Nature Of International Relations Research Articles

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Major Power Rivalry in Africa

Abstract Not immune from the nature of international relations, the COVID-19 pandemic has invoked the polarizing dichotomies of East-West and North-South as attempts to forge a collective response to fight the disease have only attained mixed results. The discourse of Africa being a battleground of competing foreign interests has consequently emerged. These foreign interests are mainly expressed in terms of economic, security and political benefits. While the pandemic has not changed the motives of competition, it has contributed to new forms of rivalry in what has become to be known as ‘coronavirus diplomacy.’ This paper reveals that the pandemic is being used to advance political, economic and strategic interests. It thus divulges that, efforts by major powers to help African countries deal with the disease, while appreciated, are not entirely benign. At the heart of such efforts are the “fixed universals” inherent in the realist tradition i.e., state, interest and power.

THE ISLAMIC LEGAL POLITICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

This paper (Sharia politics in Islamic international relations) deals with the nature of international relations in Islam. Islam established important international principles for this, including mercy, peace, justice, and respect for human dignity. The paper represents the belief of some that Islam was based on the edge of the sword, and that it legitimized the means of force to spread it. However, the reality confirms that Islam came with detailed rules that regulated the relationship of mankind with his Creator and the relationship between human beings. And that the nature of Islam requires understanding, persuasion, and explaining the content of the message to all people, and this nature is not compatible with the use of force of any kind. Accordingly, this paper has been divided into three main sections, first section deals with the organization of Islam for international relations, the second section, deals with war as an exception in international relations in Islam, and the third section deals with causes of war in Islam. The paper concludes several results, the most important of which is that the legal policy in international relations is based on combining two things, namely, adherence to the provisions and rules of Islamic law, while achieving the circumstantial interests of the Islamic state and benefiting from the experiences of relevant human societies, in a manner that does not contradict with Islamic law.

“Inevitable” and “Imminent” Invasions: The Logic Behind Western Media War Stories

In the 21st century, great power geopolitics is back as the Western-centric U.S. unipolar order is facing relative decline due to the challenges posed by the non-Western-centric multipolar order, specifi cally by China and Russia. In political and practical terms, geopolitics is about being able to manage and represent the nature of international relations in terms of actor relations and power dynamics. It concerns the ability of actors to make representations and interpretations of actors, events, and processes taking place in the physical realm. Informational geopolitics as an indirect and non-kinetic form of competition and confl ict has gained increasing prominence in the 21st century, where information and knowledge form the fi fth dimension of strategy. This leads to increasingly unstable international relations as the U.S. seeks to prevent other powers from growing at its expense. Hence, the critical role played by Western mainstream mass media outlets as a means of obstructive foreign policy in preserving the unipolar order through specifi c discursive practices employed in international news. Critical discourse analysis is used to analyse and interpret Western news stories on “inevitable” and “imminent” Chinese and Russian invasions. Informational geopolitics is used as a means of limiting opponent’s operational choices and opportunities in their pursuit of foreign policy objectives.

Constitutional Values in the Content of State Programs of the Russian Federation

The Constitution of the Russian Federation absolutely fulfills its value purpose only when its provisions find their real embodiment in socio-political relations. In this context, the process of implementing the Constitution and its axiological provisions, which is the subject of this study, acquires a high degree of significance. The methodological basis of the study is a combination of such scientific methods as: formal-legal and structural-functional methods, comparison method, the method of searching and analyzing scientific and normative material. The scientific basis of the study is made by the works of outstanding scholars in the field of the theory of law and constitutional law. With regard to the implementation of constitutional values in the state programs of the Russian Federation, such properties of the Constitution as reality, direct action and programmatic nature acquire a special meaning. In addition, in the study of the implementation of constitutional values in the content of state programs of the Russian Federation, the question of the forms of implementation of the corresponding constitutional prescriptions acquires significant scientific and practical significance. Special forms of implementation of constitutional values in the content of state programs are: reflection in key aspects of the content of the state program (goals, objectives, directions) of provisions developing ideas of a particular constitutional value, as well as concretization of constitutional values in the content of state programs of the Russian Federation. For the implementation of constitutional values in the content of state programs, the current historical situation, the features of the current legal regime, the nature of international relations, etc. are essential. The degree to which society and the state are approaching this goal serves as a criterion for the effectiveness of the implementation under consideration. The main provisions of this research work and the key conclusions drawn from its results can serve as the basis for further scientific research concerning issues related to the implementation of constitutional values both in the content of state programs and in other forms, as well as issues related to the functioning of the mechanism of this implementation.

