The United States is consistently expanding its presence in Central Asia. The region seems attractive to the US because of its geographic location and significant natural resource reserves which American industry urgently needs. In recent years, rare-earth metals have become key resources. The US interest is driven by their importance for high-tech industries. Central Asian countries possess reserves of rare-earth metals. Therefore, the US hopes to reduce its dependence on China by using the potential of these countries. In addition to its aspirations for natural resources, Washington seeks expanded trade and economic cooperation with Central Asia, primarily based on the US interests and the adjustment of foreign policy pursued by Central Asian states. For the regional countries, interaction with the US offers opportunities to diversify foreign affairs. The article concludes that Washington’s strategy is aimed at further cementing Central Asian countries within the orbit of American interests. Various mechanisms are being used for this purpose, including multilateral and bilateral cooperation. The US assesses Central Asian states solely through the prism of their raw materials and sees them as countries that will contribute to resolving the problems accumulated in the American economy. In the future, the US will intend to promote its interests more actively by using political pressure on the regional countries and expanding economic cooperation with them.

This article analyzes the activities of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in combating organized crime and illicit drug trafficking within Central Asia. The analysis covers the normative legal framework, mechanisms of cooperation among member states, and measures aimed at ensuring stability in the Central Asian region. A content analysis was conducted of CSTO exercises from 2017 to 2024 and the effectiveness of “Channel” (Kanal) operations was assessed. Moreover, the study also compared the achievements of CIS activities in legal and coordination spheres, including the implementation of interstate programs. The study establishes that the CSTO demonstrates consistent effectiveness in the forceful response to threats, while the CIS plays a key role in forming the normative foundations and providing informational and analytical support for regional security. Particular attention is paid to the effectiveness of joint activities and ongoing security measures within participating states. Furthermore, the article analyzes possibilities and directions for further deepening integration within the CSTO and CIS organizations. The key emphasis is placed on the formation of a common strategic approach to ensuring regional security, the development of joint training programs, the consolidation of legal norms, and enhancing of the operational compatibility among security forces. The article proposes to consider the CSTO and CIS not only as instruments of military-political cooperation but also as platforms for a comprehensive response to cross-border threats, thereby contributing to the formation of a unified and sustainable collective security space in the Central Asian region. The authors emphasize the importance of more intensive cooperation among states. In conclusion, the authors summarize the role and effectiveness of these organizations in countering illicit drug trafficking and organized crime within the territories of Central Asian states.

The novelty of the research lies in the analysis of statistical data pertaining to implemented programs and adopted normative legal acts, as well as in tracing the dynamics of their effectiveness within the framework of cooperation between CSTO and CIS member states. The study compares the approaches of both organizations to ensuring regional security and evaluates the effectiveness of existing mechanisms based on specific statistical data reflecting the results of implemented programs and operations in recent years.

This study aims to analyze Japan’s policy in Central Asia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Japan was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the five Central Asian states, and in 1993, began development cooperation. Relations between Japan and Central Asia have steadily developed, and in 2004, the “Central Asia + Japan” dialogue was launched. This initiative, in which Japan acts as the initiator of cooperation between the five Central Asian countries, has created the conditions for subsequent expansion of interaction. Japan pays considerable attention to political interaction and the provision of technical assistance to the Central Asian states. The article focuses on the study of documents that define Tokyo’s approaches to interaction with the countries of the region. An analysis of the mechanisms of Japan’s cooperation with the countries of the region is also provided. The article concludes that Japan’s policy demonstrates a consistent foreign policy course towards the Central Asian states.

The article examines the evolution and current state of Portugal’s policy towards Russia, identifying the key factors that shape the nature of bilateral interaction amid the ongoing transformation of the contemporary international relations system. Particular attention is paid to the specifics of the Portuguese approach to developing relations with Russia in the context of the country’s simultaneous membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The study provides a detailed analysis of the legal and treaty framework underpinning bilateral relations, including the 1994 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, as well as trade and economic dynamics from 2007 to 2024, clearly illustrating the impact of the sanctions regime on the volume and structure of bilateral trade. The role of Portugal as a potential mediator in advancing Russia’s relations with the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), drawing upon its unique historical experience of engagement with former colonies in Africa and Latin America, is thoroughly considered. The phenomenon of the “Portuguese paradox” is identified, whereby the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration does not hinder but rather facilitates the maintenance of constructive dialogue with Russia. The study explores in detail the distinctive features of Portugal’s sanctions policy, characterized by a consistent commitment to preserving channels of political dialogue with Moscow even under conditions of growing international tension. The differentiated positions of CPLP member states on key international issues and their direct effect on the prospects of Russian-Portuguese cooperation are analyzed. The article considers the prospects for establishing a distinctive model of bilateral interaction that organically combines Portugal’s formal solidarity with its Western partners and a pragmatic pursuit of consistently developing multifaceted ties with Russia.

