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Fragile or failed states are often caused by long lasting and violent conflicts - Liberia is one of them. Since the war ceased in 2003, the United Nations and its coalition of states have tried to rebuild the nation and maintain its peace. Nation building can be seen from two different angles: as a Weberian legal and rational order or as a process that highlights social and contextual factors. Within social sciences this process can be studied either by looking into what factors contribute to a successful nation building or how this process works in practice. The article focuses on the former, by listing and analyzing the involved UN institutions with an emphasis on the Peacebuilding Commission and Peacebuilding Fund. L. Pitkaniemi

The Arctic region has been the focus of considerable attention in recent years, often concerned with maritime claims and an alleged race for the region's resources. Against this narrative, the article focuses on the practices of Canada and the Russian Federation with respect to their maritime jurisdictional claims and the delimitation of maritime boundaries with their Arctic neighbours. The article provides an overview of the Arctic region and the international law of the sea with an emphasis on the baselines and maritime claims of the Arctic coastal states. Discussion then turns to the maritime boundary agreements that have been concluded in the Arctic region before overlapping claims to areas of continental shelf underlying the central part of the Arctic Ocean are appraised. The article concludes that Canada and the Russian Federation have enjoyed considerable success in resolving overlapping maritime claims and their pragmatic and innovative approaches coupled with existing regional cooperation bode well for finding peaceful solutions to Arctic Ocean governance challenges in the future.

Since the start of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014, the Nordic states have sought to advance their defence cooperation "beyond peacetime" to also encompass operational military cooperation in crisis and armed conflict. Relations between the two Nordic non-NATO members, Sweden and Finland, have formed a vanguard, encompassing bilateral operational planning beyond peacetime. While no formal security policy guarantees have been exchanged, Sweden and Finland have created strong expectations that they will lend each other support in a crisis. In short, while no formal alliance treaty exists, the two states have nevertheless become closely aligned. In 2020, Sweden and Finland joined NATO member Norway in signalling their intention to strengthen their trilateral defence relationship. The following year, NATO members Norway and Denmark signed a similar agreement with Sweden. The goal of these documents was to coordinate their national operational plans – their "war plans" – and perhaps develop some common operational plans. In this article, it is argued that these agreements fall short of a formal military alliance, but that they represent an alignment policy between the Nordic states.

A hundred years ago on 9 February 2020, the Svalbard Treaty was adopted in Paris, granting Norway her long-standing ambition: full and absolute sovereignty over the Svalbard archipelago. After a brief review of the negotiations that preceded the Paris decision, this article examines the main elements of the Treaty: Norwegian sovereignty, the principle of non-discrimination and the terra nullius rights of other states, peaceful utilization, scientific research and environmental protection. Focus then shifts to Norway's policy towards Svalbard and the implementation of the Treaty's provisions: what have been the main lines of Norwegian Svalbard politics; what administrative structures have evolved; to what extent has Norwegian legislation been made applicable to Svalbard? Importantly, the article also addresses how widespread changes in international law that have taken place since 1920, particularly developments concerning the law of the sea, have brought to the forefront controversial issues concerning the geographic scope of the Treaty's application.

Accounting for nearly 80% of the global population and occupying three quarters of the world' area, the developing countries are affirming their roles in the global progress. However, the independence and sovereignty of these countries are often faced with many challenges stemming from upheavals in the international security environment, globalization, violence policies of big countries and power competition among them. In this context, in order to preserve their independence and sovereignty, the developing countries need to build democratic and progressive states, improve their real national strengths, struggle against the "peaceful evolution" of the powerful nations. This paper analyzes factors which influence the independence and sovereignty as well as the current process of struggling and defending the independence and sovereignty of the developing countries ; Chiếm khoảng 80% dân số và ¾ diện tích toàn cầu, các nước đang phát triển đang khẳng định vai trò, vị thế của mình trong đời sống quốc tế. Tuy nhiên, độc lập, chủ quyền của các nước đang phát triển luôn đứng trước nhiều thách thức đến từ những biến động của môi trường an ninh quốc tế; chính sách cường quyền của các nước lớn; quá trình toàn cầu hóa; sự cạnh tranh quyền lực của các nước lớn. Trong bối cảnh đó, để giữ được độc lập, chủ quyền, các nước đang phát triển cần xây dựng một nhà nước dân chủ, tiến bộ; tăng cường thực lực quốc gia; đấu tranh chống "diễn biến hòa bình" của các nước lớn. Bài viết phân tích những nhân tố tác động đến độc lập, chủ quyền và quá trình đấu tranh bảo vệ độc lập, chủ quyền của các nước đang phát triển hiện nay.

Modern international law contains certain elements that are of fundamental importance for international law system. Some examples of this are the territorial sovereignty, their political independence and their formal equality - elements that all law is based on, and which is of such importance that if they imagined away, said falling international law as a system completely. International law Regier on the use of military force, which is the topic of this contribution, is another example. Effective restrictions on states' use of military force against other states is of crucial importance for the law's other key elements is to have any reality. Without such restrictions, no real sovereignty and independence, no real rule of peaceful settlement of disputes, and further said. Adapted from the source document.

When this issue of International Politics published it gone for just a week ago the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 was awarded to Oslo. This year parts Indian Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistani Malala Yousafzay price for its fight against the oppression of children and adolescents and for children's right to education. 'Children must go to school, not exploited for economic purposes,' writes Nobel Committee in its grounds, and continues: 'In the poor countries is 60 percent of the population currently under 25 years. It is a prerequisite for a peaceful development globally that children and young people's rights are respected. Especially in conflict areas helps child molestation that conflicts are passed on through generations. '. Adapted from the source document.

A large contrast between European Union and the United States still exists when it comes to how the countries influence the world. Whereas the United States is still obsessed with military might, Europe's focus is on economic, cultural and legitimate influence. In the early 20th century it would have been almost impossible to imagine millions of peaceful Europeans demonstrate against a foreign war, but in the early 21st century it is commonplace. Many authors have argued that this change was caused by developments in weapon technology, democratization of the continent, and realization that war is primitive. A theory developed by James Sheehan argues that wars ended due to developmental historic conditions. For example, democracy allows both the war mobilization of the whole population, but it also gives them the opportunity to vote for peace. L. Pitkaniemi