After the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, the collective West uses the politicization of ethnicity as one of the tools of competition with the Russian Federation. The research is based on an interdisciplinary methodology that includes geopolitical, civilizational, instrumentalist, and discursive approaches. The article analyzes the content of mass media and Telegram channels, the activities of organizations created and/or operating under the leadership of Western countries, which politicize and mobilize the ethnic identity of peoples living on the territory of the Russian Federation at the discursive and non-discursive levels. The authors conclude that these processes are implemented through the following political technologies: 1) positioning Russia as a “colonial empire” and an existential “enemy” of various ethnonational groups; 2) the imposition of ideas about alleged discrimination of various ethnic groups by the Russian Federation; 3) appeal to the negative aspects of the shared past of Russia and the peoples living on its territory; 4) the construction of national identity based on anti-Russian meanings; 5) the opposition of ethnic groups living in the subjects of the Russian Federation to state authorities in particular and Russia as a whole. The authors also conclude that the public rhetoric of the collective West in relation to interethnic processes in the Russian Federation is getting tougher every year and acquires a higher level of frankness and political realism: the theses about democracy and human rights violations are not the key ones, this role is assigned to the statements about the need to deprive Russia of its resources (territorial and hydrocarbon ones, nuclear weapons, etc.).

The so-called unrecognized and partially recognized States retain their status as a “grey area” of international law. In the view of the current trends in international law, and the objective reality manifest in the growing number of international ties with such entities, international law still struggles to comprehend and account for this phenomenon. This lag is characterized by the existence of a wide range of de facto legal relations that are not clearly regulated by international law, which includes bilateral and multilateral cooperation of various forms, including the treaty-based. The article discusses the defining aspects of the peripheral existence of such entities in the international system: difficulties in the economic sphere, from the point of view of ethics and human rights, combined with high political sensitivity of the issue. The author notes inconsistencies arising from the position of generally recognized criteria of the State, namely the notion of the effectiveness of territorial power as a central and distinctive characteristic of the State in the concept that was summarized by J. Crawford. The author concludes that it is promising for international lawyers to further study this phenomenon and to develop legally defined approaches and criteria with due attention to the balance of fundamental international legal principles and values .

The article evaluates the State of Pakistan’s geopolitical priorities based on comparative analysis methods. The depth of the degree of diversification of relations with the country’s principal allies, the United States and China, is compared. It shows how the bilateral relations of the Islamic Republic with the USA and China have developed after 1947. It is noted that the relations of the “notional alliance” with the United States shaped the foreign policy course of Pakistan from the moment of independence to the events of September 11[th] , 2001. The author traces the formation of “all-weather alliance” relations between Pakistan and China and highlights their main causes. The article shows how and why China is turning into a pivotal ally of Pakistan. The main trends in the development of Soviet-Pakistani and Russian-Pakistani relations are traced. The restrictive factors hindering the development of bilateral relations are demostrated. The conclusion is drawn about the need for the guiding influence of the state on the expansion and deepening of the relations between Moscow and Islamabad.

The author analyzes a set of issues caused by the abrupt change in the tariff and, more broadly, trade policy of the Trump administration in relation to a large group of the US partners. This overview includes a brief description of the previous trading system and the model of development of emerging markets based on it, the requirements put forward by the United States, their possible impact and perception by the affected countries, primarily in Southeast Asia. Options for the “absorption” of new duties and the available scientific literature and practice in this regard are considered. It is stressed how new barriers can affect the competitiveness and specialization of Southeast Asian countries’ exports to the United States. The content of trade deals ultimately imposed by Washington is analyzed in detail using the example of Indonesia. In the end, the essence and consequences of the transit of Chinese goods through Southeast Asian countries, primarily Vietnam, to the United States, for which the weakening hegemon threatens them with additional taxation and sanctions, are revealed. It is predicted that those countries that have used the United States as their largest export market and will submit to pressure, expect a sharp drop in bilateral trade and a slowdown in economic development in general. The author comes to the conclusion that global trade, which is being reshaped by Washington to suit its own selfish interests, is facing a serious crisis, and developing countries will be able to resist the onset of a new colonialism only through joint efforts within the framework of BRICS and other associations of the global South.

