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China's security concept is evolving, and its participation in Africa's Arab countries' peacekeeping is transforming itself from aloof bystander to active player, and from multilateralism to both multi- and unilateralism. The establishment of China's logistics base in Djibouti does not signify a sudden change in China's African foreign policy; instead, change has been gradual and tangible and began with the evolution of China's participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations, and engagement in Africa's infrastructure projects, in parallel with China's increasing global presence. The base serves as a logistics and support facility for Chinese peacekeepers, as well as a naval facility to support anti-piracy missions off the coast of Somalia as part of an international anti-piracy operation. Moreover, the base helps China to ensure its maritime and commercial interests and safeguard Chinese nationals in West Asia and the African continent. However, the United States and the West are concerned with the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications of China's logistics base in Djibouti. The geography of Djibouti has led to the rising of geopolitical rivalries between the great powers, which may intensify in the coming years.

This article examines the reporting record of the German military attaché in Vienna from 1906 to the outbreak of the First World War. The reporting provided Berlin with a steady flow of information on the weaknesses of Austria-Hungary's armed forces. These weaknesses stemmed from the character and structure of the Dual Monarchy, and were responsible for its chronically debilitated combat-effectiveness. The reporting contradicts claims of contemporary German memoirists, and the belief of historians since the war, that neither Austria's military weaknesses nor their underlying causes were known at the highest levels of the German military prior to the war.

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of military diplomacy as an instrument of China's foreign policy aimed at achieving the goal of the "great revival of the Chinese nation." A special role is given to the process of conceptualization of military diplomacy in the foreign policy discourse of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which allowed the authors to identify the tasks and forms of this means of implementing foreign policy. The close connection of military diplomacy with ensuring the fundamental interests of the People's Republic of China is noted. A special place is given to the region of Southeast Asia, where the PRC has unresolved disputes over maritime rights and national jurisdiction of offshore facilities and mineral deposits with several states. The authors assess the effectiveness of military diplomacy in bilateral relations with the countries of the region. The theoretical foundation of the work is the neorealist approach, which allows us to evaluate military diplomacy as a set of non-forceful measures aimed at achieving national interests. The authors conclude that the country and regional priorities in China's military-diplomatic cooperation seem to correspond to the priorities of China's broader foreign policy. The PRC's intensive use of military diplomacy in the South China Sea demonstrates China's growing leadership potential on the world stage and world-building ideas in neighboring regions.

The article is devoted to the study of problematic issues of the change of modern international relations system. It was found that such changes have affected the very essence of international relations: actors (the emergence of non-governmental actors, the importance of which is increasing), methods (the scope of military diplomacy has been expanded), objects (the nature of armed confl icts, both international and non-international, has been changed; the concept of international crime is determined by the danger posed to the international community). The author sets time frameworks of the changes, studies the characteristics of international system and its elements. The study focuses on the phenomenon of military diplomacy and criteria of its effectiveness. These criteria for the effectiveness of military diplomacy are applied to the Russia's actions in Syria as part of its fi ght against international terrorism. The key documents of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic are analyzed. The research is focused on Russian measures in its war against terror in Syria. The author posits that Russia's actions in Syria represent a model which refl ects the role of non-governmental actors in world politics, the methods used in international affairs and the specifi cs of international crimes. ; Статья посвящена исследованию проблемных вопросов, связанных с изменением современных международных отношений. Установлено, что подобные изменения затронули содержание международных отношений: акторов (появление неправительственных акторов, значение которых все более возрастает), методы (рас- ширены сферы применения военной дипломатии), объекты (изменившийся характер вооруженных конфликтов, как международных, так и немеждународных; переход от преступления международного характера к международным преступлениям осуществляется, не исходя из субъектов, их совершающих, но степени их опасности с точки зрения обеспечения безопасности мира). Определены временные рамки указанных изменений. Исследуются причины изменения характера и содержания международных отношений, как в целом, так и выделенных в них элементов. В отношении военной дипломатии приводятся понятие, содержащее ее сущностные признаки, критерии определения эффективности применения данного метода международных отношений. Данные критерии эффективности военной дипломатии применены к действиям России в Сирии в рамках борьбы с международным терроризмом. Анализируются документы, которые составляют основу сотрудничества Российской Федерации и Сирийской Арабской Республики. Исследование указанных тенденций изменения международных отношений осуществляется на основе изучения принимаемых Российской Федерацией мер по борьбе с международным терроризмом в Сирийской Арабской Республике. Определено, что действия Российской Федерации в Сирийской Арабской Республике представляют собой модель, на основании которой можно изучить роль и значение неправительственных акторов в мировой политике, особенности применения методов международных отношений к изменившимся реалиям, условия перехода от преступлений международного характера к международным преступлениям.

The Sino-US relationship is increasely intertwined and this article looks at the military presence of both nations in the African continent. In particular a look from the military present in the post-9/11 world, where the war on terror have been launch by US and where the African continent is see witnessing a rise on terrorism. The article also looks at the Sino-US military action in Africa from the perspective of trade and arms sales where the securitizing a shipping lanes and factories are becoming of great concern for both the Chinese and the Americans. The article also looks at the current race between the more established "Washington consensus, and the relative "Beijing consensus". This race is taking part in Africa it is part of a bigger race which is for a unipolar and multipolar diplomatic world and the support of each African country is crucial. The Asian and the American contenders are using their military capability to secure support to different African political and institutions.

Somalia has a long history of internally inspired terror mainly arising from the threat of terrorism that has threatened both domestic and international interests and has drawn increased military efforts from both African continent partners and China and the United States. The aim to investigate the strategies applied by AMISOM in military diplomacy in the Horn of Africa. The study adopted an exploratory and mixed methods research design. Mixed methods approach allows for investigation of a broader and complex research problem enabling the researcher to utilize more than one approach, both quantitative and qualitative approach of data collection. The study target population entailed AMISOM staff who relevant respondents provided sufficient information to answer the research questions. Currently, AMISOM has 22,000 military troops, 234 police officers and 81 civilians. Moreover, the study equally targeted the Somali civilian population since they were important stakeholders in providing information on the effectiveness of military diplomacy in the country. Thus, the target population comprised 22,315 AMISOM staff and civilian contingent. Out of these, the study sampled 100. Primary data was collected from study respondents by means of a research questionnaire and an interview schedule. The data analysis process involved both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Content analysis was mainly used to analyse the qualitative data and which would be reported normatively. Quantitative research findings were analysed and reported using descriptive statistics, tables, graphs, charts and inferential statistics in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v23). Moreover, the data analysis was structured objectively to address each of the study research questions. This study suffices to demonstrate that AMISOM involvement in Somalia as an act of military diplomacy occasioned by the need to foster peace and regional stability on the horn of Africa region. The study demonstrated AMISOM employs different military diplomacy strategies although at different capacities. From the foregoing, the study points to the need for restructuring of AMISOM's peace and security architecture to bring out focus and responsiveness to the dynamic nature of the conflict and the enemy. The study recommends the need for further exploration into military diplomacy in Africa, especially given the dearth in empirical literature that is mainly from the West. Following this exploration of the role of military diplomacy in restoring peace and security in the horn of Africa, this study points to research gaps on the influence of civilian component in military diplomacy efforts on peace and security. Further there is need to understand the psychological effects in AMISOM troops participating in military diplomacy efforts in Somalia.