Non-interference In Internal Affairs Research Articles

The Saudi-Iranian Rapprochement and Its Reflection on the Arab Region

The protracted geopolitical rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has been one of the major shaping factors in Middle Eastern dynamics for decades. However, signs of a potential improvement in diplomatic and political relationships between the two powers have raised hopes that the regional situation could change. This study will provide a detailed analysis of the ongoing Saudi-Iranian rapprochement and its implications for the Yemeni crisis, the Syrian conflict, the Palestinian cause, economic trade, security cooperation, and diplomatic ties. In examining these critical aspects, the research will develop the current understanding of the impact of the new deal between Riyadh and Tehran on the Middle East. One of the longest-standing rivalries across the Middle East has finally taken a first albeit inadequate to address two main foreign policy tenets of both Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Saudi-Iranian deal acknowledges the principles of “sovereignty of states” and “non-interference in internal affairs.” Over decades, their competition had a significant footprint in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Yemen. In these states, the foreign policy struggle of Riyadh and Tehran overlapped with the powerful and complex domestic counterparts. Internally, their fight took on ethnic, tribal, religious, sectarian, political, and ideological forms.

Climate security in Southeast Asia: navigating concepts, approaches and practices

Climate security is gaining significant traction in global discourses on how to respond urgently to the challenges brought on by climate change. In Southeast Asia, however, the term ‘climate security’ raises concerns about the unintended consequences of securitisation to frame the complex and cross-cutting impact of climate change. This paper examines these concerns against the evolving discourses on climate security. It argues that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN’s) reservations about invoking the language of security on climate change are underpinned by concerns about sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs. The paper also argues that ASEAN’s hesitance to adopt ‘climate security’ downplays the critical need to build regional capacity for anticipatory climate action, including the ability to respond to potential climate-induced conflicts.

Unilateral Sanctions under International Law and Effectiveness of Blocking

INTRODUCTION. This article discusses modern international legal concept of unilateral sanctions. The authors contribute to the emerging discussion on the qualifying of unilateral sanctions under international law.MATERIALS AND METHODS. In this study we took into account the works of both Russian and foreign scholars in the field of international economic law, as well as analyzed documents and materials of international organizations (United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO) and others) in order to assess the compatibility of unilateral sanctions with international law. General scientific methods of cognition (analysis, synthesis, induction, and deduction), special legal methods (formal-legal, technical-legal, method of legal analogy) and comparative legal method were used in the presented research.RESEARCH RESULTS. Presented analysis has shown that widely used term “unilateral sanctions” leads to abusive and inappropriate use of international legal term. Analysis of compatibility of unilateral sanctions with other types of coercive measures such as countermeasures, UN Security Council sanctions, retortions, reprisals have shown that unilateral sanctions do not fall under the meaning of all mentioned measures. In addition, unilateral sanctions should not be justified under the WTO security exceptions. The use of extraterritorial unilateral sanctions contradicts one of the fundamental principles of international law – principle of non-interference in internal affairs. Existing blocking unilateral sanctions mechanisms are not efficient enough to compensate negative effect posed by unilateral sanctions.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. Authors concluded that unilateral sanctions in most of the cases do not satisfy cumulative criteria of legitimate countermeasure. Unilateral sanctions are not equivalent to the United Nation Security Council sanctions, as there are no “checks and balances” in the decision-making process in the form of determining the degree of threat to peace and security and taking into account humanitarian exceptions. Although there is some correlation between unilateral sanctions and retortions or reprisals, retortions and reprisals posses criteria of legality and proportionality, while, unilateral sanctions are introduced at the state’s discretion without any standard. Furthermore, the authors argue that to avoid abusive use of the WTO security exceptions WTO panels have to rely on the well-balanced approach used by the Panel in Russia – Transit case. This approach shows that the context of security exception should be understood as encompassing only military and closely related to military issues and does not cover political, economic, cultural or any other interests and relations. Existing blocking mechanisms of unilateral sanctions require separate qualification under international law including compatibility with the legitimate countermeasures.

