КАТЕГОРІЯ ПОЛІТИЧНОГО ВПЛИВУ У МІЖНАРОДНИХ ВІДНОСИНАХ

Current events happening around the world, especially the 'humanitarian interventions' by NATO and the West within the context of the so-called Arab Spring, make the understanding of the role of spheres of influence in international politics absolutely critical. Hast explores the practical implications and applications of this theory, challenging the concept by using historical examples such as suzerainty and colonialism, as well as the emergence of a hierarchical international order. This study further connects the English School tradition, post-war international order, the Cold War and images of Russia with the concept of the sphere of influence to initiate debate and provide a fresh outlook on a concept which has little recent attention.

Introduction. In the context of growing anti-Russian information wars, intensive and sharp ideological confrontation active information support of Russia’s foreign policy becomes more and more crucial. Methods. Authors use mainly the methods of expert evaluation and trends, opinion polls to prove that the US has long been waging information wars against Russia first using the term (“information war”) back in 1992. Moreover, with time the United States makes the methods of struggle more and more sophisticated and has already attracted the EU and NATO as associates. In addition, the methods of comparative analysis of research results of leading domestic and foreign experts in the field of information and ideological component of modern international relations and issues of information support of foreign policy of the Russian Federation, as well as general scientific and special methods of knowledge of legal phenomena and processes made as the object of the research: the method of systematic and structural analysis, comparative legal and formal-logical methods have been used. Analysis. Along with the tools of public diplomacy our state takes all the needed measures to defend its information sovereignty at all levels. Despite the fact that the Russian state strategy has consistently created a system of detecting, preventing and eliminating threats to its information security, still it is necessary to deal with ever growing amount of antiRussian false information in the global media space. Results. Being one of the instruments of public diplomacy and foreign policy of any sovereign state, soft power takes into account the objective conditions of international relations and world politics and proceeds from the requirements of the national interests of the state as the main actor of the entire system of modern international relations. In the world practice of implementing the policy of soft power, starting with the creation of the Westphalian system of international relations, there was no precedent, when the state regardless of the socio-political nature of building a political system or the purposes of the foreign activity would be guided by different objectives and methods of analysis of world politics, the entire system of international relations and other goal-setting action in the international arena, including defined in the last decade by the concept of soft power. In the history of international relations, there has not been any world policy free from its ideological component. The thesis of de-ideologization of international relations, which received its definite distribution in the period immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in the practice of foreign policy actions of all the main actors of modern world politics has clearly proved its complete failure. Today, in the context of “hybrid wars” within the entire system of international relations, the world politics is no less ideologized than during the “cold war”. The political leadership of Russia allows the hypothetical possibility of cyberwarfare, provoked by the actions of the Republican administration of the United States. In December 2019, the White House authorized the preparation of a plan for conducting an information war with the Russian Federation by special forces of the U.S. Army, assigning the solution of this task to the above-mentioned cyber command. The policy of soft power of Russia, as well as its public diplomacy, as the whole complex of foreign policy activities of the Russian Federation in the international arena, is derived from the fundamental function of defending the national interests of Russia in the new political reality. The Russian Federation has consistently opposed the transformation of international relations into an arena of ideological confrontation with the use of tools of the so-called “information wars”. State sovereignty is unified. Information security, as a factor of ensuring information sovereignty, is a basic component of the unified state sovereignty. This is an accepted truth underlying the understanding of the nature of modern international relations, the principle underlying the foreign policy activity of any modern sovereign state, due to the objective regularity of the growth of the ideological factor of modern international relations. Moreover, in the face of targeted misinformation Russia needs to ensure its information security at both levels: political (ideological) and technical (technological) ones combining cyber as well as soft power tools. Only such a combination of these two crucial elements and continuous improvement can lead to victory in hybrid wars.

There is a noticeable and growing evolution of the global geopolitical balance of power and influence in the 21st century’s system of international relations. The current hegemon, the unipolar United States, and the political system of Western liberalism that supports it, is under great strain and is in a state of relative decline. The challenger is a non-Western-centric multipolar order, which consists of a wide variety of countries spanning the globe, including what is referred to as the Global South. This ‘crisis’ of the Western order has prompted a tangible and informational response from the U.S. and its system, to defend their privileged hegemony and to deter the rise of alternative systems of power and influence in international relations.

