Czynnikiem determinującym charakter stosunków brytyjsko-kosowskich jest ogromna dysproporcja potencjałów obu państw we wszystkich możliwych sferach. Nieposiadające pełnego uznania międzynarodowego, słabe pod względem ekonomicznym Kosowo nie może stanowić partnera dla Wielkiej Brytanii, dysponującej niekwestionowaną pozycją na płaszczyźnie gospodarczej, politycznej i militarnej. Nie znajduje się ono również w centrum zainteresowań brytyjskich, a wzajemne kontakty zostały nawiązane niejako przy okazji wypełniania przez Brytyjczyków „moralnego zobowiązania”, a nie na podstawie racjonalnych przesłanek. W tym kontekście obowiązująca formuła relacji opiera się na założeniu brytyjskiego paternalizmu, który wyraża się oddziaływaniem na kierunki aktywności politycznej oraz rozwój gospodarczy i społeczny Kosowa, a także występowaniem w obronie interesów Kosowa przed społecznością międzynarodową (w szczególności na forum Unii Europejskiej i NATO). Natomiast mieszkańcy Kosowa poprzez korzystanie z udzielanej przez Brytyjczyków na bieżąco pomocy wojskowej, politycznej i finansowej oraz udostępnienie know- -how zaciągnęli wobec Wielkiej Brytanii dług wdzięczności, którego spłata jest tym trudniejsza, że ani jej termin, ani warunki nie mają wymiaru formalnego. Nie ulega jednak wątpliwości, że w przypadku wejścia Kosowa do Unii Europejskiej i NATO istnieje spora szansa, że kosowscy politycy będą głosowali w tych organizacjach w sposób odpowiadający życzeniom brytyjskim. Dalekosiężna polityka Wielkiej Brytanii zmierzająca do pozyskania przyszłego sojusznika wewnątrz struktur europejskich wydaje się zatem przynosić pożądane efekty, służąc równocześnie stabilizacji i rozwojowi tej części Bałkanów Zachodnich.

The subject of this article is the analysis of the conflict between the Russian Federation and Georgia in 2008. The conflict has opened a new stage in Russia’s strategic drive to make decisions and implement them in areas recognized as important for the security of the country, even if they are outside its borders. The Georgian case clearly indicated that Russia wants to maintain its dominant position in the entire post-Soviet area. The region of the Caucasus remains an extremely important area for Russia, where it wants to maintain strategic control. The author proves in his article that the main determinants influencing the policy of the Russian Federation in the Caucasus region are: maintaining the greatest possible impact on the internal situation of the countries of the region, the maximum hindering possible integration with the Euro-Atlantic structures, the largest economic dependence on Russia, taking control over key sectors of the economy, maintaining military presence, isolation of the North Caucasus from Georgia, maintaining a monopoly on energy supplies, interest in Azeri mineral resources, striving to take over control of natural gas transport.
The Russian-Georgian conflict of 2008 was one of the elements of Russia’s demonstration of the consequences of maintaining its dominant position in the post-Soviet area. The sphere of influence extends not only to Eastern Europe but also to the socalled Putin’s doctrine extends, in fact, to the entire area of the former USSR.

THE INTERNATIONAL SUBJECTIVITY PROBLEM OF THE PRINCIPALITY OF SEALAND

The Principality of Sealand was founded on the abandoned military platform on the North Sea. Because of its location beyond the British territorial waters, it was not the point of interest of the British authorities. In 1960s and 1970s, the Principality have got its national emblems and constitution. Despite of this initial development, most of the citizens moved from the platform to mainland because of hard conditions of life. The most dangerous threat for the Principality existence was the declaration of widening British territorial waters zone up to 12 NM (Nautical Miles), but no British troops or navy ship tried to disturb Sealand’s sovereignty. Despite ‘not disturbed’ status, the Principality is not the state in the meaning of the international law. It has not got its territory nor people, because officially the platform is the Ministry of Defence property and all of Sealand’s citizens live in the mainland now. The Principality has not been recognized by any state or international organization, so it has no possibilities to take part in international relations. From the legal point of view, the Principality is not only a state, but even quasi-state, however, it could be recognised in the future as a virtual micronation, although it is not a legal category.