Alternative World Orders? Russia’s Ukraine War and the Domestic Politics of the BRICS

ABSTRACT Russia’s war in Ukraine has sharpened the contours of alternative world orders. These diverging orders emerged in recent decades through the creation of distinct institutions and policy positions by the ‘Political South’. While the ‘Political West’ emphasises democracy, market economy and universal human rights as guiding principles for international order, the Political South prioritises national autonomy, non-intervention in internal affairs and state-permeated economies. The Political South rejects military aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, cultivates a good relationship with Moscow and criticises Western conceptions of world order as paternalistic. Core actors of the ‘Southern World Order’ (SWO) are the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and South Africa), which created international institutions as alternatives to the Liberal International Order (LIO). These countries, however, did not leave the LIO and continue to have close economic relations with the West. This double-track strategy arguably correlates with the plurality of domestic societal forces, which includes ideational and material ties with the West.

КОНЦЕПЦІЯ «ОБОВ’ЯЗОК ЗАХИЩАТИ»: МІЖНАРОДНО-ПРАВОВИЙ АНАЛІЗ ТА ПРОБЛЕМИ РЕАЛІЗАЦІЇ

The article provides an international and legal description of the concept “Duty to protect”. The problems of implementing this concept are analyzed. It is noted that the latter problems arose due to the presence of conflicts between the content of the concept and some principles of international law, namely: inviolability of state sovereignty, non-use of force or threat of force, prohibition of interference in the internal affairs of other states. Key words: “Duty to protect”, principles of international law, state sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, non-use of force and threat of force, collective measures, military force.

The PRC’s Foreign Aid to Developing Countries as a Tool to Protect Chinese Companies’ Investments against Political Risks

The article is exploring the PRC’s experience in using foreign aid tools to mitigate political risks for its companies’ foreign direct investments in the countries of Global South. The author compares Chinese approach with the Western one, and identifies key exclusive features of China’s efforts towards mitigating risks for its companies. In particular, it has been found that the Chinese state-owned companies (SOEs) are the main proponents of kickstarting foreign aid projects with the aim of mitigating risks. Such projects are often implemented by the contractors from China, and encompass constructing social infrastructure in the recipient country, as a “bonus” to the principal commercial activity. Political risks are mitigated via subsidized loan contract terms, containing serious consequences for the recipient in the event of broadly defined changes in the regulatory regime and force-majeure detrimental to Chinese entities. Chinese SOEs can also protect their investments against the recipient’s harmful actions by prompting the PRC government to stop the foreign aid transfers, or by simply abstaining from proposing new aid projects in the future. The emphasis of political risk mitigation through foreign aid is on the legal-governmental (regulatory) risks, while the extralegal risks, such as terrorist attacks, worker strikes and civil protests, are not directly addressed, which can be explained by the adherence of the PRC to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs.

THE SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTE AS A THREAT TO ASEAN COOPERATIVE SECURITY IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION

The article provides an overview of the dispute in the South China Sea between China and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through the prism of ASEAN cooperative security. Emphasis is placed on the study of documents that envisionage mechanisms for resolving the dispute between China and ASEAN. It is determined that the activities of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as a collective actor in resolving the dispute in the South China Sea are limited exclusively to confidence-building measures as the ultimate goal of activities in this area and the development of a code of conduct with the People's Republic of China. At the same time, the main legal instrument of ASEAN's relations with China at the mentioned waters remains the legally non-binding Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea of 4 November 2002, which indicates China's unwillingness to create a direct framework for cooperation in the South China Sea with a view to furthrer strengthening its position in the waters through militarisation and land reclamation activities. The authors also consider and analyse the main limitations of ASEAN's security policy in the Asia-Pacific region and its cooperative security regime, including absolutisation of sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, consensus as the basis for decision-making, adherence to the principle of mushyawarah - consultations as an end in itself, non-use of potential conflict resolution mechanisms due to soft institutionalism and the use of bilateral joint resource development in the South-China Sea, which undermines the principle of multilateralism of ASEAN cooperative security.

