The Arctic as a regional security complex

Regional Security Complexes (RSC) are constantly evolving. Following the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, the South Caucasus has transformed from a sub-complex within the unipolar and Russia-centred post-Soviet RSC into a distinct and bipolar RSC, with Turkey joining it as a regional pole on par with Russia. This development was a function of a combination of objective (Turkey’s engagement in the 2020 war and increased politico-military presence in the region), subjective (Turkey’s self-positioning as a regional pole) and intersubjective (Russia’s and Turkey’s mutual recognition of the pole status) factors, and calls for a reconsideration of the structure of not only the South Caucasus RSC but also the whole post-Soviet area.

It is substantiated that in the current conditions of development of the world economy under the influence of globalization, regional security complexes are increasing their influence on the formation of international security. It is proved that in the process of evolution, security complexes have significantly diversified their scope and cover, in addition to military and defense issues, economic, environmental, social, information and other security elements. It is determined that the European and North American security complexes have reached the transcontinental level of institutional security. Modern regional security complexes (RSCs) differ in the degree of integration of security issues at the level of intergovernmental institutions - from relatively complete integration of approaches to resolving security issues (at the EU level) to weak security cooperation. It is determined that the institutional profile of regional security complexes is predominantly mixed, which is determined by the peculiarities of the activities of both universal and specialized interstate institutions. The author emphasizes the unevenness of institutional support for various components of economic security at the level of specialized interstate institutions.

We have concluded from the above that power is the fulcrum in international relations and it is a starting point for studying international politics according to the concept of power in strategic thought, which means the effectiveness of the state and its weight in the international arena and the results of the state’s ability to employ the sources of power available to it in imposing its will, achieving its goals and national interests, and influencing the will of other countries and achieving status at the regional and international levels. This confirms the validity of her hypothesis that the stronger the state is, the more effective it is in international relations.The power intended here is its various types and combinations, such as soft, hard, and smart power, as well as the various strategies for managing it in international relations, because countries differ among themselves in terms of the strategy of determining the priority or priority of use to a type of it. This demonstrated that force is the main driver in international relations, as force was and still is the necessary condition for self-protection, and no country can ignore here the condition of continuing to escape the danger of extinction. Since most international relations were dominated and still are to this day, they are dominated by fear and resorting to war, influence and control when feeling the possession of power and influence over others to meet the requirements of achieving its comprehensive strategy. Despite of the development in international relations, there are elements that have remained constant in international relations, which is the security dilemma that is linked to the policies of states under a system based on self-reliance and strength. The alliances, the balance of power, as well as the strategy of choosing between war, truce, conflict, and cooperation have remained constant in international relations over thousands of years, in addition to international and regional stability depends on this choice between these countries.

The international relations literature on regionalism, both in economic and security issues, has grown dramatically over the last 15 years. One of the ongoing issues discussed in most articles and books is the conceptualisation of ‘region’. Instead of thinking about regions using notions of interdependence and interaction we take a social constructivist approach, whereby states themselves define regions via the construction of regional economic institutions (REI). We explore how a conceptualisation of region based on REIs contrasts with various related concepts such as regional system, and regional IGO. Empirically, we show that most all countries belong to at least one important regional economic institution, REI, (for example, EU, Mercosur, ASEAN, etc). In short, the world is dividing itself into regions by the creation of regional economic institutions. We contrast our economic-institutional approach to regions with Buzan and Wæver's ‘regional security complexes’ which is based on security dependence. There are interesting agreements and disagreements between their approach and our economic-institutional approach to defining regions. It is perhaps not surprising that many REIs have taken on security roles, which we briefly show by looking at military alliances embedded in REIs. This suggests that policymakers are creating regions through institutional innovations that link economic and security issues.

