DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2023.4.68783

EDN: RBBYOT

Abstract: The subject of this article is the assessment of the competitiveness of the European Union in the "Big Game" for influence in Central Asia. Brussels is actively using economic opportunities to promote its foreign policy interests. It is worth noting that for the Central Asian countries that pursue a multi-vector and pragmatic foreign policy, economic cooperation with the European Union is also a priority. The article examines the effectiveness of the use of some economic instruments of EU influence in relation to the countries of Central Asia. Particular attention is paid to assessing the effectiveness of the development of trade relations and the creation of preferential regimes, the provision of financial assistance as an instrument of political coercion. Based on the analysis of statistical data, the position is confirmed that the restrictions in the field of trade and investment, the conditions for providing financial assistance imposed by Brussels to exert political pressure on the countries of the region are ineffective. The author comes to the conclusion that political blackmail by the EU against the Central Asian states reduces the level of their trust. Ignorance of local specifics complicates the implementation of joint projects and programs. It is stated that the EU strategy in Central Asia is losing out to the strategies of third countries, primarily China and Russia.

Keywords: competition, political blackmail, official development assistance, trade, economic priorities, Global Gateway, europeanization, European Union, Great Game, Central Asia

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2022.4.39471

EDN: UPCFIN

Abstract: In the era of renewed great-power competition, the Unites States is expanding the use of sanctions and other restrictive measures to ratchet up political and economic pressure on its major competitors – China and Russia. Since late February 2022, in response to Russia’s recognition of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic and Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, the U.S. and it allies have unleashed an unprecedented array of restrictive measures against Russia. These coordinated measures include personal and economic sanctions, financial and technology restrictions, export controls, travel and import bans. Although the restrictive measures imposed on Russia following the Ukraine crisis of 2014 failed to achieve their political objectives, the U.S. continues to escalate sanctions against Russia. Recessionary trends in the sanctioning economies (for instance, rising inflation and unemployment rates) do not stop them from looking for additional restrictive measures and tightening the existing ones. Geostrategic and geopolitical ambitions of the U.S., its allies and partners prevail over economic pragmatism. The purpose of this article is to analyze the U.S. sanctions policy towards Russia following Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. Specifically, it seeks to explore the logic of decision-making by the Biden administration regarding the use of sanctions as a foreign policy tool. The article also analyzes the prospects of escalation and de-escalation of the sanctions imposed on Russia. The author concludes that the U.S. sanctions, especially those that have been passed by Congress, will be in place for a long time. As the U.S. is enhancing its enforcement efforts, it will likely tighten the existing enforcement measures and introduce the new ones to punish sanctions evaders. The U.S. and its allies are likely to continue pursuing their long-term goal of containing Russia, degrading its capabilities and weakening its national power.

Keywords: sanctions policy, Joseph Biden, restrictive measures, Russia, European Union, great-power competition, U.S. Department of Treasury, the Ukraine crisis, U.S., economic sanctions

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2023.3.39991

EDN: ZKKXGI

Abstract: The subject of the study is the current role, approaches and activities of the U.S. and China in the UN system in the period 2017-2022. To conduct the study, authors used an applied analysis of the positions of China and the United States in the UN Specialized Agencies, the budgetary allocations of states to the organization, as well as the reactions of the United States and China and their allies to issues related to human rights and democracy in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The main conclusions of the study, which authors come to, are that the strategic rivalry between the U.S. and China will continue to intensify during the Biden administration. The Biden administration's approach to competition and cooperation with China will also be characterized by the U.S. national interest. After the COVID-19 pandemic, new debates and conflicts over values, systems and ideologies emerged, changing the strategic competition between the United States and China from "US vs. China" to "free camp countries vs. China," which is more favorable to the US. J. Biden, a Democrat with a great career in Congress will move the debate about "values," "system," and the "ideology" of human rights and democracy to new areas of competition in the strategic competition between the U.S. and China.

Keywords: Taiwan, human rights, funding, Specialized Agencies, United Nations, China, United States, competition, Hong Kong, applied analysis

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0617.2023.2.39841

EDN: RBCTXY

Abstract: The subject of the study is the development assistance of the United States and China to Sub-Saharan states and its impact on the voting of recipient countries in the UN General Assembly.The object of the study is the relations of the United States and China with Sub-Saharan Africa. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as development assistance, as well as voting in the UN General Assembly. Particular attention is paid to the impact of development assistance from donor States represented by the United States and China on the voting in the UNGA of recipient states on key issues of interest to China and the United States. The main conclusions of this study are the following: the more African countries receive more aid from the United States, the more they tend to vote for the same opinion as the United States in the UN General Assembly. On the other hand, China's assistance did not have a significant impact on the similarity of foreign policy between China and the recipient African States. The novelty of the study lies in the regression analysis. In addition to the amount of aid to African countries in the United States and China, the work includes variables that may influence the UN General Assembly vote on African recipient States in the statistical model as control variables based on existing research.

Keywords: Politics, United Nations, Voting, Saharan Africa, China, USA, Competition, Development assistance, Economy, Regression analysis