Wise (PoW) and the Peace Fund (PF)) have been successful in achieving their institutional objectives, as well as the degree to which they are able to contribute to the work of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC). The AU PSC as a key pillar of the APSA is the main decision-making body regarding issues of peace and security. In order to achieve its responsibility, the AU PSC shall be supported by the African Standby Force, the Continental Early Warning System, Panel of the Wise and the Peace Fund. APSA is the umbrella term for the key African Union (AU) mechanisms for promoting peace, security and stability in the African continent. More specifically, it is an operational structure for the effective implementation of the decisions taken in the areas of conflict prevention, peace-making, peace support operations and intervention, as well as peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction. APSA is envisioned as a means by which Africa can take a greater role in managing peace and security on the continent, with the objective of offering “African solutions to African problems”.

After the collapse of the USSR, permanent domestic political turbulence gave rise to political autocracy and political struggle with its characteristic technologies for influencing internal state processes. At the same time, the Central Asian states began to actively engage in global processes. At the same time, various countries of the East and West began to show interest in expanding their economic and geopolitical presence in the Central Asian region. At the same time, the ideological influence on the countries of Central Asia intensified. Various external forces, pursuing specific goals, seek to exert their influence on the internal processes of sovereign states, often contrary to the interests of the peoples of the Central Asian region. In this article, the author analyzes the influence of external actors on the internal processes of Central Asian states from the point of view of ensuring the national security of Russia.

This article discusses one of the key components of the mechanism of formation of the ruling elites in the United States - economic. Representatives of large business, financial circles and political clans, capable of fighting for power and possessing the necessary resource base and tools, form elite groups. The authors focus on the study of US large business as a supplier of “cadres” for the American political elites that determine US domestic and foreign policy. In their work, the authors set the following tasks: to analyze the mechanism of the formation of political elites in the USA; to consider the experience of Trump Organization in the context of the acquisition by her leader of the highest political status in the USA in 2016 and the prospects for his re-election to this post in 2020; to assess the role of large business in the formation of political elites in the United States. To achieve the objectives, the authors used a few methods of political science: structural, systemic, functional, comparative and historical methods. The methodology of economic science was also involved: the method of scientific abstraction, the method of normative and functional analysis. The study, in its conceptual basis, is based both on the theory of political elites and on the economic theory of competition.

The history of Nigeria is tainted with the absence of good moral and ethical values in the conduct of the ruling elites; this has adversely affected economic growth and development. Continued poverty reinforced by acute youth unemployment is a barrier to Nigeria’s quest for consolidating her democracy. A society of beggars, parasites and bandits cannot develop. Youth unemployment has been and is still a major problem in Nigeria. The statistics is staggering despite the political clamours against unemployment. The root of this problem originated in the visionless, selfish, mediocre, tribalistic and opportunistic small money-minded people masquerading as leaders who have continued to regenerate Nigerian political landscape over time. It is against this backdrop that this study examines the relationship between leadership failure and acute youth unemployment in Nigeria. A cross-sectional method was adopted and data was collected via a survey of three hundred (300) respondents in south-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria using non-probability sampling technique. Data collected were analyzed using correlation and linear regression analysis with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21. The results of the study revealed that there is significant relationship between leadership failure and acute youth unemployment. As predicted, the study also showed that leadership failure exerts a positive and statistically significant impact on acute youth unemployment in Nigeria. On the basis of these findings, the study recommends among others that the government at all levels should empower the jobless youths through genuine empowerment schemes that would equip them to be self-employed and employer of labor, revamped agricultural development schemes to create job opportunities for the unemployed youths roaming about on the Nigeria streets and the actualization of youth empowerment would be impossible if the war against corruption is not intensified.

This article discusses the position of women in the political life of Iran, the increase in the level of education among Iranian women before and after the Revolution, the connection between the presence of women in Parliament and in higher education at Iran, as well as the progress made by women in Iranian government organizations. The number of female students increased with increasing capabilities of universities, every day they stood out a large percentage of potential. Therefore, this article raises the following question: did the increase in the level of education among women affect their participation in the political sphere of the country or not?