This article analyses the key topics and concepts that have fueled scholarly and policy discussions on the Regional Security Complexes (RSCs) in the Great Lakes Region (GLR). Following the 1993 Burundian civil strife and the 1994 Rwandan genocide that marked the beginning of decades of warfare, numerous regional and international endeavours have supported peacebuilding and stabilisation in the Great Lakes Region. Large-scale refugee flows have been produced by conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the years, while the conflict has deepened into the Congolese society and culminated in an intense regional conflict involving several nations (due to buffer zone effects of conflict). This article argues that the GLR conflict intricately affects the countries in the region and cannot be isolated or addressed independently without involving all the countries in the region. This paper uses a desk review to examine the regional security complex in the GLR. The analysis of the R.S.C.s systematically outlines the internally triggered vulnerabilities in the Great Lakes Region, the state-to-state relations that shape the region, the region’s interactions with other regions, and the dynamics between global and regional security structures. The paper contends that the Great Lakes Region must be recognised as a collection of states constantly distressed by one or more external security forces and, as such, ought to find a collective solution to the conflict in the DRC.

In recent years, the dramatic changes in cooperation and alliance of states and peoples, particularly the “Sahexit” has sparked significant interest and debates among scholars. Ancient African societies and cultures sought to integrate their energies and resources to survive, fight common enemies, withstand common threats, or contemporarily, resolve disputes. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), anchored on Pan-African ideals of nonalignment, unity, and indivisibility of the destiny of African peoples, expanded its initial scope for economic purposes to deal with the rising security challenges in West Africa. Yet, ECOWAS continues to struggle with insurgent activities, recurrent coup d’etats, and more recently the threat of succession from Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali (“Sahexit”). Drawing on Regional Security Complex and human security perspectives, and the literature on Pan Africanism, this paper examines the security challenges of Sahexit for the subregion. It argues that Sahexit poses significant security challenges to the fragile security situation in the subregion particularly at the regional, state, and individual levels. The exit will weaken ECOWAS regional security cooperation, disrupt coordinated regional strategies, and leave major gaps in joint security operations and intelligence sharing, and complicate insecurities in the subregion. The paper concludes with recommendations to mitigate the security challenges.

Bu makale Orta Asya bolgesel guvenlik iliskilerini ve ilgili bolge devletlerinin karsilikli guvenlik bagimliligi sonucu ortaya cikan Sangay Isbirligi Orgutu’nu bolgesel guvenlik kompleksleri teorisi cercevesinde incelemektedir. Ayni zamanda Orta Asya bolgesel guvenlik dinamiklerinden hareketle bolgesel guvenlik kompleksleri teorisini de yeniden gozden gecirmektedir. Barry Buzan ve Ole Waever tarafindan gelistirilen bolgesel guvenlik kompleksleri teorisi guvelik iliskileri uzerinde en cok etkili olan faktorun cografi yakinlik oldugu varsayimindan yola cikar. Buna gore bir bolgedeki devletlerin guvenlik sorunlari birbirlerinden bagimsiz olarak anlasilamayacak sekilde baglantilidir. Orta Asya devletleri de kendi guvenlik iliskileri, karsilikli guvenlik bagimliliklari ve bu anlamda etrafindaki bolgelerden farklilasmasi bakimindan kendi basina ayri bir bolgesel guvenlik kompleksi olusturmaktadir. Rusya ve Cin ise bolge ile ortak sinirlari olan iki buyuk guc olarak Orta Asya guvenlik kompleksine nufuz etmektedir ve bu ozelligi itibariyle Orta Asya bolgesel guvenlik kompleksi iki kutuplu bir buyuk guc kompleksi olarak tanimlanabilir. Bu makale, Sangay Isbirligi Orgutu’nun, Orta Asya bolgesel guvenlik kompleksi icerisindeki soz konusu guvenlik dinamiklerinin kurumsallasma imkani buldugu bir bolgesel guvenlik toplulugu oldugunu savunmaktadir. Fakat bolgesel guvenlik kompleksi teorisinin varsayimlarina da uygun olarak Orta Asya bolgesel guvenlik kompleksi ve Sangay Isbirligi Orgutu zamanla bolge aktorleri arasindaki guvenlik dinamiklerinin degismesiyle bir donusum gecirebilir, sinirlari daralabilir ya da yeni aktorleri de dahil edecek sekilde genisleyebilir. Nitekim 2017 yilinda Hindistan ve Pakistan’in da Sangay Isbirligi Orgutu’ne uye olmasiyla birlikte boyle bir durumla karsi karsiya kalinmistir. Buradan hareketle, makalenin son kisminda, ilk baslarda Orta Asya bolgesel guvenlik kompleksi icerisindeki aktorlerin karsilikli guvenlik bagimliligindan dogmus olan Sangay Isbirligi Orgutu’nun onumuzdeki surecte gecirecegi muhtemel donusumler bolgesel guvenlik kompleksleri teorisinin varsayimlari cercevesinde tartisilmaktadir.

