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Until recently, only economically developed West-oriented states launched integration initiatives encompassing the entire Asia-Pacific region. However, over the last few years Beijing proposed several such initiatives embracing territories from America to Africa. The paper discusses the changes in Chinese views towards the leadership in modern world. Recent events in Syria, Ukraine, South China Sea and East China Sea made it clear that the world becomes more polycentric, with Russia and China resistant to external interference in the territories of their vital interests. The latest trends in East Asian and Asia-Pacific regionalism are singled out. China and USA have been the main rivals in initiating and supporting competing integration models. China has demonstrated unprecedented activity and launched several integration projects of trans-regional (Asia-Pacific and Eurasia) and on regional levels (East Asia). However, despite its growing geopolitical and economic aspirations, Beijing is not frontally challenging Washington-led system of intergovernmental agreements and financial institutions in Asia. Instead, Beijing is forming an alternative pro-Chinese model of integration without US participation (or with their secondary role) thus trying to gradually transform the Asia-Pacific to post-American hegemony model. President Xi Jinping put forward a concept of "Asia-Pacific Dream". It incorporates formation of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and the "New Maritime Silk Road" that will link the economies of Asia, Europe and Africa. By proposing these large scale infrastructure projects and two new regional financial institutions (Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank), the Chinese leadership renewed its global and regional politics, attempting to create a Eurasian "economic corridor" which could serve not only its regional and global interests, but for the common good of whole Asia and the world. Obviously, "New Silk Roads" strategy faces geopolitical and other challenges; yet, even it partial realization would make China a leader of the continental part of Eurasia. In terms of global and regional governance these trends can be strengthened through coordinated policy of Moscow and Beijing towards including these projects into the agenda of non-Western intergovernmental institutions, such as BRICS, SCO, Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), and others. Moreover, strategic cooperation with Russia is one of the principal factors to secure the success of China's integration plans in the Asia-Pacific and especially in Eurasia. For its part, Moscow should deepen interaction and effectively utilize the resources of "rising" China to support Russia's interests in Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific. It is necessary for Moscow to coordinate efforts with Central Asian states and China to elaborate co-development plans for infrastructural initiatives put forward by the SCO, EEU and the "Silk Road Economic Belt". At the same time, Moscow should increasingly encourage Chinese investment into the Russian Far East. Acknowledgements. This article has been prepared in the framework of contract with the RF Ministry of Education and Science "Formation of the New International Order in the Asia-Pacific and National Interests of Russia", project № 1430.

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Many see the western Balkans as the back yard of Europe. As the promise and reality of regional economic integration has weakened, however, Russia has returned to the area to play its historically important regional role. In the Balkans, a Russian or Russifying project competes against a European Union project, while Washington has shown little interest in the Balkans during the Barack Obama administration. The instruments of this rivalry are not only, or even primarily, armies but rather economic-political forces: control of energy pipelines and production, the use of that control for political objectives, and the attraction of competing political models.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the ideological features of the movement of Arab nationalism, which took shape and became popular after the Second world war. Particular attention is paid to the ideas that contributed to the unifi cation of the Arab population throughout the Arab region. These ideas led to the formation of nationalist projects that were aimed to some extent at consolidating the Arab population within one or several countries. Among the most successful nationalist projects are the Egyptian, Iraqi, Syrian, and Algerian and Libyan projects.

This chapter analyzes the Unasur's role as mediator in internal crisis of Bolivia (2008) and Ecuador (2010), and the inter-state conflicts of Colombia-Ecuador (2008) and Colombia-Venezuela (2009 and 2010). Likewise, its institutional entrepreneurship in the collective defense of democracy with the Georgetown Protocol of 2010 and, its counter-balance role during the US-Colombian military Agreement crisis (2009), which was a starting point for the creation of the South American Defence Council (SADC). Later, it analyzes Unasur's decline due to Chávez's death (2013), and the appeasement of the organization on the democratic backsliding in Venezuela (2014–2017). Its decline (2018–2019) confirms the fragility of Latin American multilateralism liable to political cycle changes. The rise of right-wing governments, less committed to political concertation at the multilateral level, generates Unasur's dismemberment and the birth of the Forum for the Progress and Development of South America (Prosur) a weak project with the old multilateral practices of the Americas.

We analyze in how far market perceptions of actual financial integration affect EU integration support at the country level. As indicators of realized states of integration in financial markets we rely upon yield differentials of long-term government debt. To identify particular situations that could undermine the integration process, we suggest a new measure of EU integration risks that fulfills a number of properties which are desirable to ensure its informational value. Our results indicate that tensions to finance public debt in integrated financial markets are the main contributor to weakened support for EU integration. Particularly, large yield spreads increase the polarization on this issue at the country level. Moreover, as a confirmation of a-priori expectations, we find that the national support for EU integration sees a fostering in times of economic upswing and under beneficial structural EU funding. These results indicate that it becomes crucial to monitor increasing international yield differences as they could prepare the ground for claims for EU disintegration policies, thereby, threatening future advances of the EU integration project.

Modern challenges for international law application in the former USSR countries are inextricably linked to the regional integration issues. Despite seeking closer rapprochement with the EU, Russia never dropped its ambitions as a spearhead of political, economic and legal integration within the post-Soviet area. Belarus actively participates in the post-Soviet integration projects while seeking improvements of EU-Belarus relations. However, Ukraine embarked upon a long and challenging path of deeper political and economic integration with the EU and aligning its legal system with the EU acquis. Against this backdrop, this article studies the constitutional dimension of three post-Soviet republic's engagement in regional integration projects identifying the problematic issues in the application of international law. ; Modern challenges for international law application in the former USSR countries are inextricably linked to the regional integration issues. Despite seeking closer rapprochement with the EU, Russia never dropped its ambitions as a spearhead of political, economic and legal integration within the post-Soviet area. Belarus actively participates in the post-Soviet integration projects while seeking improvements of EU-Belarus relations. However, Ukraine embarked upon a long and challenging path of deeper political and economic integration with the EU and aligning its legal system with the EU acquis. Against this backdrop, this article studies the constitutional dimension of three post-Soviet republic's engagement in regional integration projects identifying the problematic issues in the application of international law.

AbstractWe analyze in how far market perceptions of actual financial integration affect EU integration support at the country level. As indicators of realized states of integration in financial markets we rely upon yield differentials of long‐term government debt. To identify particular situations that could undermine the integration process, we suggest a new measure of EU integration risks that fulfills a number of properties which are desirable to ensure its informational value. Our results indicate that tensions to finance public debt in integrated financial markets are the main contributor to weakened support for EU integration. Particularly, large yield spreads increase the polarization on this issue at the country level. Moreover, as a confirmation of a‐priori expectations, we find that the national support for EU integration sees a fostering in times of economic upswing and under beneficial structural EU funding. These results indicate that it becomes crucial to monitor increasing international yield differences as they could prepare the ground for claims for EU disintegration policies, thereby, threatening future advances of the EU integration project.