The article examines the strategic role of Central Asia in Turkey’s energy policy and identifies the key factors that determine the prospects for bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Turkey, lacking substantial oil and gas reserves, regards the region as a crucial source of supply diversification and, at the same time, as a platform for strengthening its role as a transit hub linking Caspian resources with European markets. The focus is on Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, which play a leading role in global production of oil, natural gas, and uranium, thereby shaping the region’s energy potential.

The article analyzes the main areas of cooperation: the development of transport infrastructure, including the Middle Corridor (a logistics route connecting China with Europe via Central Asia), the modernization of existing oil and gas routes, as well as the prospects for constructing the Trans- Caspian Gas Pipeline, which is seen as a strategic project for diversifying export flows. Special attention is paid to renewable energy sources: Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are actively implementing solar and wind power projects, while Turkmenistan is making its first steps in this field. The participation of Turkish companies in building logistics centers, railways, ports, and energy infrastructure contributes to deeper integration of the region into the Eurasian energy and transport system.

At the same time, it is emphasized that cooperation is accompanied by a number of challenges: infrastructural limitations, legal and environmental barriers, and financial risks. Turkey is compelled to balance between the interests of global players while simultaneously promoting the concept of Turkic solidarity and shaping new formats of regional cooperation.

The study concludes that Central Asia is becoming not only a supplier of energy resources but also a key link in the emerging Eurasian energy architecture, where Turkey seeks to establish itself as a strategic mediator and an energy bridge between the East and Europe.

The article discusses a number of issues related to the necessity of integrating a new type of security—intellectual security—into the Russian Federation’s national security system, whose meaning and significance the author clarifies. Existing types of national security hardly touch upon the value-based and intellectual spheres of societal  life, making them the most vulnerable and unprotected. The article states that the primary task of intellectual security should be to protect the civilizational foundations of our state. The author emphasizes that protecting these civilizational foundations is impossible without the development of a distinctive Russian philosophy.  Since the latter clarifies and shapes these foundations and therefore should serve as the basis for intellectual independence. The author offers a critical assessment of the current state of intellectual security in Russia, arguing that the Russian intellectual community is heavily influenced by foreign ideals, values and traditions that conflict with the foundations of our civilization, and this influence inevitably undermines the intellectual independence of our civilization-state. One of the essential factors for preserving Russia’s intellectual independence, according to the author, is the support of the Russian philosophical tradition, which should become the basis for the country’s mental sovereignty and intellectual security. Other factors for preserving intellectual independence include creating social conditions and a public environment that would allow distinctive Russian philosophy to become the ideological and value-based benchmark for making strategic decisions related to the national development. The author believes that the inclusion of intellectual security into Russia’s security system is a necessary step to ensure state security under current conditions.

Based on historical-genetic and structural-functional analysis, as well as the method of binary oppositions, the author analyzes the significance of the “Treaty of eternal peace” between Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, according to which the results of the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667 were legally enshrined at the interstate level. A scientific understanding of this date is of particular importance in the context of a radical shift in Russia’s favor on the fronts of the Special military operation and the intensification of international dialogue aimed at finding optimal conditions for sustainable long-term peace. The author views the Special military operation as an objective and necessary response to the most pressing challenges of the time, expressed in the position of the collective West on geopolitical isolation and radical weakening of the Russian state with the prospect of depriving it of geopolitical subjectivity and turning it into building material for the so-called “new world order”. It is emphasized that what is happening in the space now called “Ukraine” is far from the first time. The article is based on a metahistorical approach and contains an analysis of the geopolitical technologies of the collective West. The author examines the optimal conditions for ending the conflict.