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. The article analyzes the development and active implementation of Pakistan's policy of internationalization of the Afghan issue since the outbreak of the armed conflict in Afghanistan in the late 1970s. The author proves that the Afghan conflict has always been one of the pivotal factors for Pakistan in building its relations with the international community. In order to receive significant amounts of financial and military assistance, Pakistan sought to position itself as a frontline state. Since the late 2000s Pakistan has instrumentalized the Afghan issue to diversify its international relations searching for partners from the neighboring regions as a counterweight to the USA. The author examines the features and effectiveness of Pakistan's participation in various multilateral forums concerning the Afghan issue to some extent. The article emphasizes the essential infrastructure projects that will connect South and Central Asia, as well as potentially have a positive impact on the Pakistani economy. The article especially focuses on the Afghan issue as a part of Pakistan's foreign policy strategy since the Taliban's coming to power in Afghanistan in 2021. In this regard, Pakistan's key strategic documents, statements by Pakistani officials, and international community's expectations from the Pakistani authorities are analyzed. Based on this, it is predicted that Pakistan has to harmonize its position with the global and regional powers for a number of reasons and does not appear to be the first to recognize the Taliban government of Afghanistan. The author comes to the conclusion that Pakistan's correct approach towards the Afghan issue will contribute to its rise, above all, in the regional subsystem of international relations as a constructive actor and boost its socio-economic development.

. After the military coup in Afghanistan in 2021 there was a need to look anew at the geopolitical significance of the region. In this context, there is an imperative for Russia to build mutually beneficial and stable relations with the new Kabul authorities, given the strategic importance of Afghanistan in Moscow's security architecture (mainly related to Central Asia and threat of terrorism). Besides, the opportunity emerged, against the backdrop of failed US attempts to establish peace in Afghanistan, to achieve long-term stability in Afghanistan and overall, the region through cooperation with the new Afghan government. Having achieved this, Russia will ensure the security of its allies and partners in Central Asia and minimize threats to regional security and regional interests of her.

While the threats that turned Europe into the most explosive part of the world in the last century appear to be quite relevant for Asia, the European-style security institutions do not seem to work for Asia. The key reasons are the historically embedded roots of the insecurity, more acute territorial divisions, specific (non-Western) understanding of security, and ethnically-driven separatist and irredentist movements. Also, as deglobalization increases and the international system becomes less and less manageable, East Asian countries tend to push harder for pursuing an autonomous security policy.

Trade with friendly countries has helped mitigate the effects of the sanctions imposed on Russia by the collective West. However, many problems remain. Replacing Western imports in the consumer sector will be easier than replacing industrial equipment or high-tech goods. Friendly countries are still unlikely to be ready to act as "black knights" in the form which was acceptable in the 20th century. So, Russia must rely on itself and its own resources.

The authors present a coordinate system to map the international reaction to the Ukraine crisis, with special attention to African states. Methods of cluster, correlation, and regression analyses are used to obtain an overall picture of the international reaction to the crisis over time and highlight factors that can influence the positions of states. The positions of African states cannot be easily explained by material factors but are rather the consequence of political choice. African states gravitate towards a neutral position to stay equidistant from both sides in the confrontation. Assertive attempts by the great powers to persuade African states to solidarize with their positions may prove abortive.

States have adopted increasingly hardline responses to foreign interference over the course of the last decade. The article traces how states have conceptualized the threats posed by interference; examines why they have become increasingly intolerant of it; and typologizes their responses, highlighting solutions at the levels of individuals, organizations, and infrastructure. The analysis indicates that states use the concept of 'interference' to explain related but distinct phenomena. To better understand actors' interaction, the authors propose an analytical matrix based on the degree of the actions' directness and severity. Interference is a long-term phenomenon that will remain highly conflictual and that will provoke ever-harsher countermeasures.

The article retraces how the Soviet Union and the United States tried to establish a partnership in the wake of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The international community strongly condemned the invasion, and the two superpowers chose to cooperate in finding a solution to the crisis. The Soviet leadership was persistent in searching for a peaceful settlement. But the Bush administration, seeking to lay the grounds for U.S. dominance in a "new world order," opted for the use of force. Moscow opposed this, but cautiously, trying to persuade Iraq to concede, while avoiding an aggravation of relations with the U.S. This policy went nowhere, and the international crisis over the Iraqi invasion catalyzed the post-Cold-War U.S.-centric world order.