Justifying force: international law, foreign policy decision-making, and the use of force

What is the role of international law in foreign-policy decision-making? In particular, why do leaders justify policy decisions with appeals to international law and why do these appeals make the references that they do? This paper combines scholarship on the role of justifications and the permissive power of international law, theorizing that decisionmakers will seek out international legal justifications over justifications that reference non-legal claims. These justifications are seen as particularly important in the contemporary world, reflecting the legalized nature of international relations today. In particular, decision-makers will especially prefer to reference codified international agreements over customary international law, seeing a particular value to referencing a written text even if it is not as directly connected to the issue at hand. These more general justifications are, in turn, preferred over non-legal justifications. This reflects the importance of international law in international relations—in a deeply legalized system actors feel compelled to portray their behaviors as legal, even if these justifications are tenuous or if pursuing them is time and resource consuming. The United Kingdom’s 1956 intervention in the Suez and the United States’ 1983 intervention in Grenada—are used to test these assumptions. Both cases support the theory: decision-makers prefer legal justifications, pursuing these over other options. In addition, decision-makers appear to prefer legal arguments built on codified law, keeping with the theoretical predictions. These findings deepen our understanding of how actors understand and use international law, its role in justifications, and the legalized nature of international relations today.

«ГОЛОС АМЕРИКИ» НА СЛУЖБІ ДЕРЖАВНОГО ДЕПАРТАМЕНТУ США (1945–1953): БИТВА ЗА ІСНУВАННЯ

The article is devoted to the activities of «Voice of America» in one of the most difficult periods for this organization – 1945–1953. The difficulty of the existence of «Voice of America» in the specified period was explained by the fact that having fulfilled its task – opposition to German and Italian propaganda during the Second World War – «Voice of America» faced the threat of extinction. The purpose of the article is to consider the struggle of «Voice of America» for its existence, to show the problems «Voice of America» faced during the period of being under the State Department jurisdiction, as well as the role of the latter in preserving this radio broadcast. The article analyzes the American and Ukrainian developments regarding the research topic and emphasizes the significant positive changes currently observed in the Ukrainian scientific environment regarding the research topic. It is noted that the post-war events in the world and the immediate beginning of the «Cold War» contributed to solving the question of the feasibility of the existence of «Voice of America», as some political circles began to see in «Voice of America» a new tool for countering Soviet propaganda. Therefore, the question about the need to continue foreign information operations as an integral part of conducting foreign affairs arose on the agenda, especially considering the nature of international relations after the end of the war. It is indicated that despite the obvious advantage of «Voice of America» existence, a certain skepticism was observed among congressmen. It resulted in the reduction of funding for «Voice of America» activities which led to a reduction in staff, broadcasting hours, variety of programs, etc. Special attention is drawn to William Benton, Assistant Secretary of State of the United States, the man who single-handedly saved the «Voice of America» from complete disappearance. The methodological basis of the article was the principle of historicism, a systematic approach, problem-chronological and descriptive methods. The scientific novelty consists in a step-by-step examination of the problems faced by the «Voice of America» in the specified period, showing the role of W. Benton in preserving the existence of the radio station, as well as in refuting the thesis regarding the absolute informational independence of the «Voice of America» from the US government. It is noted that the «Voice of America» in 1945–1953 still tried to reflect American foreign policy from the official American point of view. However, it was more independent in criticizing the domestic political situation.