This article reveals the main changes in the relations between Russia and Ecuador by 2025 in political, economic, and military spheres. The analysis of the existing literature reflects that historical aspects of establishing ties between the countries have received little attention among the researchers. In the context of the 80[th] anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ecuador and the USSR (1945), the article aims to highlight the key historical milestones and the current state of the Russian-Ecuadorian affairs, relying on a source base consisting of official documents of the states, media, and archival materials (Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Federation). Historically, the relations between the countries depended on a number of external and internal political factors, but by the end of the existence of the USSR, the states had already developed not only diplomatic but also fruitful trade and economic contacts. The setback that occurred due to the collapse of the USSR began to be overcome in the late 1990s. The affairs intensified with the rise to power of the leftist progressist president R. Correa in Ecuador, whose presidential terms coincided with the era of the most intense and effective contacts. The subsequent right-wing governments led to a slowdown in cooperation and even a significant cooling of contacts due to an incident in early 2024. However, the trade turnover (over one billion dollars in 2023) between the countries remains stable, and there is mutual interest among entrepreneurs in utilizing the new geopolitical situation caused by the Ukrainian conflict to launch economic projects. The further development of bilateral relations will depend on political stability and the electoral process in Ecuador, the dynamics of the Ukrainian conflict, as well as the ability of Russian capital to compete with Chinese, Italian, and American companies that are investing in the South American republic.

The article discusses an analytical model of “institutionally-governed co-development” to explain the mechanisms for shaping and implementing China’s political-economic strategy in Central Asia. It is demonstrated that this model constitutes a hierarchical three-level system. At the strategic level, the top political leadership of the PRC, headed by Xi Jinping and the Politburo, formulates the doctrinal foundations (notably, the “Community of a Shared Future” and five-year plans). At the political-institutional level, these guidelines move into inter-state relations, primarily through the Sino-centric C+C5 format and a differentiated network of bilateral intergovernmental committees. At the executive level, a “national team” of actors (including relevant government bodies, state-owned corporations, policy banks, and sovereign funds) operates to ensure the direct implementation of projects. This model goes beyond the simple “politics leads the economy” formula and functions as “soft project governance”. In this system, high-level political decisions trigger a holistic ecosystem that uses organizational and financial resources to systematically and long-term reshape the region’s geo-economic landscape in accordance with the strategic interests of the PRC.

The article examines the issue of Côte d’Ivoire participation in a number of structural and geostrategic changes in the West African region. The creation of a new regional architecture represented by the Alliance of Sahel States, (AES), the disintegration of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as the intensification of cooperation between the states of the region and alternative partners were responses to security crises, the socio-political situation in the states and the collapse of the French neocolonial system. Rapid changes in many ways increase regional destabilization, which is why the most stable states can serve as a kind of support, one of which is considered to be Côte d’Ivoire in terms of economic and political indicators. The study seeks to determine the impact of Côte d’Ivoire on the process and nature of the regional system transformation. For this purpose, the tasks of assessing the state’s responses to modern socio-political challenges of the state (micro-level), regional security threats (meso-level) and the risks of exposure to non-continental players (macro-level) were solved. The analysis of government reactions has shown that Côte d’Ivoire maintains continuity in its foreign policy and, with the backing of Western nations, seeks to curb internal conflicts while ensuring that the elites retain their positions of power and governance. In this strategy Côte d’Ivoire acts as an antagonist-state in relation to new models of cooperation, which slows down the pace of building a more stable and equitable regional order in West Africa.

Based on the historical and genetic method, the main milestones of the evolution of the Swahili language, starting with its formation in the 8[th] century, are considered and analyzed. The development of the Swahili language is shown as a complex phenomenon that meets historical challenges. The role of the language in both colonial administration and anti-colonial struggle is noted. A separate part of the article presents the study of the place of Swahili in the pan-Africanist vector of African politics, as well as its place in the UN structure, and the difficulties associated with the possibility of granting it the official status of a UN language. The following stages of the development of the Swahili language are considered: the formation of the language in the 7-13[th] centuries, the appearance of Arabic script in the 12-13[th] centuries, the appearance of Portuguese borrowings in the 15-17[th] centuries, the spread of the language to the Great Lakes region in the 18-19[th] centuries, the transition to Latin script in the 1930s. The review concludes with a review of the current situation, noting trends in promoting the language as the official language of the United Nations.