Инструмент «мягкой силы» в содействии международному развитию

In the present article the authors substantiate the following thesis: in the context of real polycentrism and increased confrontation between the states with liberal system of values and the states that defend real sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs of aid-recipient states through a variety of development assistance tools, exceptionally "soft power" can become an effective mechanism of creating conditions for sustainable development of the world community as a whole. In preparing the study the authors applied the methods of historicism and comparative analysis of approaches to the policy of realizing the "soft power" goals.

The Clay We Are Made Of: Haudenosaunee Land Tenure on the Grand River

Susan M. Hill’s The Clay We Are Made Of provides both an excellent introduction to Haudenosaunee cultural history and a narrative of the Grand River Territory to 1924. Beginning with the Creation Story and extending through the Great Law of Peace (formation of the Haudenosaunee league) and the Code of Handsome Lake, Hill provides a clear and concise overview of essential aspects of Haudenosaunee history that serves as an interpretive lens for the book’s narrative. Equally significant was the Covenant Chain, a diplomatic and trading relationship that the English and Haudenosaunee developed during the late seventeenth century. Hill identifies a pledge of noninterference in internal affairs as the most important aspect of this relationship. The Grand River Haudenosaunee drew on this tradition to contest British (and Canadian) efforts to undermine their sovereignty.While offering keen insight into Haudenosaunee cultural history, the book’s examination of the Haudenosaunee’s complicated relations with other Native nations would benefit from equally nuanced historic and historiographic analysis. Regarding mid-seventeenth-century conflicts with Iroquoian neighbors, Hill contends that the “grief” experienced by epidemic-stricken people explains Haudenosaunee expansion more than the “imperialistic desires” identified by historians (88). However, the scholarship cited does emphasize grief manifested in the “mourning war,” a captive-taking and adoption process that was also characterized by violence downplayed in The Clay We Are Made Of. In 1701 at Montreal, the Haudenosaunee made peace with the French and Native nations throughout the Great Lakes, while strengthening a relationship with the English through the Nanfan Treaty at Albany. Here they granted northern and western lands to “the protection of the King” (103). While correctly stressing the distinction of protection rather than sale, Hill does not unpack the complications of assigning “protection” rights to lands claimed by a rival empire and occupied by other Native peoples, who had pushed the Haudenosaunee back to Iroquoia proper. Similarly, Hill stresses that the landmark Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768), where the Haudenosaunee tried to stave off settler encroachments through a huge land cession, had not been done for “financial compensation” but reflected the “Dish with One Spoon,” a reciprocal relationship that British settlers tarnished by trespassing (127). But much of the land that the Haudenosaunee ceded—in an unprecedentedly expensive treaty (£10,000 in cash and presents)—actually belonged to the Shawnee, who launched their own war against encroachment in 1774.Hill’s emphasis on continuity highlights the failures of the British and subsequent Canadian governments to honor their obligations as allies following the American Revolution and the establishment of Grand River. These disappointments began early when, in 1793, Lt. Governor John Graves Simcoe reduced by a third the Grand River lands promised by Sir Frederick Haldimand. During the 1830s and 1840s, the Haudenosaunee contended with squatters and Indian Affairs mismanagement of trust funds invested in the Grand River Navigation Company, which flooded and damaged their land. Hill observes that as Haudenosaunee military significance declined, “government policies shifted from protecting (at least in name) the sovereign rights of the Six Nations toward attempts to ‘civilize’ and integrate them and their lands into the fabric of Upper Canada” (190). With a provision to replace hereditary leadership with an elected council, the Indian Act of 1869 embodied this shift toward assimilationist policies. Yet, drawing on Grand River Council records, Hill examines patterns of internal cultural continuity and repeated assertions of sovereignty. The book concludes in 1924, when the Canadian government declared the traditional Confederacy Council invalid and insisted on an elected council, which Hill notes was largely unrecognized by those it allegedly represented. The Clay We Are Made Of is an effective study of this troubled history.

