The Wars of the 1860s and the Atlantic (Americas and Europe)

During the 1860s, widespread warfare beset the Americas and Europe. Fighting resulted from challenges to existing political accommodations, and evolved into civil wars or interstate violence. Concurrently, economic and technological transformations through the 1860s aided long-distance communications, such as the coming of the telegraph and a much faster spread of steam power that helped to disseminate news and share experiences. All over the Atlantic, the triumph of national unification was the most visible result of the bloodbath, expanding state capacities and reinforcing the role of national symbols as common elements of a shared identity. Political and administrative centralization affected the exercise of local power in different ways, mainly in its capacity to recruit members of communities for war; appealing to national values and identities gradually became central in the demands for cooperation and sacrifice. After the end of combat, national authorities established regimes founded either on new constitutions or on amendments added to existing documents, the goal of which was reordering society according to rules capable of regulating and institutionalizing regional conflicts, simultaneously incorporating demands for representation and liberalization. These same groups demonstrated less efficiency when dealing with ethnic and social conflicts, sources of deeper divisions in societies that pretended to be consistent, progressive, and unified.

Eurasian integration and the internal socio-political conflict potential of the Central Asian region

The article examines the internal security challenges in the Central Asian region (CAR), the causes of conflicts within the countries of the region. The article describes the general and special features of the socio-political situation in the CAR countries. This study was conducted within the framework of the theory of conflict. The paper uses the author's typology of costs and risks on the path of interstate integration: growth risks (economic, social, security) and immanent risks, as well as characteristics of the nature of regional conflicts. The author analyzes Russia's interests in the CAR, the conflict potential of the region, and the prospects for the development of Eurasian integration in the region. The main conflict-causing internal political factors are: poverty of the population, the growth of social differentiation, high unemployment, an overabundance of the able-bodied population, socio-economic instability; the archaization of public life; interethnic contradictions; the presence of a religious fundamentalist and extremist underground, waiting for the moment to seize power; the spread of drug addiction and the activities of organized criminal communities engaged in transit drug trafficking; the threat of political destabilization of the region both in the process of transferring power to a new generation of leaders and the change of leadership elites. Eurasian integration can strengthen the Russian vector in the policies of the countries involved in Eurasian integration, but it will not eliminate the influence of other vectors, it will only balance them. Participation in the Eurasian integration can help the CAR countries strengthen their independence and sovereignty. Since foreign "multi-vector" policy, often understood as a distance from Russia, leads to an increase in dependence on other centers of power, which ultimately contradicts the national interests of the CAR nations themselves.

Internal Security Challenges in China

Our series of studies would like to draw attention to the fact that China, which has so far had considerable foreign policy experience, is also forging serious capital from dealing with its own internal conflicts. A diverse, high-spread country is testing the effectiveness of ‘soft power’ in its provinces. Without foreign policy adventures, these locations provided the Chinese Communist Party with adequate experience in resolving certain types of conflicts. Uyghur, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Hong Kong, Macao embody archetypes of problems that pose a direct threat to the Chinese state. In addition to regional conflicts, we can also consider the problems of the Christian community of about one hundred million. Uyghur is an excellent example of how to achieve results along the fault lines of cultures and religions. The first part of the series of studies shows how Uyghurs with significant separatist traditions have been persuaded to make ‘modern life’ the same as accepting the Chinese order. Through the Uyghurs, China is learning how to refine its methods concerning Muslim countries in Central Asia.

Escaladarea conflictelor regionale în spațiul post-sovietic. Cazul conflictului transnistrean / Escalation of regional conflicts in the post-Soviet space. The case of the Transnistrian conflict

The last decade of the twentieth century was marked by a geopolitical event with long-lasting effects - the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. One of the „poles” of the bipolar system of international relations has completely disappeared, and its fragments have begun to move in different directions - the independent states of the post-Soviet space have begun to form. Thus, the adaptation of the independent states from the post-Soviet space to the new geopolitical realities and the determination of their own political and external development vector began. At the same time, nationalist forces intensified and political tensions increased, leading to regional conflicts, especially in the vast Black Sea basin.