Security in International Relations has undergone profound changes since the end of the Cold War. After the end of bipolarism the system of International Relations has experienced three main variations concerning structure, provision and perception of security. First of all, the international arena must deal with the consequences of the progressive decline of sovereignty and the shifting from a statocetric to a multicentric model of global relations; secondly, non-state actors are emerging as brand-new providers of security in many parts of the world; finally, new representations of security are shaping the social perception of “safety” pointing out the needs to give certainty and protection to single, weak persons (and not only to the majority of a population) as the real target for collective international security produced by responsible states (Human Security and Responsibility to Protect doctrines).

In recent years, the rapid development and differentiation of the international community has become not only a driver of progress, but also a cause of imbalance in power, as the foreign policy identity of a state depends not only on the chosen vectors of foreign policy, but also on the correlation between the views of political elites and society. The purpose of this study was to analyse the scientific literature for the coverage of the problems related to the legal principles on which the foreign policy identity of states in international relations is based. The methodological framework of this study included the heuristic method, methods of analysis and synthesis, methods of generalisation and abstraction. The study found that in modern research, the foreign policy identity of a sovereign state in the international arena is understood in the context of its dependence on the specific features of political processes within the state, as well as on the cultural identification of its ethnic group. These categories are the hallmarks of a state’s identity in international politics and ensure the stability of its perception by other actors in international relations. One of the crucial tasks for the establishment and preservation of the foreign policy identity of the state is to reduce the pressure of political elites on the relations between the state and the people, as well as to ensure that the population of the state supports its foreign policy course in the international arena. Today, Ukraine lacks mechanisms to help eliminate such negative political influences, and therefore a system of cause-and-effect relationships was created to transform the priorities of sustainable development of the state’s activities in this area. The practical significance of this study is that recommendations were developed to create conditions and eliminate internal and external threats in the field of international relations to ensure foreign policy identity with the possibility of their further application in the foreign policy of the state

The geographic area of the Sahel is of particular interest when examining regional security issues that have negatively affected political, economic and social interaction on the African continent for decades. The region has seen a massive upsurge in lethal violence, and militant groups continue to expand their activities southward, now threatening coastal West Africa. The paper examines the links between the growing dynamics of the Sahel and the security of Liptako-Gourma, composed of groups of contiguous states rooted in historical and geographical environments. The paper empirically applies the Barry Buzan and Ole Wæver’s “Regional Security Complex Theory” (RSCT) as a framework for studying the discourse of security threats and the dynamics of security challenges in the region. The application of RSCT theory makes a significant contribution to understanding these regional security issues in the Liptako-Gourma region. The complex links between threats demonstrate the likely impossibility of addressing these threats in isolation, and the need for a broader approach. The study interprets the current relationship between France and Mali in relation to Mali’s withdrawal from the G5 Sahel Force as hostile. The authors argue that the regional nature of the security threats strongly supports the claim that geographic proximity is a major contributor to security interactions. The paper also reveals that the individual security of each state cannot be separated from that of its neighbors. Therefore, it is suggested that mutual interests could contribute to a stronger regional security initiative that integrates the fight against a common threat such as terrorism.