ЩОДО ОСОБЛИВОСТЕЙ ЛОГІСТИЧНОГО ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ЗБРОЙНИХ СИЛ УКРАЇНИ В СУЧАСНИХ УМОВАХ

The article summarizes the review and analytical work regarding the features of the formation and development of logistics support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Logistics is considered as a fundamental aspect of the fulfillment of the mission of the armed forces of our state in a crisis situation and peacetime. The development of Russian aggression in the east of Ukraine objectively led to an understanding of the immediate transition from the use of the crisis logistics model to the involvement of elements of the military logistics model, which is capable of functioning both in peacetime and during military operations. With the outbreak of war in the East, all-round supply was provided from the center to military units that were in positions and performed combat operations. In fact, in the first months of the announcement of the anti-terroristical operation in Ukraine and before the entry of Russian troops into the territory of our country, the leading structures only superficially (unsystematically) tried to restructure the logistics of crisis situations into a nationwide one. Ukraine seeks to maintain friendly relations with all countries of the world on the basis of international treaties concluded on the principles of equality, non-interference in internal affairs, respect for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. But for now, the armed conflict continues in Ukraine, which became the most European conflict after the end of World War II, in which Ukraine follows the defensive strategy. And this should become the basis for the formation of the logistic concept of the state armed forces. A conceptual analysis of the evolutionary development of military logistics showed that in the process of historical development of scientific approaches to waging war, intensive scientific and technological progress, military logistics changed and reformed, new logistics systems, innovative methods, models and tools for managing logistic support for troops. This process should continue on a scientific basis, taking into account the best world and own experience. In crisis situations, the population is primarily affected. Therefore, the wide-profile tasks of rescuing and assisting the civilian population (the victim, who is evacuated and remains in the territory with the affected infrastructure) in the crisis zone laid on military logistics. The formation and development of the logistic system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine should be carried out taking into account the peaceful, partnership policy of our state and NATO countries. As for the evolutionary development of the logistics support for the Ukrainian AF, military logistics should be developed on a scientific basis, taking into account the international experience of NATO countries and our own experience, and in crisis situations, military logistics should be entrusted with broad-profile tasks of helping civilians in the crisis zone, and its further development should be conducted in a comprehensively. Today, our country is creating a single effective logistics system for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military units and law enforcement agencies, both in peacetime and in wartime, which should operate in accordance with NATO standards and be able to cooperate with the armed forces of other states - members of NATO and the European Union. Therefore, the issue of military logistics, as one of the most important and basic components of military operations, is relevant and requires careful study. Keywords: logistics, features, military logistics, crisis situations logistics, the country's defense and security system, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, materials, material supply, material resources, international relations, reserves, supply.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ВХОЖДЕНИЯ СЕВЕРНОГО КАВКАЗА В ЕДИНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННО-ПРАВОВОЕ ПРОСТРАНСТВО РОССИИ ВО ВТОРОЙ ПОЛОВИНЕ ХIХ ВЕКА

The article analyzes some features of the state-legal arrangement of the territories of the North Caucasus region after joining the Russian Empire, the difficulties and excesses made by the tsarist administration in the formation of a new administrative and legal system in the region, the specifics of military-people's management in some areas of the North Caucasus. The author emphasizes that the systemic combination of Russian state restrictions in the military-popular administration with guarantees of non-interference in internal Affairs indicates that the final stabilization was achieved not by suppression, as some researchers believe, but by a political compromise proposed to all mountaineers. Analyzing the interaction of Imperial and customary law in the formation of a single national legal space, the author stresses that in the field of civil rights the Russian authorities in all provinces including in the North Caucasus, avoiding sharp breaking, ignoring the legal traditions of the population, and left out in the effect on the controlled territory of traditional law. In order to ensure political and statelegal stability in the North Caucasus region, the tsarist administration in its activities combined the principle of restriction allowed by the military-people's administration with the principle of non-interference in the traditional way of life of the mountain population, especially in the sphere of civil and family-legal relations.

