Suchergebnisse

Im Februar 2000 fand im Institut für USA- und Kanadastudien der Russischen Akademie der Wissenschaften ein internationales Seminar zum Thema: "Peacebuilding nach dem Ende des Kalten Kriegs" statt. Die Vorträge und Diskussionsbeiträge werden im Wortlaut wiedergegeben. Es werden sowohl generelle Probleme des Peacebuilding als auch die Politik Rußlands in diesem Bereich thematisiert. (BIOst-Mrk)

Introduction. The problem of repatriation of the Muslim population, so-called "Meskhetian Turks" exiled in 1944 from Samtskhe-Javakheti and acceptance of their national identity has long worried Georgian people. The opinions on this subject vary drastically. Depending on the political situation, this issue periodically emerges (possibly deliberately) as a controversy. Comparison and analysis of currently available written sources, special and general literature, documents, recently studied ethnographic materials finally provide an opportunity to define who the "Meskhetian Turks" are. In addition, they reveal who is benefiting from using this artificially created term and for what purpose.

Methods and materials. The materials concerning these problems and their classification are based on the methods developed by Ac.G. Chitaia, the founder of Georgian Ethnographic School. They contain different methods of complex-intensive as well as generalization and historical characters.

Analysis. Muslimized population (Tarakams, Kurds, Turks, and later Georgian Muslims) mostly lived in Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe provinces before the exile. Prior to 1940, the religious and ethnic composition of the population was rather diverse. This area was inhabited by indigenous Christians and partly Islamized Georgians. They were later joined by sheltered Kurds, Turks, Armenians and Karapapakhs. Calling them "Meskhetian Turks" has a specific purpose and the term is artificially spread in Georgian society. This type of action does not happen in any other country. One may wonder if various governmental, non-governmental and international agencies that have appeared in Georgia like mushrooms after the rain, know about this fact. Or, maybe they know it but under the influence of the governing forces of "the new order" and wholesome funding they deliberately destroy the national identity and integrity of the centuries-old history of the Georgian nation. One should use the term "Muslimized Meskhetians" but never "Meskhetian Turks" (the diverse tribal muslim population exiled from Samtskhe-Javakheti) to refer to the population of several million indigenous muslimized Georgians who are living on their historic territory (Tao-Klarjeti, Kola- Artaani, Shavsheti, Lazistan, etc.), currently Turkey.

Results. The research process highlights the following: according to the results of the study, it becomes possible to develop a number of recommendations which will help the multiethnic population of Samtskhe-Javakhethi live in a peaceful way and accelerate the adaptation and integration processes.

Introduction. The article considers the problem of solving the Austrian issue by consolidating the country's neutrality in 1955 in the context of a possible modeling of the situation on the German issue. The consolidation of a neutral non-aligned status with Austria was the result of a broad domestic and foreign policy compromise. At the same time, the main features of the Austrian path to the neutrality of 1945–1955 are highlighted, making this one of the most well-known compromise precedents of the Cold War possible.

Methods and materials. The research of the model character of the "Austrian solution" of 1955 is possible only with regard to the intertwining historical contexts in which the development of the German and Austrian issues took place from 1945 to 1949. The author uses the comparative historical method in the article while comparing historical features of the development of the German and Austrian issues between 1945 and 1955 and comparing different views and concepts of historians. The information base of the article consists of narrative and documentary sources, as well as a wide range of scientific research works of Austrian, German and Russian researchers.

Analysis. The main internal reasons for the successful resolution of the Austrian issue are the existence of the pro-Western government elected in 1945, the unity of the main political forces of Austria in the matter of restoring sovereignty, and the personal role of Chancellor Julius Raab. The main international reasons are the change in the course of the USSR within the framework of the peaceful coexistence policy, as well as the reciprocal cooperation policy of the Western Allies. The author considers the problem both in historical and in historiographical perspectives.

Results. The possibility of applying the "Austrian solution" to the situation with the divided Germany became the subject of a sharp historiographical dispute, which was called "Model Debate" in Austria. Two famous historians, Rolf Steininger and Michael Gehler, developed a concept confirming the model character of the Austrian solution to the situation with Germany. Most of Austrian historians tend to view the successful resolution of the Austrian issue as a single precedent, or phenomenon, of the Cold War. When comparing the situation with Germany and the attempts to model the Austrian version of it, they point to the different potential and significance of the countries for the Western Allies and the USSR, different goals of foreign policy of victorious powers in the German and Austrian issues.

Introduction. The purpose of this article is to return the concept of ultra-long military cycles (hereinafter referred to as ULMS) by Russian political scientist, philosopher and philologist Vadim L. Tsymbursky (1957–2009) to the methodological toolkit of modern political science and use it to identify potential key threats to the modern international security system.

Methods and materials. The article makes a hypothesis about the early termination of the last of the ULMS selected by V.L. Tsymbursky, which began with the invention of a nuclear weapon in 1945 and was characterized by the predominance of possibilities of destruction over mobilization – the so-called "depressed" ULMS. This type of ULMS is characterized by the absence of large-scale long-lasting wars, the stability of the world political system.

