The social and economic developments observed in recent decades in the PRC have led to a significant increase in economic and military capabilities. China is aspiring to the role of world power. Despite the assurances given by President Xi and the Chairman of the Communist Party on China’s peaceful development, the voices and opinions expressed are the opposite. Such an approach will be dominant in coming years and one cannot exclude a possibility of provocation, even armed intervention, if China finds that its national interest is threatened. The article presents the perspectives of PRC in playing the role of world peace guarantor.

War in Ukraine – Causes and Consequences after More than a Year

The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than a year now and there is no indication that it will end soon. The causes of its outbreak are very complex. One of them was the victory of the counter-revolution and the collapse of socialism, followed by the collapse of the former Soviet Union in December 1991. At that time, fifteen independent republics were established to varying degrees – their disintegration took place not only ideologically and politically, but also economically. In many of them, nationalisms arose or were revived, including those based on religion, which included not only the main former union republics, but also numerous national minorities, particularly the Baltic states, the Caucasus, and the Volga region. Some of them turned into local wars. An important role in the disintegration of the countries of the former Soviet Union and the weakening of the Russian Federation was played by external forces, imperialist states, mainly the US, some European countries, NATO in general, and the rivalling with Russia European Union and other forces of international capital. The war in Ukraine has deeper causes, and in case of Russia’s defeat, it will have further adverse consequences for it as a great power, and may even become the beginning of its disintegration. Hence, the result is the full determination of the Russian ruling forces to achieve victory. At the same time, Ukraine enjoys the support of the entire „global West”, led by the US, NATO, and the European Union. The war was preceded by numerous growing contradictions and accompanying conflicts, which took the form of the ‚Orange Revolution’ in 2004, the so-called Revolution of Dignity and the Maidan coup, the declaration of independence by Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk Republics in 2014. It took another eight years for the conflict to escalate into a full-blown war, although Russia officially still defines it as a „special military operation”.