Detection and Localization of Terrestrial L Band RFI with GNSS Receivers

GNSS signals are critically important for a wide range of commercial, military, and science applications. Recent studies have identified threats to the performance of GNSS from both intended and unintended sources of radio frequency interference (RFI). Understanding the distribution of the sources of RFI and the nature of the signals they are emitting is critical to determine and mitigate their effects on the measurements made by GNSS receivers. Terrestrial RFI can be substantially detrimental to the received GNSS signals, affecting the interpretation of related science measurements. NASA's Blackjack/TriG GNSS receivers are used for precise-orbit determination and radio occultation measurements, providing a data record spanning most of the Earth’s surface for nearly 20 years. We have developed a highly sensitive detection algorithm which uses variations in the measured signal to noise ratio (SNR), on the order of 10-50 seconds, common to all satellites to identify times and locations subject to RFI. Initial work has focused primarily on detection of the presence of RFI and using the receiver’s orbital solution to record the location of detection events. Our inter-mission analysis creates a unique record of global RFI with the potential for a) rigorous detection of the presence of interfering signals during science measurements, b) geolocation of RFI sources, and c) characterization of the nature of the transmitted signal to better identify intent. Preliminary analysis has shown the presence of RFI is well correlated with regional conflicts and other geopolitical activity.

Heritage Preservation as Strategy for Recomposing Conflict Territories

Heritage admits diverse readings depending on different territorial spaces, contexts, and knowledge fields. The relation between Heritage and the social contexts is one of these knowledge areas. But Heritage accepts a dual perception as a cultural reflection. It may be considered either as the origins of the conflicts or the engine for recomposing disrupted territories. The paper proposes a reflection on the topics related to conflict territories and the roles currently played by Cultural Heritage. The recomposition of conflict territories is based on a continuous intercultural approach with important contributions from human rights, genders equality, intercultural dialogue perspectives and the fact of taking heritage as a territorial stabilization factor. The paper presents specific practical cases in the Eastern Mediterranean region where actions on Heritage religious elements collide with the national sovereign of the respective current countries. A comparative study among these different actions proves that the initial clashes can be progressively transformed into strategies able to become the future guideline for the resolution of heritage regional conflicts. These conflicts reflect two discourses: political (with strong links between national identity and religion) and scientific (with a clash between static concept and dynamic vision) where objects interact with the visitors.

The Role of AFRICOM in Solving Security Problems on the African Continent (2001-2020)

The article analyzes the US’s security relations with Africa, including the “war on terror”, as well as the role of the US African Military Command (AFRICOM) in resolving regional conflicts. After the end of the Cold War and a failed mission in Somalia, the United States ended major military operations in Africa. However, in the past few years, the strategic interests of the United States in the region have increased due to the threats of the activities of international terrorist groups. The article reveals the goals of Presidents George Bush, Jr., Barack Obama, and Donald Trump in relation to Africa in the context of regional security challenges and the main results of US foreign policy under three administrations.

Miscalculations of the military strategy of the United States and its NATO allies to "democratize" Afghanistan

The Afghan conflict, which has lasted for more than three decades, at the turn of 2011-2012 went through a new cycle of its evolution. In June 2011, it was announced that the withdrawal from countries of American troops and at the same time - about the start of direct US talks with the Taliban. Observers agreed that the complete conclusion US troops in 2014 will not end conflict, but can contribute to its new round. Few assumed that in the mid-1970s began one of the longest-running and most internationalized modern regional conflicts. By its complexity it is comparable to the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East conflict. It is noteworthy that none of external participants in the Afghan situation could not completely turn off, even with the withdrawal of troops, Afghanistan gave rise to and showed the limits for many international endeavors.