Analysis. The author of the article argues that under the influence of scientific and technical discoveries in the field of armaments (high-precision weapons combined with low-yield nuclear warheads, "swarm weapons", cybernetic weapons, biological weapons, the global missile defense system) and socio-political technologies (manipulating flows of refugees, "hybrid war", global weakening of national identities and social stratification of nations with the formation of "international elites"), the great powers are able to overcome the "nuclear impasse" and the world political system may enter the phase of increased risk of developing a full-scale world war.

Results. In the coming decades, the world may enter the stage of an "expansive" ULMS, characterized by the return to the rate on mobilization resources as the main factor in the military-political confrontation. According to the author, one of the most effective ways to peacekeeping is the development of public diplomacy, multilateral international contacts at the level of non-state actors.

The main idea of this article is to describe the process of Turkish foreign policy evolvement during the rule of Justice and Development party (JDP). From weak economy and unstable political situation in 2001, JDP quickly formulated a new strategy of foreign policy and stabilized economy. In the article the Turkish foreign policy in the 21st century is divided into several stages which respond to different international threats and circumstances. The first stage was a peacekeeping stage when Turkey tried to stabilize the situation near its borders and implement peace initiatives for the purpose to find new markets and allies. As a result, Turkey formulated a new strategy of foreign policy, called "Zero Problems Policy" which aimed to create a ring of friendly countries on the borders. On the second stage, Turkish foreign policy was more active – Turkey tried to balance among regional power centers and confront with one of the most powerful actors – Israel. Confrontation with Tel Aviv was a preface to the third stage, and today under the influence of "Arab Spring" and desire to change its role in international relations, Turkey refused "Zero Problems Policy" strategy and turned to a new aggressive and revanchist idea – neo- Ottomanism. Ankara tries to build a new regional set of rules where Turkey will play a leading role.

The article is devoted to the transformation of the energy strategy of Russia in the conditions of the current economic crisis. The special attention is paid to current trends in the sphere of international relations having a decisive influence on the formation of Russia's energy strategy. The authors point to the crisis of the modern world, the deepening of interstate contradictions, the expansion of confrontation, the revision of the uniform principles of trade, established by the World Trade Organization, the changes in the global financial system. The authors investigate the possibility of political arrangements between the leading suppliers of oil on the destabilization of the oil market in order to achieve geopolitical goals. In the article special attention is also paid to the issue of political motivation of anti-Russian sanctions directed at impeding Russia's development and its Fuel & Energy Complex, in particular. Today, against the background of the current political situation, the energy strategy of Russia is exposed to adjustment. The country has the important task of ensuring technological independence of the energy sector on the basis of import substitution of the equipment, diversification of the directions of export of energy resources, preservation of leading positions in the world market of peaceful nuclear energy, etc. The authors conclude that the energy strategy of Russia is important part of foreign policy strategy of the country, and it is focused on practical cooperation with all countries and is aimed at protecting interests of the state.

Situations with uncertain developments and results are more often taking place in the world of politics. In this regard, the role of actors who are interested in the implementation of plans for peaceful conflict resolution and non-violence is becoming more urgent. The modern world is replete with situations in which a decision should be made only by qualified intermediaries (mediators), whose purpose is to resolve the conflict by the most effective and painless method. This article discusses the main aspects of the technology which is new for the political reality - political mediation as a vital means for solving complex inter-ethnic and interconfessional problems. The author attempts to identify general and specific characteristics of the conflict field that are peculiar for both international and inter-ethnic contradictions arising in the process of multilateral relations of nations with each other and between ethnic groups in multi-ethnic space. At this, the attention is focused on the fact that the conflicts arise out of the contradictions between the interests of these social organisms. The article provides the system of argumentation of the thesis that the use of mediation technologies helps to achieve the combination of the parties' autonomy and to guarantee a mutually beneficial result on a common ground. For this purpose the conflicting parties endow a third party with certain powers - the mediator, who is involved in order to look at the conflict from the side and help conflicting actors to get rid of excessive emotion and bias in a dispute. Thus, political mediation is a form of alternative expert and political dispute resolution and settlement, voluntarily elected by conflicting communities on the basis of their desire to reach agreement and political objectivity. (author's abstract)

Der Autor, Abteilungleiter für die Beziehungen zu den GUS- Staaten im russischen Außenministerium, geht in dem Beitrag auf die Vorwürfe von georgischer und aserbeidschanischer Seite ein, wonach die russischen Peacebuilding-Kontingente ihre Mission zur einseitigen Einflußnahme für die jeweilige Gegenseite mißbrauchten, und hebt demgegenüber die friedensstiftenden Initiativen der russischen Regierung in den Konfliktzonen im Kaukasus hervor. In diesem Zusammenhang werden auch die russischen nationalen Interessen auf dem Hintergrund der geopolitischen Lage im Kaukasus erörtert. (BIOst-Mrk)

Dargestellt werden die Beziehungen Turkmenistans (1) zur UNO (Peacebuilding; Vermittlung in den innertadschikischen und innerafghanischen Konflikten; gemeinsame Projekte mit der UNO), (2) zur Organisation für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit (EKO), (3) zur Weltbank, (4) zum IMF und (5) zur EU. Die Projekte der EU in Turkmenistan werden detailliert vorgestellt. Weitere Darstellungsschwerpunkte sind die Beziehungen Turkmenistans (6) zur Nato und (7) zur OSZE. (BIOst-Mrk)