The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on international relations and world politics. The global and national economies, social sphere and culture were influenced by the pandemic. The global pandemic impact has led to a reassessment of the future development of the modern world.
Every country in the world has proposed its own way to address the challenges that occurred with the start of the pandemic and its consequences. At the first stage, the centrepiece of proposed measures was mainly focused on maintaining economic sustainability and providing social support. The emphasis was placed on fostering individual sectors of the economy, which has demonstrated its effectiveness. However, many states were balancing social stability and economic growth, which was hit by the imposed lockdowns. The steps taken have yielded shortterm positives in different countries. At the same time, they demonstrated the limited resources and low efficiency of measures to overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is significant that many countries achieved socio-political stability by increasing the debt burden. In the first phase of the pandemic, such approach was assessed as optimal. In general, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the vulnerability and weakness of the modern states to combat new challenges. First of all, this concerned economic policy, social issues and the labor market.
Many states have drawn positives from the crisis by adjusting political approaches and economic decisions. The current experience has made it possible to transform social policy, support employment, and adjust approaches to labor market regulation. However, the task, targeted at finding optimal solutions from the government, respecting the interests of business, maintaining social stability and the possibilities of the budgetary sphere, is still high on the agenda.
The lack of effective mechanisms for multilateral cooperation among world states in tackling global challenges, which include the COVID-19 pandemic, stimulated many countries to seek solutions aimed at protecting their own interests. All countries were forced to implement their foreign policy, build bilateral and multilateral relations in fundamentally new conditions. First of all, internal security and political stability were on the agenda.
The global pandemic raised the issue of the prospects for the development of international relations and world politics. Amid relations between states, a tendency to searching for new partners capable of providing support in a difficult economic situation is on its way. This opened up new opportunities for them, making for strengthening their positions. On the other hand, the world’s leading countries are still numbed by their past approaches to shaping relations within the framework of the existing system of international relations. The sanctions policy and the confrontational approach are still actively implemented by Western countries in the policies towards Russia and China. This strengthens confrontational relations between countries and maintains dividing lines in world politics.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given new impetus to debates on how to tackle global challenges. The climate agenda, problems of water resources, migration have previously been in the sharp focus of many states. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a revision of the role of states in settling global problems, having the effectiveness of international institutions high on the agenda.
The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the development of the global economy, which faced various challenges. Developing economies were most stricken by the pandemic. In turn, the industrialized states were able to channel significant aid, which allowed them to smooth the negative impact of the pandemic. However, the global economic recovery has been uneven as a cosequence of political decisions, states’ economic capacities in certain regions.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is considered to be one of the key mechanisms for maintaining stability and security in Eurasia. Over the years of its existence the SCO gained considerable political weight and authority on the world stage. There are extremely pessimistic scenarios for the development of events in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of the United States Armed Forces from Afghanistan and the coming Taliban to power in this country in 2021. There is a high probability of aggravation of regional challenges and threats in the face of terrorism, drug smuggling, illegal migration, humanitarian catastrophe. Being an important element of the Eurasian security architecture the SCO has a good potential to counter these threats. Over the years of the SCO’s existence a solid legislative framework was developed within the organization and coordination mechanisms was created to counter regional threats. The national interests and security of the SCO member states are directly related to the situation in Afghanistan. That is why the Afghan issue is always on the agenda of the organization. Despite the emerging differences between the SCO member states on the Afghan issue a common position was developed at the anniversary summit of the organization in September 2021 in Dushanbe. All SCO members supported the solution of the Afghan problem through political and diplomatic means and stressed the need to form an inclusive government. The decision to accept Iran as a full member of the SCO was a significant event for the organization. As a full participant Iran became an additional advantage for the organization in solving regional problems. The factor of Iran which has a significant impact on the development of Afghanistan may become one of the key factors in building relations with the new Afghan authorities. Thus the SCO has a significant integration potential in the field of security and should play a positive role in the Afghan problem.

The article presents an analysis of the key areas of combating threats of an extremist and terrorist nature on the territory of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The authors considered the evolution of the development of terrorist threats and political risks, as well as the factors and reasons that contributed to the growth of radicalization of public consciousness, especially in the Central Asian region. Faced with the threat of terrorism, the leadership of the Commonwealth countries realized the need to form an effective counteraction system, a set of joint measures was implemented for these purposes, model legislation was adopted, decision-making mechanisms in crisis situations were worked out. However, the practice of terrorist activity is constantly improving and changing, which requires the leadership of the Commonwealth countries to effectively respond to new challenges and realities, harmonize national legislation, and use new forms and methods of struggle.