Polish-Czechoslovakian cultural and scholarly relations between 1945 and 1956

Polish-Czechoslovak relations after World War II were marked by territorial and national disputes. Notwithstanding several contentious issues, the cooperation in the field of education, research and education was initiated as early as in 1945. The paper seeks to analyse official contacts of the scholarly and cultural milieus of Poland and Czechoslovakia between 1945 and 1956.

This article presents the selected key socio-political determinants of the pro-Union aspirations of Ukraine that were important for the condition of EU – Ukraine relations. The presented events and historical outline may be the basis for further reflection and evaluation of how Ukraine was undergoing the process of accession and was located at its different stages.

W artykule została przedstawiona ewolucja stosunków Rosji ze Stowarzyszeniem Narodów Azji Południowo-Wschodniej ASEAN, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem relacji współczesnych. W drugiej dekadzie XXI w. Rosja zintensyfikowała kierunek azjatycki swojej polityki zagranicznej. W opinii wielu ekspertów ta polityka przekłada się w zbyt oczywisty sposób na relacje z Chinami, przez co Rosja może uzależnić się od tego mocarstwa i być postrzegana jako niesamodzielny gracz regionalny. Podejmowane są zatem działania, aby zdywersyfikować partnerów. ASEAN jest jednym z bardziej perspektywicznych, choć jednocześnie trudnych kierunków. Perspektywicznych ze względu na dynamikę rozwoju oraz aktywne uczestnictwo w regionalnych, jak również transregionalnych działaniach, trudnych, bowiem mimo deklaracji rozwój stosunków między ASEAN i Rosją postępuje powoli. Nową koncepcją rosyjską, która ma ożywić współpracę a jednocześnie pokazać, że Rosja może być niezależnym graczem regionalnym, jest projekt Wielkiej Euroazji, który jest zgodny z aktualnymi trendami „nowego regionalizmu”.

Due to contemporary political conditions, there is a number of geopolitical entities outside the states that are not internationally recognized as states, due to a number of sociological, legal, historical and political factors. The world’s changes may contribute to the changes of the status of non-state geopolitical units. Authorities from unrecognized states have been making efforts for many years to recognize members of the international community as full, but this is a difficult task. Also, in the societies of dependent territories, the need for change is more and more often considered to be crucial, because it is very important for their future. There is no doubt that contemporary international relations constitute an interesting research field, if only due to the problems of recognition and lack of recognition of the states undertaken in the following considerations.

Critical analysis of post-Cold War China-India relations in the perspective of structural realism

Our article is an attempt to answer the question of whether it is possible for two neighbouring countries, which aspire at the same time to the role of superpowers, to cooperate and have peaceful relations with each other. In order to answer this question, we intend to prove the thesis that the state of China-India relations, despite the appearance of good neighbourly relations, is defined by growing security problems. In order to do this, we intend to conduct a system-level analysis based on the current of structural realism in international relations using historical and comparative methods. The aim of this article is to critically analyze China-Indian relations in the post-Cold War period. At the same time, we intend to show that the thriving diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Pakistan are in fact a façade concealing poorly functioning economic relations and, above all, a number of security problems. The first chapter is a brief description of the theoretical framework of the article in the form of a realistic current in international relations and security research and an explanation of the applied concepts of power balance, security dilemma and bandwagoning. The second and third chapters are a brief description and analysis of political and economic relations after the Cold War. In chapter four, we identify the leading security issues in India-China relations. In summary, we try to answer the research question and confirm the thesis.

Markets, countries and politics. Selected political and economic problems of the Middle East in the modern world

Control and access to resources and trade routes have always conditioned and determined the position of a given country on the world stage and its wealth. For many centuries, the Middle East region has been one of the most important regions in the world, both due to its geographical location, as a link between East and West, and natural resources available to individual countries. Despite the enormous diversity of Middle Eastern countries and the danger of over-generalization, it is worth looking at the whole area, which in the future may become an important center in the global economy and an important point of world politics.