Переддень і початок німецько-радянської війни в дослідженнях істориків зарубіжжя

The article is dedicated to the key issues of the run-up and beginning of the first period of the German-Soviet war, which are reflected in foreign historiography. The authors of the publication tried historically reconstruct the events that preceded Nazi Germany’s attack on the USSR, the military confrontation on the Soviet-German battlefield from June 22 to December 1941 based on the most famous works of researchers from neighboring countries and beyond.The publication attempts to cover a wide range of problems: secret diplomacy, political maneuvers of the USSR and Germany in advance of the war, strategic plans of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army and the Wehrmacht, the course of military operations on the Eastern Front in the summer and winter of 1941.The authors of the publication mainly focus on documents and materials belonging to direct participants of the events, well-known scholars and politicians. The facts and analysis of historical events presented by them cannot remain outside the scientific controversy. The geopolitical plans of the Nazis, who posed a threat to the entire world civilization, seem impressive.The article refutes most of the assessments and key conclusions from the times of Soviet historiography. Important historical sources included in the scientific discourse deny the conceptual issues of the Soviet historical narrative about the nature of international relations on the run-up of the war and the initial period of the war with Nazi Germany. The authors explain their critical attitude to the publications of the post-Soviet era, which, first, do not pass the source test, and second, do not meet the principles of humanism, democracy and tolerance, which are inherent in the ideas of the 21st century.To obtain unbiased results and conclusions, the authors of the publication relied on various methods of scientific research: content analysis, synthesis, historical-comparative, historical-chronological, critical and comparative analyses.The authors believe that this publication is not only of scientific and cognitive interest, but provides a deep understanding of the lessons of the past war, which are important for the current security of the Ukrainian state and formation of patriotic consciousness of society, unbiased evolvement of its historical memory. The presented results of research in foreign historiography are a strong argument for modern Ukrainian discourse.The main visions of the authors meet the consolidation of the current scientific trend of Ukraine — glorification of the significant role of the Ukrainian people in the victory over Nazi.

Rethinking of Turkey’s Geopolitics together with Eastern Mediterranean. Turkish Perspective

In the studies carried out within the scope of geopolitical discipline, the expression "geography is destiny" is frequently used and it is claimed that geography has unchangeable, irreversible qualities and the policies implemented are shaped through this assumption. This assumption ignores the humanitarian interventions over the geography and makes it difficult to understand the results produced by these interventions at both regional and global level. Similarly, the dynamic nature of international relations reveals new actors in the international system in times of bounce and collapse, and the borders that expand or narrow with each transformation can differentiate the geopolitical view with new sovereign countries. In the historical process, transportation accessibility, trade, search for raw materials, security and alliance relations have caused the same geography to be interpreted differently in different periods. This situation also applies to the geography of Turkey had been the homeland of empires. The developments in the Middle East over the past two decades has created a sensitivity in the relations between Turkey and the West, especially the United States. Competing interests with the EU and the US in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean, has necessitated a reassessment of Turkey's geography.

Riddles of the Text of an Early Byzantine Historian (Book Review: Priscus Panita. Excerpta et fragmenta / ed. by P. Carolla. – Berolini ; Novi Eboraci : Walter de Gruyter, 2017. – XLVIII, 140 p.)

Introduction. The publication is a review of the critical edition of the preserved fragments of the Early Byzantine intellectual and diplomat Priscus Panita’s historical work who presented first of all unique information about the nature of international relations in the Eastern Mediterranean and in Europe at the time of increasing threats to the Eastern and Western Roman empires from the barbarians. Analysis. Italian scholar, philologist, and archaeographer P. Carolla who, unlike many of her predecessors, involved all the codices containing excerpts from the writings of Priscus for the publication, primarily confirmed the concept of her teacher, F. Bornmann, about the authenticity of texts related to the work of Priscus, but contained in the works created under control of the 10th-century emperor Constantine VII. The result of the presentation of these fragments is a logical series of formally separate texts which is based on a perfectly developed stem. This kind of classical archaeographic technique is supplemented by approaches different in their effectiveness to the publication of excerpts whose affiliation to the Priscus’ pen is not indisputable. The review notes that this kind of technique would have been more successful if Carolla had accompanied the published texts with a commentary on their content. But there are no such comments, but only some attempts to indicate that a number of passages belong to Priscus as an author. This approach impoverishes publisher’s archaeographic finds and is methodologically flawed. The disadvantages of such methods of publication are illustrated in the review by examples of hypothetical dependence of the corresponding “Hunnic” passages of the most famous historian of the 6th-century Byzantium Procopius of Caesarea on the texts of Priscus. Results. In general, however, the publication undertaken by Carolla not only presents well-organized topical texts to specialists, allowing them to expand the possibilities of studying the transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, but also gives an additional impetus to improving the methodology of Byzantine archaeography.