The development of economic relations between Russia and South Africa is based on effective legal guarantees. Business taxation is a conflict-prone area, so a reliable mechanism for legal protection of non-residents in tax relations is necessary to create a favorable investment climate. In South Africa, court proceedings can take years, so pre-trial resolution of tax disputes is the only way to ensure prompt legal protection of a taxpayer’s rights. Currently, South Africa has a multi-stage system for pre-trial resolution of tax disputes, which combines the imperative nature of tax legislation and other areas of public law with the dispositive nature of private law, allowing taxpayers to choose their own procedural behavior. This ensures a balance between public and private interests in the area of taxation. Alternative methods of conflict resolution, such as mediation and arbitration, are particularly popular in practice. By using Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), a taxpayer can resolve a dispute by reaching an agreement with the tax authority on a tax assessment (resolution by agreement) or by adjusting tax calculations (resolution by settlement). If the application of ADR instruments does not lead to the desired result for the taxpayer, they have the right to file a complaint with an administrative tribunal (the Tax Council or the Tax Court) before going to court. The article analyzes the procedure for forming administrative tribunals and the decision-making procedures established in the Tax Administration Law of 2011. To resolve a dispute with the Revenue Service out of court, a taxpayer may also contact the Office of the Tax Ombudsman. The Tax Ombudsman’s mandate includes the consideration of any taxpayer complaints related to the application of tax laws by Revenue Service officials. The Tax Ombudsman resolves all disputes using mediation tools, trying to reconcile the taxpayer and the fiscal authority. A special feature of the Tax Ombudsman institution is its interaction in resolving tax disputes with the Public Protector, a human rights institution established in accordance with the Constitution of South Africa. Almost all legal remedies provided for by South African law for taxpayers are characterized by their efficiency and cost-effectiveness. To these should also be added the benefits associated with the digitalization of the tax process, which have become more active in the post-COVID period. They allow a foreign investor to almost completely transfer the legal process to an online format.

In the context of budget constraints, the allocation of development finance is one of the important research questions. This article proposes a study of the allocation of sovereign financing in the Eurasian region in 2008-2022 using new data (the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) sovereign financing database). The analysis shows that the most vulnerable countries of the region (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) are not among the key recipient countries, on the contrary, most of the funds are directed to the most developed countries of the region Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan. To assess the efficiency of funding allocation, an index of the “fair” share of aid for key recipient countries was calculated. The results of the study show a low share of “fair” aid, therefore, a weak orientation of donor countries to the problems in the countries of the region. In particular, it was revealed that there is a gap between the “fair” distribution of aid and the actual distribution, which indicates the need to revise the existing mechanisms for the provision of development finance.

The paper addresses the problematization of the analytical category religious other and its relation to the category cultural other. It focuses on whether it is justified to distinguish the “religious” as a specific mode of othering, or whether it should rather be seen as a variation of cultural alterity. The study partly draws on the censorship files of the Committee of April 2nd, 1848, where the practice of controlling publications reveals the mechanisms of constructing religious difference. Particular attention is given to the situations in which the secular, claiming the role of a neutral arbiter, becomes involved in the binary opposition of the secular and the spiritual closely linked to the sacred/ profane divide and turns into a full participant in the dynamics of othering within both secular and post-secular contexts. The paper also considers the significance of this analytical category in relation to such notions as heterodoxy, schism, superstition, and heresy. The analysis of the nineteenth-century materials thus raises a broader question: whether a distinct analytical category of the “religious other” is necessary for describing historical processes, or if the concept of cultural alterity is sufficient. The analysis of the applicability of the religious other category to modernity identifies two areas: the transformation of relations between believers of different religions (interreligious dialogue), as well as the problems of interaction between religious and secular consciousness. The religious other may be perceived as an “opponent”, “interlocutor”, “neighbor”, or “partner”. The latter two forms are of particular importance for modern interreligious dialogue or “spiritual diplomacy”, when believers of different religions emphasize peacemaking and cooperation for the common good.

The book, published on the occasion of the 85[th] anniversary of Academician Alexey Mikhailovich Vasilyev, is a collection of selected academic and journalistic works by the author. It explores the feasibility of this publication format for promoting the achievements of Russian social sciences. The book, written by one of the most renowned Russian Arabists, combines the memoirs of an eyewitness and participant in many significant events that have shaped international relations from the 1960s to the present day, with a deep analysis of the ongoing challenges facing the countries of the East. At the same time, in fact, the collection is an updated edition, in which 4/5 of the publications used were published in the 21[st] century, and only five chapters borrowed from the numerous books by A.M. Vasilyev published during the Soviet period. As always, the stories about various Arab countries are interesting, but the chapters about Iran, Afghanistan, and Vietnam, where the famous scientist worked as a journalist during difficult times, are particularly noteworthy.

The authors present a critical review of E. Ukpe’s book “ Relics of Colonialism. An Introduction to African Politics ” (Robertminder International Limited, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria ISBN: 97979797-60470-5-8 2024 522 p.), published in Nigeria in 2024. The author of the book, being a lecturer and the head of the Department of Political Science at the Akwa Ibom State University (Nigeria), discusses the participation of African countries in world politics and presents his view on the causes of modern socio-political problems in Africa. Ukpe examines in detail the relics of the colonial era in each country, also addressing debates on racism, pan-Africanism and neocolonialism. The review’s authors draw on the opinions of several other Nigerian researchers who have discussed the legacy of colonialism in Africa.