The relevance of the study is determined both by the insufficient study of the diplomatic ceremonials of the USSR, and the fact that knowledge of the laws of their functioning expands our ideas about the cultural component of the life of Soviet society.
Taking into account the absence in Russian historiography of a special study devoted to the problem of the interaction of arts at diplomatic ceremonies, the author set the goal to conduct a comprehensive research of the problem of the interaction of arts in diplomatic ceremonials.
The article considers the stay of the Diplomatic Corps in Moscow from the point of view of the influence of foreign policy priorities on the norms of the diplomatic protocol.
Examples of balls, sports, receptions, organized by the embassies of Germany and Italy, which in the 20–30s played a leading role in the life of the Diplomatic Corps, are given.
The content of concert programs of official foreign visits, which contributed to the creation of a positive image of the country on the world stage, is analyzed.
For the first time the term “diplomatic counterculture” is introduced into scientific circulation – an intentional violation of the diplomatic protocol and diplomatic etiquette in order to achieve a specific result in international communication.
It was revealed that the diplomatic ceremonial in itself is a synthesis of arts – the picturesque design of space, music, choreography, costume.
Already in the first years of Soviet power, symbols of power entered the “struggle for power.” At diplomatic ceremonies this struggle was in the form of a confrontation between European protocol traditions and the rules of the Soviet diplomatic protocol and etiquette newly created by the employees of the Protocol Division of the USSR People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs.
Dress code, concert programs, a list of dishes served – everything had to meet the standards of Bolshevik ideology.
Hospitality is an important component of national politics. The Protocol Division, through its work, tried to destroy stereotypes about the USSR as an evil empire. The multinational Soviet culture contributed to the creation of a positive image of the state on the world stage.

Throughout the XVIIIth century, Anglo-Russian relations were very contentious. The Ochakov crisis of 1791 risked escalating into direct military action between Russia and England. Ambassador Count S.R. Vorontsov managed to garner the support of members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons of the English Parliament, come in contact with the Prime Minister, members of his cabinet and opposition leaders. The above mentioned allowed him to handle the possibilities of the press, publishing houses and the opposition during the Ochakov crisis of 1791 as well as influenced a public opinion in Britain. In large part, because of the active actions of S.R. Vorontsov and his office staff, it was possible to avoid an armed conflict between Russia and England. One of the closest employees of Semyon Romanovich was the son of a Ukrainian priest Yakov Ivanovich Smirnov, who was considered by many contemporaries as one of the outstanding employees of the office of the Russian Embassy. Ya. I. Smirnov was knighted of the Order of St. John under Paul I, and then the Emperor’s stunning decision took place – the priest was appointed charge d’affaires of Russia in London. V.F. Malinovskiy, the future first director of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, served in Vorontsov’s office. After leaving London, he worked as a secretary at the negotiations in Iași in 1792. As well as V.F. Malinovskiy, V.P. Kochubey hailed from Ukraine. The nephew of Count A.A. Bezborodko was in London from the early spring of 1789 until January of 1791. In 1793, Vorontsov gave V.P. Kochubey, who was diligently engaged in his education, a brilliant character reference. Over the course of his service, Count S.R. Vorontsov regularly defended the interests of the employees of his office; he knew how to gather individuals for his inner circle and work. In the XIXth century, there was a concept of “official of the Vorontsov school”. S.R. Vorontsov and members of his office used the methods of modern public diplomacy, which implies means used by governments, private groups and particular persons to change the views of other people and governments in order to influence their external political decisions. Public diplomacy is a tool for creating the image of the state. Appealing to public opinion, publication of government documents, use of the mass media and issuance of brochure for manifesting one’s position are methods which play a crucial role in modern public diplomacy, which originated due to Ukrainian diplomats as well.