Anarchy is What Students Make of It: Playing Out Wendt’s Three Cultures of Anarchy

This article explores the hidden educational potential in the board game Diplomacy. While commonly recognized as a good low-cost negotiation simulation and a useful teaching platform, the original game version over-emphasizes the conflictual nature of international relations and presents an image of international relations that is not reflective of the state of world politics today. The article reports experiences from developing and teaching a modified version of the game. It suggests a concrete way to integrate International Relations (IR) theories directly into the game. By making three common theoretical approaches an integrated part of the game, as well as expanding game strategies, win conditions and associated payoff tables, Diplomacy can be turned from a tool for teaching one variant of Realism into a flexible platform for teaching a broader range of IR theories, including Liberal-Institutionalism and Constructivism. In this way, the gap between abstract theory and simulated practice can be bridged in a way that students much appreciate as a learning mode. The article thus suggests a partial solution to one of the key challenges of using games and simulations in political science teaching: how to connect the game or simulation with theory.

Diplomacy of International Crises Management: Kuwait Foreign Policy as a Model (A Survey Study)

The importance of the study of crisis management diplomacy stems from the fact that it is a tool to prevent and avoid all confrontations and its disastrous consequences. In particular, regional and international issues and crisis has become complex and multiple. In addition, the units of both regional and international environments have been increased. These developments further complicated the phenomenon of making and implementing foreign policy according to the mechanism of crises management diplomacy. As a result, making and implementing foreign policy in its traditional official framework has become insufficient to understand the nature of international relations. Rather, it has to be expanded outside of this framework to understand the role of crises management diplomacy in making foreign policy. Therefore, there have been some attempts to provide academic scientific frameworks to explain the process of making and implementing foreign policy according to the variables of this development. The study has monitored this matter and concluded that foreign policy, diplomacy and crises management diplomacy have significantly evolved from a simple and traditional phenomenon related to the issue of security and formal promotion of relations to multidimensional phenomenon closely related to the various economic, political, social and cultural areas of societies. This technique has been based on traditional methods such as negotiations. In recent decades, it has adopted accurate and effective technical methods. These methods include political methods such as good offices, mediation and compromise. Also, there are legal methods such as international arbitration and the presentation of disputes to international and regional organizations. There are also deterrent ones such as economic embargo, boycotting and freezing funds. It means that developed countries control over international relations, and developing countries participate effectively in order to preserve the rights of nations and interact fruitfully through dialogue and peaceful coexistence.

The Warsaw Pact Reconsidered: International Relations in Eastern Europe, 1955–69 by Crump Laurien (review)