ملامح وتوجهات السیاسة الخارجیة العُمانیة فی سبعینیات القرن العشرین

The research aims to shed light on the features and directions of Omani foreign policy in the 1970s, especially after 1970, when Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed assumed the rule of the Sultanate, and with him the modern Omani renaissance started with various areas of Omani life, Omani foreign policy adopted features and trends, linked to the site The geostrategic, cultural and historical heritage, and the preservation of its Arab and Islamic identity. Everyone in the Sultanate was eager for change, renewal and modernization, which made modernity and contemporary stand together next to Iraq and origin, forming a future vision for the modern and modern Sultanate of Oman. . The study examined the start of Omani diplomacy after 1970, and the mechanism of joint work between the Sultan, the people, and the government to end the state of isolation and closure of the Sultanate before 1970, then proceeding to build bridges of openness and communication with the outside world, by adopting a policy of moderation, good neighborhood, non-interference in internal affairs, and respect for laws and customs International, and support Gulf, Arab, Islamic, regional and international cooperation

Legal fiction in copyright

The need to study the possibilities of development of legal thought in copyright is caused by the fact that imposed on the legislator since the 90s, and more actively since the 2000s, the illusion that all relations of intellectual property in general are related to trade, is not true, and regulatory approval would lead to the destruction of significant and truly human traditional institutions of the Russian system of law such as copyright. No one can argue that it is one of a kind that allows a person to get acquainted with his inner content, and hence his potentials in the scale of participation in the social order. Drawing attention to the fact that intangible benefits creative works of science, literature, art require appropriate legal protection, which, first of all, is based on respect for the personality of its author, the article refers to the fact that the material objective forms of expression of these results of human creative activity are carefully protected by national rules of law, which establish the need for gentle treatment, constant monitoring, updating, repair of cultural objects: paintings, sculptures, architectural monuments, etc. The article attempts to draw the legislators attention to the protection of creative results, which is built, at least, in two plans: at the level of protection of cultural values, carried out on the basis of generally recognized principles of international law, such as: the non-use of force and threat of force, respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs; and at the level of institutions that ensure the replenishment of the material and spiritual Fund of the Russian Federation, the main of which is copyright. And with this view of improving the norms of legislation, the state needs personnel who are rich in potential, able to actively act in their creative force aimed at creating and asserting the enduring (constant) values of humanity. The direction of improvement of legal norms on copyright is the purification of the normative body from pseudo-legal fictions that do not create consequences that favorably affect the development of creative potential of people. It is possible to think in this case when looking for ways to improve the legal technique of copyright law on the content of the concepts of creative life and personality of the author.

Evolving Principles and Guiding Concepts: How China Gains African Support for its Core National Interests

For decades, the People's Republic of China has advocated rhetorically consistent, albeit gradually evolving, principles of state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs that find particular resonance in African nations. Under Xi Jinping, China has packaged its policies using two interrelated guiding concepts, the “Chinese Dream” and the “The Community of Shared Future.” Africans have greeted the former with little enthusiasm, but have been more receptive to the latter. These principles and concepts represent the conceptual framework that China has built to engage African countries amid a rapid expansion in its diplomatic, economic, technological, and security footprint on the continent. Beijing has successfully garnered African support or, at least, acquiescence on topics its leaders consider the country's “core national interests,” namely Taiwan, Tibet, the mistreatment of Muslim minorities, human rights, South China Sea, and Hong Kong. On these key sensitive issues, reciprocity has long been an essential element of Beijing's approach, one that together with financing, investment, aid, and political backing of African interests, ensures that African countries support China's position—lest they open themselves to criticisms of their own domestic affairs.

