DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2017.3.24169

Abstract: The subject of the study is Breton nationalism in France as one of the versions of modern European "regional nationalism". The author considers the aspects of the problem, such as the correlation between the general and the specific in various local manifestations of cultural and political regional identity within European nation-states, and the mobilizing symbols of the Breton identity (the regional flag, the heraldic symbol, the BZH abbreviation), studies the role of Breton language as a factor of cultural and political mobilization of the regional population. Particular attention is paid to clarifying the correlation of Breton cultural and political identity, to the essence of the Breton political project and the role of Breton political structures in the region's struggle for autonomy / independence.Guided by the principle of historicism, the author used a comparative-historical method to consider the phenomenon of Breton nationalism in its historical dynamics. The use of this method allowed the author to conclude that neither the socio-economic situation, nor the united Europe, nor the Breton movement, which numbers hundreds of organizations and whose programs include both issues of development and preservation of culture, and the satisfaction of territorial demands (reunification of Brittany in historical boundaries), did not provide the conditions for success in the struggle for autonomy and, even more so, independence.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2017.3.23861

Abstract: Ethnic identity and interethnic relations in modern Republic of South Africa constitute the subject of this study. The author considers the opinions of experts on a number of issues: a general assessment of interethnic relations, assessment of the wholeness of national culture and the importance of national identity for the citizens of the country, the role of ethnic identity in contrast to other forms of identity, its role in South African political and public spheres, as well as the possibility of creating of ethnicity-based political parties. Experts answered a number of questions on the alleged influence of ethnic origin on a person's career, on the state policies towards their ethnic group, and on the role of media in covering the life of their ethnic group. The author selected expert survey as a method for the pilot study on ethnic identity and interethnic relations in contemporary South Africa. The use of this method allows to gather information and assessments from colleagues who are well-informed on the subject. Some experts point out that race and ethnicity are politicized and affect the distribution of benefits and opportunities in present-day South Africa. The experts point out various aspects of these phenomena such as persistence of negative consequences of apartheid or use of hate speech by modern politicians. Many experts register the fact that the national culture and national identity of the country are still forming: a significant part of expert pool indicates the lack of a single supra-ethnic culture of the country, and proposes to improve interethnic relations through efforts to establish dialogue between various ethnic and racial groups.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2017.3.24149

Abstract: The subject of research of this article is the situation in the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. The object of the study is the crisis in Ukraine, on the background of which the issue is being studied. The authors reveal the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on the situation in Transnistria. Particular attention is drawn to the fact that, from a geopolitical point of view, the policy of official Kiev regarding Transnistria is developing in parallel with the strengthening of the anti-Russian rhetoric in Ukrainian foreign policy. The authors demonstrate the destructive influence of the blockade of the border of the unrecognized republic from the Ukrainian side on the Transnistria region. In the current situation, when official Kiev adamantly maintains the rhetoric of a military threat coming from the Transnistria, and the so-called "security dilemma" that emerges is being studied in this article. The methodological basis of this article is defined by its goals and methods and is defined by the approach and the academic view of the authors. The theoretical and methodological basis of this work contains approaches and methods that are used by modern political science for comprehensive analysis of international relations structure, and the mechanisms of the formation of foreign policies of certain countries. Being inter-disciplinary, this study is based on the border between history, political science, conflictology, international relations. This approach allows a comprehensive and objective research of the subject. The main conclusions of the authors are as follows. The coup d’état in Ukraine paved the way to the degradation of the situation in Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. A pre-crisis Ukraine fostered the opportunities to develop tighter relations with Moscow and Tiraspol. The antagonism of the new Ukrainian authorities towards Russia push Kiev to use the geography of the country and the geopolitical context to influence both Moscow and Transnistria in order to force Russian peacekeepers from Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Russian authorities, in turn, are required to maneuver and to carefully consider foreign policy in the region. The scientific novelty of this work is the study of the influence of Ukrainian crisis on Transnistria in the perspective of modern academic knowledge, and the usage of a broad library of sources and modern science literature.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2017.3.23908

Abstract: The subject of this study is the East African Commonwealth (EAC), an intergovernmental organization which, at the initial stage of its development, included sovereign African countries, such as Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The author examines the integration processes in East Africa in the second half of the twentieth century, uncovers the factors that precipitated the formation of EAC and contributed to the optimization of the economic processes in EAC member countries. The author draws attention to the difficulties that emerged during the formation of a common economic space in EAC in 1970s, and lead to the eventual disintegration of this intergovernmental organization. Using the principle of historism, the author analyzes official documents and media sources of this time. The usage of the historical reconstruction method allowed him to discover the main political and economic determinants of the relations crisis between EAC member countries. The novelty of this work is based on the usage of English-speaking sources that were previously unused in the study of EAC 1970s crisis. Researching these sources allowed the author to reach a conclusion that the disintegration of EAC was due to a multitude of causes, chiefly the immaturity of the political systems of newly emerged, independent countries, and the lack of readiness to give op a part of their sovereignty for the common good of the member countries of the association, nationalism and economic perfectionism in domestic matters.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2017.3.23956

Abstract: Museums are widely considered to be a conflict-free space, but the modern social and cultural context and fundamental changes in museum functionality lead to the necessity of managing conflicts in exhibition space by museum institutions. The purpose of this study is to analyze the means and methods of representing various conflicts in the museum space basing on field materials from European museums. The majority of methods described in the article are aimed at achieving three main goals: to impact the visitor's consciousness, imprinting the destructive potential of the conflict, to model their role in the conflict and to simulate the feelings that derive from it, in order to get objective information on all participants and context of conflict. During the work on the study, the author employed the following methods of humanitarian research: the comparative and analytical method, the method of involved observation and the idiographic method. In domestic museology and conflictology, this subject was seldom raised. As practice shows, the conflict today is not a threat to museum, but, on the contrary, it has the potential of becoming the basis of the museum narrative. Everything can be used for an objective reflection of the conflict and leaving emotional impact on visitors - from architecture of the museum building and exposition structure, to the design of showcases and audio effects.