SEER, 98, 2, APRIL 2020 386 anti-American discourse. Several publications are omitted, such as Andrei Fateev’s study of Soviet anti-American campaigns after the war (Obraz vraga v sovetskoi propagande, 1945–1954 gg., Moscow, 1999), and perhaps less important but nevertheless relevant, Margaret Peacock’s Innocent Weapons, on Soviet childhood policies during the Cold War (Chapel Hill, NC, 2014), or Peter Carlson’s account of Khrushchev’s 1959 trip to the States, K Blows Top (New York, 2009). I also regret that the author does not address the concept of ‘anti-Americanism’ by incorporating more recent works, such as Max Paul Friedman’s Rethinking anti-Americanism (Cambridge, 2012). A more ambitious alternative to Magnúsdóttir’s plan would have been to use the myth of the ‘meeting on the Elbe’ (mentioned several times in the book) as a template. Université de Lille Andrei Kozovoi Crump, Laurien. The Warsaw Pact Reconsidered: International Relations in Eastern Europe, 1955–69. Routledge Studies in the History of Russia and Eastern Europe, 22. Routledge, London and New York, 2015. xxv + 322 pp. Map. Illustrations. Chronology. Notes. Bibliography. Index. £100.00: $148.00. The best way to describe Laurien Crump’s new study of the Warsaw Pact is that it pursues a direct, straightforward line of argument, without even a hint of deviation or hesitation. Whereas the late 1940s were characterized by Stalin’s ruthless quest for domination over Eastern Europe, witnessed above all (but not only) by the expulsion of Yugoslavia from the Cominform in June 1948 and the subsequent witch-hunts against ‘Titoists’ in all East European Communist parties, the period after 1955, and especially after 1960, saw a ‘paradigm shift’ (p. 3) in the nature of international relations within the Soviet bloc. Through their rivalries with each other, their different (and sometimes maverick) approaches to the big issues of the day — the German question, the Sino-Soviet split, the Vietnam war, nuclear non-proliferation, the Prague Spring — and their willingness to assert their own national agendas when it came to borders, external security and relations with the West — the six non-Soviet members of the Warsaw Pact were able to emerge as respected junior partners in that alliance, rather than as mere recipients of top-down orders from Moscow. This ‘multilaterization’ of the Warsaw Pact reached a climax in March 1969, when the Budapest meeting of its Political Consultative Committee (PCC) managed to agree a common agenda for détente with the West. The PCC’s joint international plea for a European security conference caught the attention of NATO precisely because it bore the imprint of a mature, professional coalition REVIEWS 387 of interests seeking to overcome the more negative aspects of the East-West conflict in what was rapidly becoming a less bipolar, less imperial and thus more uncertain, post-1960 world order. Romania’s inclusion in the appeal was especially important, as the latter had not taken part in the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia — allowing all concerned to divorce the Warsaw Pact itself from this latter episode. Aside from Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev, the Communist leaders who feature most prominently in Crump’s account are the East German Walter Ulbricht, the Poles Władysław Gomułka and Adam Rapacki, the Romanians Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and Nicolae Ceauşescu and, albeit in 1968–69 only, the Hungarian János Kádár. All of them, she shows, were capable of pressing the particular ‘national’ interests of their own states, whether in Warsaw Pact meetings, bilateral discussions with the Kremlin or (in Romania’s case) through independent dialogue with Bonn, Washington, Hanoi and Beijing. Crump’s analysis of the parallels between Ceauşescu and NATO’s foremost rebel in the 1960s, Charles de Gaulle, is especially impressive, not least as she convincingly manages to reconcile her argument that Romania was able to uphold its new-found political independence from 1964–65 with the fact that it actually stayed within the Warsaw Pact’s military structures. However, her use of the terms ‘dissent’ and ‘emancipation’ to describe state-centred means and ends is unduly restrictive and — barring a few references to Ceauşescu’s temporary status as a national...

Marx’s International Outlook and Its Contemporary Value

Marx probed into the laws of the evolution of world history and the international system from the perspective of grand history, incisively revealing the inherent historical dynamics and evolutionary secrets of the laws of this development and thus providing a new analytical framework for our understanding of the nature of international relations and the characteristics of the era. Compared with related international relations theories of the same period, Marx’s international outlook had a unique class standpoint and methodological principles and adopted rigorous speculative logic and lofty values. Marx conducted scientific research and dialectical analysis of the laws of evolution and the intrinsic nature of international society, especially the historical mission of the proletariat. These ideas, unique in the intellectual and theoretical spectrum of international relations, provide an intellectual guide for the innovation of Chinese diplomatic theory in the new era.