The article deals with the study of the issue of diplomatic counterculture the definition of which the author introduces into scientific use. The breach of protocol takes place either due to its ignorance, which is non-typical for professional politicians, or for a public demonstration of zero tolerance to particular political objectives. In this context, the meeting of the Polish charge d’affaires with a representative of the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (NKID) in Moscow dated February 1, 1995 is of special interest. The latter demanded from the diplomat to comment behavior of some members of the diplomatic corps, who didn’t stand up when signing the Internationale (anthem in that period) during one of the official events. Another NKID’s complaint against the diplomatic corps concerned the reluctance of diplomats to stand up for greeting the Soviet vozhds (leaders), including J.V. Stalin who didn’t hold any official leadership post in the system of the Soviet state. In the author’s opinion, J.V. Stalin was one among Soviet politicians of the most sophisticated improvisers, professionally manipulating the norms of diplomatic protocol and etiquette. In 1939, J. Ribbentrop had talked about vozhd as a man with extraordinary power. Stalin managed to daze Minister of Foreign Affairs of German and, in August 1942, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom W. Churchill marked Stalin’s hospitality at a dinner in the Kremlin and offered to drink to his health. It has been found that one of the blatant cases of diplomatic counterculture is the conduct of N.S. Khrushchev during the meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in 1960. “Shoe diplomacy” didn’t raise the credibility of the Soviet leader in the minds of the global community. The ignorance of protocol rules may lead to the loss of the reputation of a government leader, and as a consequence, negatively affect the country’s image, its attractiveness, which is a hallmark of the “softpower” of the state.

The cybersecurity issue discussed in the paper is seen from the perspective of political science with the indication that the subject under discussion concerns the multifaceted nature of the state’s actions, which consists of political, economic, social, and cultural factors. At the same time, the work also intends to prove that cybersecurity is not only a domain of technology because it is the mentioned aspects that shape the conditions of stable development of the state and its citizens in a space dominated by cyber technology in a much more decisive way. Given the growing role of cybertechnology in almost all areas of human life, its importance also forces and inspires political science to question the shape and model of modern policy, which is significantly evolving under the influence of new technologies. On the one hand, emerging cyber threats reveal the weakness of the state and the dependence of state institutions on cybertechnologies, but on the other hand, existing cyber incidents may also motivate many governments to take action to increase the level of cybersecurity.

Russia’s intervention in Syria in 2015 marked the Russian Federation (RF) return as a key player in the Middle East and North Africa. In this context, the relations between Russia and the UAE are of utmost importance for both entities, for the region, and globally. This article seeks to fill a gap in scholarly knowledge by answering questions about the nature of the emerging cooperation between Russia and the UAE. How Russia seeks to use the UAE to expand its sphere of influence in the MENA region and how the UAE uses this cooperation to achieve its foreign policy goals. The article applies protocooperation (an analogy to the ecological relationship) as a model for the Russia-UAE partnership. The RF is strengthening its position in the MENA regarding the UAE as a key partner for regaining its political, economic, and military influence in the MENA region. Russia-UAE’s partnership aims at achieving conjunctural geopolitical interests benefiting from diminished Western, mainly the US, presence in the region.

The relationship between the two countries has been a complex and diverse subject of investigation and contemplation. The interconnection between the two countries can be described by the following central notions, such as economic cooperation, rivalry in terms of status acquisition of global hegemonic power, particularly in the Pacific region and beyond controversy mutual suspicion over each other’s intentions. Therefore, it is clearly justified that each state has elaborated and adopted a specific manner of conduct and attitude regarding each other as a potential adversary but has meanwhile maintained an extremely strong economic partnership. It is fair to state, that the relationship between both countries has been described by multiple world leaders and academics as the world’s most significant bilateral relationship of the 21st century. Due to the fact that Chinese economy has started to develop increasingly fast and PRC has strengthened its positions on the world’s arena, the United States started to perceive the Middle Kingdom as a direct threat to the established world order in its drive for regional hegemony in East Asia now as well as future aspirant for global supremacy. Beijing, by contrast rejects these notions, and continues its assertive policies and its quest for allies.