China as an Emerging Actor in Conflict Management: from Non-Interference in Internal Affairs to “Constructive” Engagement

The need to protect citizens and investments abroad is placing tremendous pressure on China’s traditional foreign policy strategy and noninterference principle. Instability in most of BRI countries form new security conditions, pushing China to be more flexible in engaging in missions it had previously opposed, including political engagement in intrastate conflicts in the developing world. Following the formula “politics is a big economy”, China starts rethinking its security interests. As a result, China has smoothly adopted the transition strategy from non-intervention into internal affairs to a more proactive non-indifference approach, that Chinese academics are describing as “creative” or “constructive” engagement. Many new elements contribute to this new constructive engagement - conceptual narrative, political support, geopolitical competition, growing capacities and new security conditions. The key point of the article is to analyze China’s strategy in defending national interests overseas, including the rescue and peacekeeping operations, mediation, political envoys, etc. The special focus is done on proactive peacekeeping policy of China and its new role in the security environment. Obviously, in future China will follow implementing the overseas missions, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, evacuation operations, defense of sea lanes, stabilization operations, peacekeeping and counterterrorism missions. After launching in 2017 its first overseas military base in Djibouti, there is little evidence to predict that in the near future China intends to construct more bases. But nevertheless the geopolitical rivalry with the United States might push China to convert three deep-water ports - Gwadar (Pakistan), Salalah (Oman), and Seychelles ports into naval bases. The degree of the China’s involvement in global security landscape will depend on the level of its responsibility, since Beijing is undergoing through a higher degree of international pressure in order to take more obligations. Responding to overseas security crises through military actions would be mostly shaped by events (case-by-case approach), inspired by political motivations and organized as small-scale and low-intensity missions.

Rising Powers and International Organisations: The Case of China’s Counter-terrorism Strategy at the United Nations

This article illustrates China’s counter-terrorism strategy at the United Nations (UN), analyses its cornerstones and underscores changing patterns. On this basis, it also seeks to make some broader observations about how rising powers behave in international organisations and to highlight their attitudes towards the liberal international order. It considers Chinese positions in the debates in the General Assembly (1972–2018), its Sixth Committee and the Security Council (since the early 1990s) and identifies four pillars of China’s counter-terrorism strategy. These include norm entrepreneurship, diplomatic measures, promotion of international cooperation and domestic measures to fulfil obligations emanating from UN resolutions, conventions and declarations. It shows how China has shaped the discourse on terrorism at the UN and how its counter-terror narratives and advocacy have been and are being shaped by the discourse among states and competing blocs like the Organization of Islamic Conference over this period. It concludes with the observation that, despite changes in its strategy in recent years, the defining principles of China’s counter-terrorism strategy, such as respect for state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, have not eroded. Changes like accepting that the UN must play a ‘central coordination role’ in international counter-terrorism should be regarded as a further extension of China’s zeal to maintain the international order because the UN is a defining pillar of the present international order.

Secessionist Conflict: A Happy Marriage between Norms and Interests?

AbstractAs part of a roundtable on “Balancing Legal Norms, Moral Values, and National Interests,” this essay argues that the policy field of secessionist conflict is structured around a set of five rival norms. The norms of territorial integrity and self-determination form the core of this structure, while the norms of noninterference in internal affairs, human and minority rights, and democracy and good governance each come into play depending on the specific scenario. This configuration permits the parties involved in a secessionist conflict to select from a menu of norms the ones that best suit their interests. Norm selection—a concept that I introduce here—displays remarkable regularities, indicating default positions for each type of actor: home states, secessionist groups, entrapped minorities, patrons, and the broader international community. However, significant outlier cases signal that interests do not simply trump norms but that actors accord different values to those norms over time. This attribution is influenced by the dynamics of a normative environment in which norms rise and fall. In particular since the end of the Cold War, discourse as well as state practice has shifted away from the traditional taboo on secession toward more revisionist concepts, such as remedial secession or earned sovereignty, providing an opening for the secessionist wave that started with the breakup of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia.