The theoretical framework of the new popular diplomacy Concept and concepts approach

The developments and changes taking place in the international environment and in various fields are reflected in their impact on the nature of international relations and the opening of new fields of means to regulate those relations in the interests of States. The official diplomacy governing the relationship between governments was one of those means that indicated the need for popular diplomacy, During which the governments of the foreign countries, and their tasks become complementary to the work of diplomacy and help in achieving the objectives of foreign policy of States, and used popular diplomacy during World Wars I and II as well as the duration of the cold war as a means to achieve the goals and After the end of the Cold War and with the tremendous development in the fields of information and communication, ideas emerged from thinkers and research centers that called for the re-establishment of new popular diplomacy for the purpose of influencing and manipulating foreign peoples in a way that achieved States that their objectives in various areas, which requires standing in the research on the concepts of diplomacy, traditional folk diplomacy, and new popular diplomacy, while standing on the concepts approach to the concept of new or related to popular diplomacy In terms of similarities and differences.

AFRICA AND THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Este artigo examina o que chamamos de historiografia de Relações Internacionais (RI) da África, uma avaliação da contribuição de acadêmicos africanos para o estudo da história e da disciplina de RI. Faz-se isso com base no mito que cerca a historiografia das RI, o papel bastante limitado das contribuições africanas e um conjunto de critérios retirados dos trabalhos de Schmidt e Bell sobre a escrita das RI. Embora reconheçam as RI de Hoffmann como uma ciência social americana, eles sugerem que a historiografia de um campo deve destacar perspectivas obscuras, pesquisadores que professam conscientemente as RI como sua disciplina e instituições que contribuem para o desenvolvimento da disciplina. Embora estudiosos das RI africanos atendam a alguns desses critérios, incluindo instituições e acadêmicos que se autodeclaram como acadêmicos de RI, a hegemonia americana e seu concorrente europeu cúmplice no campo influenciam muito os escritos acadêmicos africanos e as práticas que adotam no estudo das relações internacionais. Enquanto acadêmicos africanos trazem perspectivas africanas sobre questões globais para descobrirem o que eles fazem, eles respondem principalmente a tons teóricos, metodológicos e práticos estabelecidos em outros lugares, alguns até mesmo contrariando essas visões dominantes de teorias “importadas”, sem necessariamente desenvolver filosoficamente fundamentados estudos sobre RI na perspectiva africana. Consequentemente, embora as contribuições africanas para a disciplina e história da RI pareçam marginais, os escritores africanos de RI podem expandir seus impactos explorando a disciplina da História - uma visão que representa a natureza eclética da RI - e basear-se na história e nos eventos africanos para fornecer dados teóricos e filosóficos e insights empíricos para o estudo de RI na África. Embora a teoria pós-colonial seja um exemplo de tal reflexão, os estudiosos africanos de relações internacionais farão contribuições significativas para o campo por meio da introspecção, em vez de dependerem dos cânones orientados para o Ocidente.

Geoeconomics with Chinese characteristics: the BRI and China’s evolving grand strategy

China has become the second largest economy in the world in a historically unprecedented space of time. Subsequently, China has begun to exert a form of geoeconomic influence that is changing the way we think about both the nature of international relations in the 21st century and about the precise uses China’s policymakers will put their growing power into. This paper explores these debates and China’s evolving approach to foreign and strategic policies through the prism of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). If the BRI becomes a reality it will quite literally cement China’s place at the centre of a regional network of production processes that will inevitability enhance China’s overall economic and geopolitical importance. At the very least, China’s ascent is forcing a reassessment about the nature of power and influence in the contemporary international system. Not only is the nature of economic organisation currently raising important theoretical and practical questions about the basis of international competition, but it is also becoming increasingly clear that the power and influence of national governments are largely determined by relative shifts in the balance of economic power, as much as it is by more traditional strategic factors.

Problematyka władzy międzynarodowej

One of the fundamental categories of general sociology concerns power. Regardless of differences in interpretation, power can be defined as the dependence between subordinator and subordinated. This relation is unidirectional. When discussing influence, this property is significant, as otherwise it could be reciprocal, or an influence could be exerted by many other entities that are not bound by the relationship of subordination. The nature of international relations is too specific to allow a simple transfer of power-related phenomena from the realm of domestic relations. One can indicate the presence of delegated power, resulting from the mutual assignment of subordination rights to international decision- making bodies. The processes of international power are divided into procedures of hard power, soft power and smart power, the latter signifying the manifestation of effective power, making use of the mechanisms of the former two. It is also important to take into account the specificity of the legitimization of international power and manifestations of accountability. Also not without significance is the capacity for the implementation of international power, equipped with the relevant enforcement instruments.

