Psychological aspects of overcoming conflict situations by police officers in the conditions of mass events

The geopolitical, socio-cultural, economic changes that have burst into society in connection with the pandemic are the impetus for the development of extremist manifestations and the terrorist threat, which determines and emphasizes the relevance and vital need for a deeper study and improvement of psychological support and psychological training of police officers in places of mass activities. The article examines the features of conflict situations that arise among police officers in the activity of protecting public order during mass events. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the experience of the police in Lower Saxony (FRG) and the current police officers in Russia. Thus, a survey of police officers (85 senior officers) enrolled in refresher courses in 2018-2019 revealed the main positive examples of successful actions: work with leaders (instigators of mass riots), including their operational isolation (40% respondents); coordinated work of all forces and means involved in the protection of public order, at the same time, timely and reliable information to the head of the operational headquarters (40% of respondents); tightening the access control and cutting the crowd into sectors (50% of the respondents), etc. In the conclusion, the main tasks are outlined, by which police officers will be able to minimize conflict situations in special conditions.

PROMOTING GENDER AWARNESS – EFFECTS ON NATO’S STRATEGIC SECURITY

As the terrorist threat and the race for power continues, the most successful alliance is still facing undoubtable risks in its endeavor of maintaining stability – economically, political and most of all, socially. This paper intends to address the gender awareness phenomenon and study its effects on redesigning NATO’s security strategy architecture and reshaping the international relations among political actors. Furthermore, as the NATO 2030 analysis identified several risks and shortcomings of the alliance it is believed that strategically using the Women, Peace and Security Agenda can mitigate and favorably exploit these ‘loose ends’.

UZBEKISTAN: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE OFFICIAL DISCOURSE ON TERRORISM

Since its independence, Uzbekistan has often portrayed terrorism as one of the gravest threats to its sovereignty, integrity, unity, and internal stability. Uzbekistan’s authoritarian regime has been perceived endorsing and executing a series of counter-terrorism policies to exorcise this hazardous threat that includes all possible tactics for eliminating terrorism from the respective region. Unlike the state’s proclamation about the increasing gravity of the terrorist threat, some international human right organizations and Central Asian experts depict an opposite picture of it. They are seen to be very critical of the state’s exaggerated version of the terrorist threat and question the state’s intention behind such projection. This paper makes a systematic effort to critically examine how Uzbekistan’s authoritarian leaders have constructed official discourse on terrorism, taking into consideration the social, political and economic context of the region. The paper also examines the authenticity of the state’s continuous projection of terrorism to be one of the gravest threats to the sovereignty and integrity of the region by incorporating and analyzing a detailed account of the terrorist acts that have taken place in Uzbekistan since 1991 to 2018. Finally, the paper also explains why the Uzbek authoritarian regime is keen to construct terrorism to be one of the most dangerous threats to the state. Keywords: terrorism, Uzbekistan, Counterterrorism Act, security, non-state actor

ISLAMIC TERRORISM AS A THREAT TO THE SECURITY OF EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The article presents the analysis of the threat to the security of Eastern European countries posed by groups and individuals invoking the ideology of radical Islam. Particular attention is given to the region’s two biggest countries: Russia and Ukraine. After a general assessment of the terrorist threat in individual countries based on the Global Terrorism Index, the following are analysed: evolution of the terrorism of North Caucasus groups, scale of threat from the Islamic State, and particularly from foreign terrorist fi ghters (FTFs), as well as examples of homegrown Islamic terrorism in Russia.

Protection of property rights of citizens in the conditions of foreign military aggression: political and legal experience of Ukraine

The aim of the research is a comprehensive analysis of the problem of protecting property rights against a terrorist threat and finding ways to solve it. The article deals with the main problems of protection of property rights under conditions of external military aggression in Ukraine. The authors, with the example of a separate case, analyses the problematic aspects of renewing and granting property rights to citizens residing in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. Methodologically, it is a documentary research. It is concluded that the law and judicial practice of the protection of property rights in the example of the right to compensation for damaged homes may prove insufficient on its own. The weaknesses of Ukrainian legislation in compensation for damage caused to citizens in conditions of armed conflict and terrorist activity are discussed in detail. Finally, it emphasizes the role of transitional justice in improving the law and practice of resolving disputes overcompensation for moral and material damage under the conditions of occupation of certain territories of Ukraine.

Improving the national counter terrorism system

The article analyzes modern terrorist threats. It is noted that today the level of terrorist threat in Ukraine is determined by a number of factors, both external and internal. The article contains an analysis of regulations on combating terrorism. The positive experience of the United States in determining the levels of terrorist threats is highlighted. Ways to improve the national system of combating terrorism have been identified.

Existential Threat: Uncovering Implicit Affect in Response to Terror Reminders in Soldiers

Psychological science has a hard time assessing affective processes of the individuals that they may not recognize or do not like to report on. Here, the authors used the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT; Quirin et al., 2009) to investigate whether reminders of an existential threat induce unpleasant implicit affect in soldiers waiting for their deployment to a country with high levels of terrorist threat, Afghanistan. As expected, relative to reminding participants of a television evening, implicit negative affect was higher and implicit positive affect was lower after reminding participants of terror acts performed in different cities. No significant effects were found in self-reports of negative or positive affect. Our findings suggest that reminders of existential threat can elicit implicit negative affect that individuals may not report on explicitly and thus, validate the IPANAT as an easily applicable measure in emotional contexts.

FORMATION OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’SAFE BEHAVIOUR WHILE TERRORIST ATTACKS

The attention is drawn to the possibility of terrorist attacks in Ukraine. The essence of safe behaviour during a terrorist attack is revealed in the article. The purpose of the article is to determine the rules of behaviour for high school students in the case of a terrorist attack, the action algorithm of high school students on receiving information about a terrorist threat; rules of safe behaviour in social networks, which are actively used by terrorists, who attack high school students to participate in their groups and terrorist acts; to present a formation program of high school students’safe behaviour while terrorist attacks and show its effectiveness.The results of the experimental implementation of the program for formation of high school students’safe behaviour during terrorist attacks and emergencies are analyzed after asurvey carried out. According to the results summarised a conclusion is made to activate social and pedagogical work in the field of forming students’safe behaviour while terrorist attacks and emergencies.

The role of State Security bodies in countering terrorism

The article is devoted to the activities of the state security guard services of the Russian Federation in counteraction of terrorism. In particular, the main features and trends of modern terrorism are identified. The article analyzes the current legal acts in Russia that regulate activities of state security guard services, including their main tasks. The main legal definitions in the field of state security are studied. A retrospective analysis of the development of domestic special services in the field of state security was conducted. The main activities of the Federal security guard service of the Russian Federation in the fight against terrorism, as well as the powers in development and implementation of measures to prevent, detect and suppress terrorist activities, are considered. In particular, the complex of conservative, custodial, technical, operational, investigative and preventive activities, is carried out by the units of the Federal security guard service of the Russian Federation, on a permanent basis in the period of preparation and conduct of security measures in the places of permanent and temporary stay and sections of the route of state (movement) of the objects of state security to ensure the security of state security and counter the terrorist threat. On the basis of the analysis of the activities of state security services, options for increasing the efficiency of their work in the field of anti-terrorism are proposed in order to maximize the effectiveness of ensuring the security of state security objects.