China's rise as an economic player is causing significant power shifts in the world economy. Its strength as a low-cost manufacturer helps to supply global markets with cheap products and simultaneously increases the global demand for commodities. This growing economic presence – in accordance with the classical argument by Paul Kennedy on The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers – consequentially augments China's political influence in international relations.

This article examines the emergence and transformation of Norway’s peace engagement in the context of changing international relations. Focusing on foreign policy discourses and practices, the article portrays peace engagement as a value-based effort to support resolution of distant intrastate conflicts, and a strategy to promote Norway’s interests and influence in international relations. The article also argues that changing international politics after the turn of the century has challenged and reoriented Norway’s peace engagement in a more realist direction. Foreign policy discourses and practices are increasingly based on a broad notion of interests that also include ideals of peace, democracy and development. This means that peace engagement can support a domestic political consensus on foreign policy, and simultaneously promote Norway’s standing, relevance and influence in international relations. Peace engagement has thus been institutionalized as a foreign policy that promotes peace while also addressing the challenges associated with smallness in international relations.

While the specifics of Europe's internal dimensions — its ultimate geographic boundaries and its future institutional design — have attracted much attention and caused considerable debate, the future role of the European Union in international relations by comparison has been neglected in terms of both public debate and scientific scrutiny. This is perhaps not surprising, given the massive enlargement of EU membership since the mid-1990s, which has absorbed much of Europe's political energies over the last years, and will undoubtedly continue to do so in the near future. At the same time, the European Union since 1990 has also seen its standing and its influence in international relations on balance increase rather substantially, even if this trend has been buffeted repeatedly by setbacks and crises. Indeed, it could be argued that European influence in international relations has grown not despite, but because of major crises which have forced the member states to focus on their shared interests and act accordingly. Whichever it may be, this trend has perhaps been most clearly observed from a distance: several prominent American observers even predicted that the twenty-first century would belong to the new superpower Europe (Kupchan, 2002; Rifkin, 2004).

In recent years, both state and non-state religious actors have become important for understanding international outcomes in many parts of world. Fundamental norms of international relations were enshrined in the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) - particularly the notion of state restraint in religious matters. This encouraged belief that international relations discourse is predominantly secular. Religion now influences international outcomes involving international society. All religious actors’ influence in international relations is linked to their ability to exercise ‘soft power’. The chapter examines the theory and practice of religion’s involvement in international relations.

The subject of this article is the legal basis of the mechanism for the adoption of sanctions (restrictive measures) within the European Union. The author traced the evolution of the application of sanctions since the creation of the European Economic Community (1957) to the present day, analyzed the relevant sections of the most important constituent acts of the EU and considered the features of the EU sanctions mechanism at the present stage. In recent decades, the practice of applying political and economic sanctions has significantly expanded in the system of international relations. At the same time, if earlier the initiator of international restrictive measures was usually the UN Security Council, now the world is dominated by unilateral national sanctions adopted on the basis of domestic political and legal norms. Somewhat apart in this process are the countries of the European Union, which are guided by collective sanctions measures approved within the EU. The purpose of this article is to study the specifics of the EU sanctions policy, to determine the legal nature of collective sanctions, as well as their compliance with the current principles and standards of modern international law. In the course of the evolution of the European Union as a subject of international legal relations, a special place was given to the formation of the common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU. The author comes to the conclusion that the gradual transformation of an economic association into a political union has led to the need for a unified coordinated policy in the international arena. According to the author, at the present time, the sanctions measures of the European Union have become an integral part of the PRSP, strengthening its role and importance as an important chain in the system of international relations. At the same time, the EU, not having its own armed forces, increasingly considers collective sanctions as an instrument of its political and economic influence in the world. The novelty of this study lies in the consideration of the EU sanctions mechanism from the point of view of the formation of a single common foreign policy of this supranational union.