Artykuł zawiera argumentację na rzecz wykorzystania w nauce o stosunkach międzynarodowych metod badawczych opartych na analizie struktur sieciowych. Wychodząc od ogólnej definicji sieci jako struktury złożonej z połączonych relacjami elementów, ukazuje jej odpowiedniość do opisu procesów i zjawisk o charakterze transgranicznym. Idąc dalej, rozważa komplementarność sieci w stosunku do kategorii badawczej systemu międzynarodowego i metody analizy systemowej, która przedstawia się jako szczególny przypadek szerszej klasy sieciowych metod badawczych. Analiza dotychczasowych, udanych prób adaptacji w naukach społecznych matematycznej teorii grafów, pozwala na zaproponowanie ogólnego modelu analizy sieciowej, który może okazać się użyteczny przy badaniu stosunków międzynarodowych.

Gender aspects of training a specialist in international affairs

The article discusses the specificity of the influence of the gender factor on the education of students in the fields of international relations and international regional studies. The topicality of the research results mainly from the contemporary feminization of higher education, as well as the growing professional interest of women in international relations. The research and teaching activity of modern universities is extremely important in the context of the development of the “knowledge society”, for the effective functioning of which it is necessary to actively engage the intellectual capital of both men and women. Therefore, universities should not only become “factories of knowledge”, but also shape the gender culture of students. The problem of the gender characteristics of the scientific and educational community of universities is extremely important. The authors present the topic on the one hand on the basis of contemporary gender studies in the field of international relations, both Russian and Western scientists, and on the other – on the basis of the analysis of specific data on the feminization of study programs in the field of international subjects of Russian universities in the context of the perspectives of building gender parity in practice international relations and world politics.

This paper aims to point to the transition from international law to transnational law that, on the one hand, is caused, and on the other, is strengthened by the growing role of cities in the fight against COVID-19. Various interactions between cities and other international actors give rise to new trends and challenges on the international plane. One of such terms, transnational law, refers to developments beyond the nation-state and includes “all law which regulates actions or events that transcend national frontiers”. It is characterized by a plurality of overlapping normative systems and a growing role of new actors in the international arena, which are cities. The authors give examples of cities bypassing or complementing states with special emphasis on European cities (Polish including) as well as of cities’ transnational cooperation to fight COVID-19 pandemic, filling the gaps in inter-governmental multilateral cooperation.

Public and cultural diplomacy in European cities and states’ branding

Article “Public and cultural diplomacy in cities’ branding” is a try to set ideas of city diplomacy and idea of branding into theory of international relations. Also, analysis of two West-European and two East-European cities is a chance to analyze chances and threats that both states and cities can encounter during a process of brand building. The main questions that article is answering are “Can cities use their resources and connections to make public and cultural diplomacy?” and “What influence on that process has factor of being a city in post-soviet country or former Soviet Satellite state?” It can be said that cities are able to brand and rebrand itself and they are more flexible than states that cannot run away from some aspects of its identity. In case of difference between western and post-soviet states, the difference is none. In research, numerous rankings, articles and analyses were used as a primary sources in order to characterize how different are images of Italy, Germany, Hungary and Ukraine. Also, paper tries to determine, what is relation between states brand and branding of its cities.

‘Central Asia’ is a unique and diverse region of the world that landmass distinct from other regions and sedentary civilisation is one of the characteristics. The geography of this region is considered a controversial discourse among scholars in international relations and, Europeans prefer to call them ‘Central Eurasia’, but Asian scholars frequently used the term ‘Central Asia’. However, the history of Asia was not stable and similar in the past. In this regard, this article tries to find the status of the Central Asia in international relations from a historical to empirical discussion in academia. Through the discourse analysis applied here to trace scholars, historians, institutions, governments, and sociologists’ perspective how they treat ‘Central Asia’, whether it is a deeply profound ‘region’ or precise existence. The initial argument says that Central Asia is more significant due to the geostrategic point of view and attracts superpowers in the ground of diplomacy play.