Analysis of the Impact of Russia’s Sovereign Democracy Model on Central Asian States

Russia appeared to be a country that did not eschew from resorting to hard power instruments suchas military intervention and economic sanctions in the post-Cold War period. Moscow fought a battleagainst Georgia over South Ossetia in August 2008. It also sent its military personnel to Crimea tocapture strategic points and to take control of the critical infrastructure in February 2014, shortlybefore the referendum which would decide whether the peninsula would merge with Russia. Russiaalso occasionally cut off natural gas supplies to Georgia and Ukraine in the middle of winter when thesetwo pro-Western states failed to pay their accumulated natural gas debt. Yet, Moscow starting from themid-2000s has been taking serious and systematic steps to strengthen and expand its soft power basein its immediate neighbourhood as well. These efforts speeded up in the wake of colour revolutionsin Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan which resulted in the replacement of friendly governments thatpaid special attention to Russian concerns and sensitivities with new leaders and cadres that aimedto bring their countries closer to the West. This article will examine the Central Asian dimension ofRussia’s soft power policy by borrowing the soft power concept of Joseph Nye. Nye defines soft poweras the capacity to have an impact on or shape the preferences of others by relying upon intangibleassets such as political values, international institutions and culture. So, the study will start with theanalysis of the extent of recognition of Russia’s political values, especially its sovereign democracymodel which prioritizes the demands of the state over those of individuals, lays emphasis on theprinciples of independence, sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs in the intercourse withother states and underlines the primacy of traditional and conservative values such as unity, solidarityand family over individualism, feminism and LGBT rights by the Central Asian political elites. Thearticle will then move on to explore the extent of Russia’s success in exporting the main tenets of thesovereign democracy model to Central Asia by examining some of the agreements, declarations,decisions and practices of the international institutions such as the Commonwealth of IndependentStates, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization whichplay significant role in the region. The study will end with the assessment of the cultural aspect of theRussian soft power in Central Asia by investigating the prevalence of Russian language, Russian highereducation institutions, Russian media and Russian mass entertainment in the region.

ДЕСУВЕРЕНИЗАЦИЯ ГОСУДАРСТВА: ОТСТУПЛЕНИЕ ОТ ПРИНЦИПОВ МЕЖДУНАРОДНОГО ПРАВА ИЛИ ОБЪЕКТИВНАЯ НЕОБХОДИМОСТЬ

We examine processes of desovereignization and the loss of a state political subjectivity. Noted the necessity of research and analysis of state sovereignty in the context of globalization and threats to international peace, which affect the degree of independence of the state and require the search for legal and political levers to protect the monolithic right of the state to independence, inviolability and non-interference in internal affairs. Has been made an attempt to search for detect and establish acceptable grounds for limiting state sovereignty. It is established that the voluntary restriction of sovereignty with the transfer of powers to supranational entities has constructive consequences in the form of good-neighborly cooperation, financial and economic support of states from international financial institutions, etc. In cases where, in order to establish the rule of law, protect human rights and freedoms and under other good intentions, the policy of the state is interfered with by both the organs of the international community and individual states that have endowed themselves with the right of “international arbiter”, fears for the stable development of national states increase. It is concluded that any limitation of sovereignty should not lead to interference in the national interests of the state and to the loss of political and legal independence.

Water‐Sharing Saga Between Singapore and Malaysia: A Historical Discord Revisited

Environmental degradation has manifested as the principal source of nontraditional security threat in global politics. In Southeast Asia, the issue of water sharing between Malaysia and Singapore has created severe tensions since their separation in 1965. Over the years, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, by applying the principle of noninterference in internal affairs, have resolved a number of outstanding issues. However, the water‐sharing dispute between Malaysia and Singapore has been out of the purview of the principle of noninterference, since the majority of ASEAN members perceived it as a bilateral affair that could not be discussed at the ASEAN platform. Against this backdrop, this article analyzes the rationale and implications of the tension over water resource sharing between Malaysia and Singapore. It offers suggestions for reaching a resolution, in order to build a congenial bilateral and regional atmosphere.