The ancients said, “The way to the heart is through the stomach.” Gastronomy, closely related to concepts such as public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, and soft power, plays an important role in Turkish foreign policy as a means to have an influence over hearts and minds. In addition, gastrodiplomacy activities also contribute to the country’s promotion, country image, and nation branding. This article examines the concept of soft power, gastronomy as an outlet for cultural expression, and Türkiye’s gastrodiplomacy in Africa. Soft power is a strategic approach that enables countries to gain influence in international relations through tools such as culture, diplomacy, and economy. While gastronomy plays an important role in the construction of national identity and belonging, it also provides a platform that strengthens intercultural dialogue and understanding. In this context, gastrodiplomacy is a diplomatic tool that aims to create a positive image in the international arena by introducing the cuisines of countries. The study emphasizes the importance of Turkish cuisine as one of Türkiye’s soft power strategies towards Africa that it relies on in this process. At the same time, the cultural diplomacy and gastronomy projects of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) in Africa focus on the roles of these institutions in developing Türkiye’s relations with Africa. This article examines the impact of Türkiye’s gastrodiplomacy activities in Africa on African people and its contribution to Türkiye’s image in the region, while also discussing cultural barriers and criticisms of these strategies for culinary diplomacy.

The article analyzes the specifics of synthetic measurements of state potential on the example of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic (WUPR). The author of the study suggests that modeling the potential of the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic will enable modern historiography of the Ukrainian Revolution of 1914–1923 to elucidate the morphology of state power by elucidating the nature of political power, the functioning of the state body, its strategic goals, etc. in its western Ukrainian segment. The main research models of Western scientists of the second half of the 20 – early 21th centuries are clarified on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the state’s potential, in particular in the field of international relations: Clifford Herman, Wilhelm Fucks, Ray Klein and Ahmet Davutoğlu. The potential of the WUPR is also considered on the basis of studying the models of gravity, stratification and escalation / de-escalation, which made it possible to clarify the WUPR’s place in the system of international relations and collective security of the early 20th century. It is established that the model of gravity in the case of Western Ukraine diplomacy, in particular during its emigration period, can only partially indicate a certain cultural and / or ideological influence on the balance of international relations, and the “gravitational field” of Western Ukraine was in postwar Europe. An important feature of the stratification model is the prestige of the WUPR in the international arena, which has become the only and common interest of the united Ukrainian People’s Republic. The model of escalation / de-escalation in the realities of Western Ukraine shows that this Ukrainian state and foreign policy activity in the coordinate system of contemporary international relations was located between two points – between absolute peace and absolute war – in the context of the Polish-Ukrainian war of 1918–1919 for Eastern Galicia. According to the author, the most logical in relation to the imagined model of the potential of the WUPR was the escalation from the point of view of the stronger side (Poles), in particular in view of the escalation of armaments. It acted in conditions of asymmetric imbalance: the weaker side (Ukrainians) shifted the “difficulty” of escalation to ideological and moral-ideological problems.

Анотація. Процеси глобалізації у світовій економіці посилюють тенденції залежності бюджетних політики країн, у тому числі у сфері формування публічних видатків, від міжнародних відносин. У науковій літературі доволі ґрунтовно розкрито різноманітні механізми залежності публічних видатків від міжнародних відносин. Однак обґрунтовані наукові позиції щодо тих чи інших наслідків для видатків бюджетів різних країн не впорядковано в цілісну систему зовнішніх чинників. Метою статті є систематизація вчення про вплив міжнародних відносин, у яких бере участь країна, на видатки державного бюджету і розвиток теоретичних положень фінансової науки про зміни публічних видатків під впливом міжнародних відносин. Запропоновано згрупувати чинники, які впливають на публічні видатки, у чотири напрями: 1) геополітичні; 2) юридичні, 3) фінансово-кредитні; 4) інфраструктурні. Серед геополітичних чинників, які найбільше впливають на видатки держави, виокремлено військову агресію, ізоляцію, санкції, втручання у внутрішні справи країни тощо. Важливе значення для публічних видатків мають міжнародно-правові (юридичні) чинники, а саме: правові акти міжнародних інституцій, правомочність яких поширюється на державу; ухвали міжнародних судів; рішення міжнародних фінансових організацій. З-поміж чинників міжнародної фінансово-кредитної системи, від яких залежать видатки національних бюджетів, зазначено стан, динаміку, тенденції на міжнародних фінансових, валютних, кредитних ринках. Наслідки інфраструктурних чинників для публічних видатків проявляються через створення об’єктів глобальної інфраструктури, їхня модифікація і ліквідація. Одержані результати дають змогу чіткіше ідентифікувати міжнародні чинники, що впливають на публічні видатки, і більш ґрунтовно розуміти природу такого впливу. Ключові слова: публічні видатки, бюджет, бюджет держави, економічні санкції. Формул: 0; рис.: 1; табл.: 0; бібл.: 31.