ПРАВОВІ МЕХАНІЗМИ УПРАВЛІННЯ КРИТИЧНОЮ ІНФОРМАЦІЙНОЮ ІНФРАСТРУКТУРОЮ УКРАЇНИ

ПРАВОВІ МЕХАНІЗМИ УПРАВЛІННЯ КРИТИЧНОЮ ІНФОРМАЦІЙНОЮ ІНФРАСТРУКТУРОЮ УКРАЇНИ

Сучасні концепції національних інтересів у контексті зовнішньої політики держав.

The aim of the paper is to analyze contemporary concepts of national interests in the context of foreign policy of states. It is noted that the national interests determine the strategy and tactics of the states’ foreign policy, the nature of international relations and the features of domestic policy. It is noted that the practical realization of national interests should precede the theoretical substantiation of different concepts. Moreover, the study and analysis of existing concepts of national interests is a prerequisite for the creation of a new own concept that will respond to the effective development of the state, international and domestic conditions.The features of such concepts as «rapid reaction strategy», the concept of «mutually guaranteed destruction», «oriental politics», «iron curtain», the doctrine of «mass retaliation», the program of «new borders», the policy of «instantaneous isolation», the doctrine of «intimidation», «Cold war», «hybrid war» are defined. The historical context and characteristics of the events concerning the realization of the concepts of national interests by the world states are indicated. The peculiarities of international relations in these periods are determined. Attention is drawn to the scientific discussion about the modern concept of «hybrid war», the main components of the «hybrid war» are named. It is noted that «the policy of new borders» combines all the elements necessary for the harmonious development of the state.It is specified that the analyzed concepts demonstrate a power aspect dominates in the theory of national interests both in the 20th and 21st centuries. It is noted that the realistic approach in politics prevails in the present days, and about the advantage of information technologies in defending, implementing and demonstrating national interests in the XXI century.It is also specified that the subject of the article touches on the discussion problem, because the analyzed concepts are not considered by all researchers as concepts of national interests, referring them exclusively to foreign policy strategies of individual states. It is noted that the concept of national interests is considered as a system of possible realization of the national interests of a particular state within a certain period of time.

The difficulties of environmental responsibility and ways of settling their international disputes: الصعوبات التي تواجه المسؤولية البيئية وطرق تسوية نزاعاتها الدولية

This paper dealt with procedural and substantive difficulties faced by environmental responsibility and how to overcome them, in addition to resolving environmental disputes ways. The study relied to collect and extract information from the main sources as references and basic books, research and scientific papers, lectures, and some national legislation and then take advantage of this information to come to the results of scientific value. This study was to identify the problems facing environmental responsibility, the study responded to a query search in terms of the nature of those problems and how to overcome them, where the researcher found during the study to several conclusions, perhaps the most notable: Approval of jurisprudence inadequacy tort techniques in its traditional form to overcome environmental protection problems. There are still difficulties in determining the basis of liability for environmental damage for being the place of doctrinal disputes have not been resolved conclusively because of the special nature of the environmental damage. The difficulty of self-responsibility in the field of environmental protection not only domestically but also just appeared on the international level. The financial compensation arranged by the environmental damage has not received wide acceptance in the field of environmental protection. The nature of international relations in the light of regional and international blocs, making negotiations more vital roads and palatable to solve environmental disputes. Based on these findings the study found several recommendations, perhaps the most important: the adoption of the application of all legal techniques to sort of responsibility in the field of environmental protection. Give environmental associations the right to legal representation to curb attacks on the environment. Oblige all industrial enterprises to take environmental measures. Develop the concept of diplomatic protection and international direct responsibility procedural rules relating to the settlement of environmental disputes in addition to the application of the theory of strict liability. To work on activating the consultative role of the International Court of Justice in resolving environmental disputes.