The policy of «pivot to the East» of Russia was determined by the influence of the growing importance of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region in the world economy, as well as the need to develop the Far East and the nature of relations with the West. In this policy, the development of traditional friendship with Vietnam is a favorable condition for Russia to increase its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The purpose determination of Vietnam’s position in Russian foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region. The objectives traditional history of Russia-Vietnam friendship relations, assessment of the effectiveness of cooperation in the present and prospects for cooperation in the future. The study shows that based on existing traditional friendships and potential cooperation’s that need to be leveraged in the future, Vietnam is still considered an important link for Russia’s growing influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The article explores the role of the Argentine Republic in the integration process on the Latin American continent. Over the past 10 years, Argentina’s approaches to participation in integration associations have changed. It happened due to domestic political factors. First of all, with presidents who had different views on the country’s participation in integration processes. This applies to regional organizations such as MERCOSUR, UNASUR and CELAC. These integration associations have a strong influence on the development of the economic situation in the region. Argentina’s foreign policy was strongly influenced by the domestic economic situation. Overcoming domestic problems was the focus of Argentina’s leaders, which shaped various approaches to the country’s participation in integration associations. Special attention is paid to Argentina’s current economic situation as an engine of regional integration.

The Union State of Belarus and Russia is the oldest of the existing integration associations in the Eurasian space and, undoubtedly, is one of the foundations of the emerging architecture of Eurasian integration. During the period of its existence, the Union State has done a lot of work on the path of rapprochement of fraternal peoples, and even more ambitious tasks are to be implemented. This article examines the main problems of the Union construction, analyzes the key areas of cooperation between the member states of the Union State. The impressive advanced integration experience of the Union State in social, military-political, scientific-educational, as well as in a number of areas of the economic sphere can be used in the implementation of integration initiatives within other Eurasian regional associations and is extremely important and in demand precisely during the transition to multipolarity and the formation of the Eurasian center on the world stage. The Union State is a fraternal relationship proven over the years, built on mutual respect, attention to problems, joint achievements and the implementation of plans to mobilize common potential, guaranteed support in difficult periods without waiting for immediate returns. The benefits of such relations are achieved not only by scaling the market, conducting a coordinated foreign trade and technical policy, characteristic of the participants of “ordinary” economic associations. The predictability and trust inherent in fraternal friendship make it possible, for example, to lower individual thresholds for economic (and not only) security, since the reliable functioning of the economy is achieved together.

M.A. Bakunin is known all over the world as one of the founding fathers and major theorists of anarchism. His ideas of social revolution and future stateless society have become the subject of reflection for succeeding generations of revolutionaries, theorists and researches. However, some aspects of Bakunin’s creative legacy haven’t been explored yet. The article is dedicated to the analysis of the issue of Russian-German relations and their reflection in Bakunin’s political journalism. Both famous and little known works were analyzed. The author concludes that Bakunin considers Germany as embodiment of the idea of the State. This idea, in turn, is antagonistic to the thinker’s global goal — the social revolution.

On 12 August 2018, the Fifth Caspian Summit was held in Aktau, Kazakhstan, during which the presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan signed a fundamental document for regional cooperation — the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. This comprehensive agreement concludes years of negotiations and enshrines the legal modalities for cooperation between the littoral states in an international legal framework. Its key feature is the harmonious combination of historical principles of interaction between regional actors with new elements in line with modern realities. Since the Convention has laid the foundations for a future-oriented conflict-free model of five-party cooperation based on trust, friendship and good neighborliness, it has come to be compared with the «Constitution of the Caspian Sea» in the expert community.
This article provides a structural analysis of the Convention’s provisions and examines its effect on the relationship between the littoral states. The study identifies the reasons that prompted the five Caspian states to start working on the agreement and emphasizes the key role of Russian diplomacy in achieving success in the negotiation process. The author elaborates on the main provisions of the Convention and highlights the areas where the greatest progress has been made. Particular attention is paid to the establishment of a high-level regular consultation mechanism with an emphasis on the development of a methodology for establishing straight baselines in the Caspian Sea area. Interim projections were made regarding possible dates for the Convention’s entry into force. Moreover, the article outlines prospects for holding the Sixth Caspian Summit in Turkmenistan by the end of 2021 and suggests which documents may be adopted at the summit. The author concludes that there is a need to further improve the international legal framework for cooperation and to expand the network of five-party cooperation mechanisms in order to strengthen the sub-regional cooperation model.