The article is devoted to the problem of gender differentiation of career opportunities in the international relations and diplomacy areas. The aim of the study is to analyze the differences and substantiate the areas of equal gender opportunities promotion for career development in the field of international relations. It is argued that erasing gender stereotypes in international economic relations, in particular at the diplomatic level, paying due attention to personal and professional characteristics of human, rather than their gender, are necessary conditions for progressive development in accordance with the principles of sustainability. The article mentions rethinking of gender equality problem in the global sense, at the level of international relations implementation and international policy formation, which is rightly considered gendered. The beginning of XXI century is associated with growing role of women in diplomacy, the emergence of bright leaders on international arena, whose activities serve for solving important world problems. It is concluded that there is considerable progress in development of career opportunities for women in the field of international relations.Growing participation of women in diplomatic activities depends on the overall progress in overcoming gender inequality and their political empowerment. It is substantiated that ensuring equal opportunities for career growth requires the formation of a gender-sensitive society both on national and global levels, as well as implementation of systematic gender policy. Further promotion of equal gender opportunities in the field of international relations requires expanding women's access to senior diplomatic positions, expanding their political and managerial empowerment, and bridging the gender pay gap. Formation and implementation of an effective gender policy in Ukraine requires promoting a culture of gender equality; ensuring equal rights and opportunities for professional activity, overcoming the pay gap; support for women representation and participation in all spheres of public life etc.

يتعرض العراق اليوم إلى تهديدات في غاية الخطورة وعلى أصعدة ومستويات مختلفة. وبالاستناد إلى عدة نظريات في حقل العلوم السياسية، أهمها نظرية المعضلة الأمنية الإقليمية، يحاول هذا البحث الوقوف على منابع تلك التهديدات ومساراتها وإمكانية الحد من خطورتها. وتتميز تلك النظرية التي تنتسب إلى "مدرسة كوبنهاكن في الدراسات الأمنية" بتبنيها مفهوماً موسعاً لمصطلح الأمن يختلف عن المفهوم "الواقعي" الذي كان سائداً في فترة الحرب الباردة، والذي يضع جل تركيزه على الجانبين العسكري والسياسي ويهمل الجوانب الأخرى التي تهدد الدول والمجتمعات البشرية. فمع اعترافها بالأهمية القصوى للجانبين العسكري والسياسي، ترى مدرسة كوبنهاكن أن الدول والشعوب تتعرض إلى أخطار اقتصادية واجتماعية وبيئية قد تودي إلى الهلاك إن لم تؤخذ بالحسبان. كما وتتميز النظرية بإضافة مستوى ثالث للتحليل (وهو المستوى الإقليمي) إلى المستويين الذين تتبناهما المدرسة الواقعية الجديدة وهما مستوى الدولة والمستوى العالمي. وترى "مدرسة كوبنهاكن" أنه بالإمكان تقسيم العالم إلى أقاليم ولكل إقليم منها معضلة أمنية تختلف في حجمها وشدتها من مكان لآخر. وتعرّف المدرسة "المعضلة الأمنية" بانها مجموعة من الوحدات (دولاً كانت أو كيانات سياسية أخرى) تتداخل أمنياً مع بعضها البعض على نحو يجعل من دراسة أمن إحداها بمعزل عن الأخرى أمراً في غاية الصعوبة إن لم يكن مستحيلاً. وتفترض المدرسة أن القدرات التي تتمتع بها دول الإقليم ونماذج الصداقة والعداء السائدة بينها هما العاملان الأساسيان في تحديد مسارات المعضلة وآفاق تطوراتها. وبالنظر للتنوع الكبير في التهديدات (السياسية والعسكرية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية والبيئية) التي تواجه العراق منذ سقوط بغداد في عام 2003 وحتى اليوم، أجد أن تبني المفهوم الواسع للأمن يصلح أكثر من غيره في رسم صورة واضحة ودقيقة لتلك التهديدات. كما أن اعتبار العراق جزءاً من معضلة أمنية إقليمية يساعد إلى حد كبير في تحليل ما يتعرض له البلد من تهديدات على المستوى الإقليمي إضافة إلى المستوى العالمي. فقد أمسي العراق ساحة لتصفية حسابات إقليمية وغرضا لتجاذبات دولية انتقصت الكثير من سيادته واستقلاله. ويفترض البحث أن الانقسامات الإثنية للمجتمع العراقي (وخصوصاً الطائفية منها) وما خلفته من دماء غزيرة تجعل من النظام الإسلامي نموذجاً عاجزاً عن النهوض بمهام التحرر والبناء. وعليه فان نظام الحكم العلماني القائم على مبادئ الديمقراطية الحقيقية، وليست التوافقية، هو أفضل النماذج المتاحة في هذه المرحلة. وعلى الصعيد الإقليمي، يفترض البحث أن الابتعاد عن سياسة المحاور وعدم الدخول في سباق تسلح مع أي طرف إقليمي هو أكثر السبل فعالية في ضمان استقرار أمنى ونمو اقتصادي ووئام مجتمعي. أما على الصعيد العالمي، فيفترض البحث أن تعزيز العلاقات مع الدول العظمى على أساس المصالح المشتركة كفيل بإبعاد شبح الحروب عن العراق وتعزيز مكانته على المستوى العالمي.