Narratives as tools of sociological imagination: a reply to ‘From discourse to legitimacy: narratives as instruments of influence in international relations’ by Armağan Gözkaman

In traditional small state literature, small states are often relegated to the periphery. They are characterised as ‘rule-takers’ rather than ‘rulemakers’, lacking the resources to be proactive on the global stage and perpetually defined by a power deficit. Consequently, small state foreign policy behaviour is presumed to be driven by an enduring sense of dependence, with such states consistently aligning their policies with those of major players. This article challenges such assertions, arguing they reflect an outdated understanding of small state behaviour and power. By examining the cases of Seychelles and Mauritius, two Small Island Developing States in the South-West Indian Ocean, this article demonstrates that they defy these traditional notions. Through a thematic analysis of official government speeches from 2017 to 2024 and drawing on Holsti’s conception of role theory, the article argues that these two islands are actively enacting the role of ‘pioneers’, directly contrasting with dependency-based foreign policy frameworks. Beyond expanding on the foreign policy of small states to include an ‘interdependent foreign policy’ (IFP) orientation, this article also shows that the role of ‘pioneer’ carries its own form of power, offering an alternative perspective on how small, oceanic states can assert influence in international relations.

The paper examines the circumstances, details, elements of the process on using oil as a tool, when some influential politicians and ruling circles, including in Great Britain, sensing the target prospects of new political figures in Germany from among the social nationalists, tried to use them in their far-reaching purposes concerning the legal features of the Versailles Treaty. In particular, the actual absence of its own oil fields at the Weimar Republic and the monopolization of oil supplies in the context of implementing a "legal mechanism for pushing Germany to the East" made it possible to control the Hitler’s regime foreign policy activity to a certain extent.

Introduction. The article examines the scenarios of the political development of the world depending on the megatrends such as globalization, integration, democratization and the opposite trends – de-globalization, disintegration and de-democratization, as well as the current state of the political organization of the world, including the Westphalian system, the system of interstate relations (system of international relations) and political systems of the modern world states. Methods and materials. The political organization of the world is considered as a system consisting of three subsystems. In this regard, the main approach in the study is the systems approach. Scenario analysis is used as a research method. Analysis. Recently interest in scenarios of the political development of the world has sharply increased, which is reflected in the publications of many Russian and foreign authors. The scenarios of the political development of the world in the 21st century, after the crises associated with the terrorist attacks in 2001, the economic crisis that began in 2008 and the crisis in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, began to be discussed especially intensively. Most researchers consider such scenarios based on ideas about the possible configuration of interstate relations, i.e. parts of the system of international (interstate) relations. It is shown that this parameter of analysis is important, but insufficient. It is proposed to consider the scenarios of the political development of the world on the basis of how megatrends and trends alternative to them will act, as well as how the political organization of the world will develop. Results. Four parameters of scenario analysis are identified: 1) time parameter in actions of (mega) trends; 2) differentiated actions (mega) trends in many indicators of economic and social interaction; 3) configuration of the leading states in the international arena (part of the system of international relations). This parameter is widely used by various researchers; 4) an evolutionary (smooth) or revolutionary (through conflicts, crises, etc.) way of transforming the political organization of the world. The combination of development in these parameters (it is possible to single out additional parameters) gives a picture of world politics in the future.