The article considers the main approaches of the theory of economic security. The concepts of "ensuring economic security", "managing economic security", "regulating the economic security of the region" are studied. The impacts affecting the adaptive readiness of the regional economic security complex, reflected in the concepts of "threat", "risk", "factor", "challenge" are noted. The expediency of a multi-vector approach to the organization of regulatory impacts of state and municipal government bodies aimed at ensuring the economic security of the country's regions in the context of overcoming modern threats is determined. A thesis is formulated about the place of regulation of regional economic security as an integral link between the systemic federal level of national security and heterogeneous regions of the country. Using the example of Perm Krai, the dynamics of the main indicators of regional economic security and their relationship with similar indicators of the Volga Federal District and the Russian Federation are considered, and an assessment of existing trends is carried out. The analysis of the elaboration of regulatory and legal documents of the Perm Territory using the extrapolation method of processing official statistics information has established the insufficiency of the measures taken to improve strategic planning in the region in the context of taking into account changing factors and conditions of the external environment. Significant deviations of the achieved results in ensuring the economic security of the Perm Territory from the forecast values approved by the strategic planning documents have been revealed, in particular in achieving the planned indicators in the areas of industrial and environmental safety of the region. It is proposed to revise the content of regulatory documents with the corresponding budget and resource content for the timely adaptation of the region to modern threats and challenges. It is recommended to pay special attention to such areas of economic security of the Perm Territory as: technological sovereignty, investment security and environmental protection.

The Asianization of East Asian security has been unfolding in the forms of the emergence of a genuinely regional security complex, the Asian initiative of security dialogue, and the assertion of an Asian way of diplomacy. Ironically, the uncertainties surrounding the United States' role are a key factor driving regionalization and, at the same time, a critical security issue in the emerging regional security complex. The essentiality of the U.S. role provides Washington with key leverage to ensure a role commensurate with its centrality in East Asian security. In light of the danger and opportunities regionalization presents for U.S. policy, it is vital to distinguish rhetoric from reality and to discern paradoxical developments in the Asianization movement. By its continued commitment to working with other regional powers, and its activism in promoting security multilateralism through ASEAN-Regional Forum (ARF), the U.S. can ensure that regionalization leads to an Asia-Pacific security complex that contains threats wherever they arise.

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.