The existence of nuclear threshold states as a phenomenon is subject to revisiting through the prism of a general scientific notion of liminality. This type of actors is represented by the nations technically possessing a full nuclear fuel cycle but stopping short of making a decision to militarize their nuclear programmes. An advantage of the utilized approach consists in its transdisciplinary format: considering the problem at the interface of philosophy, political science and even literature studies assists in uncovering its multidimensional nature as well as in the mutual enrichment of the named areas of knowledge. A literature review – predominantly comprising secondary sources in English – has demonstrated but a sporadic application of the liminality concept in the International Relations and Security Studies scholarship (including nonproliferation of nuclear weapons). It has been established that a nuclear test is a specific ritualized act symbolizing the transition of threshold states into the cohort of de facto nuclear states. The duality of such a gesture consists, on the one hand, in challenging an instituted taboo, and, on the other hand, in a metamorphosis into a qualitatively new condition. At the same time, even such an example of transformation of the status does not mean that a nation overcomes liminality. This is due to the lack of the mechanisms – both informal and adopted in the international law – and the precedents of the transition by a de facto nuclear state into the club of the nuclear weapons states. Manifold dimensions of liminality are singled out and characterized: temporal, technological, strategic, operational, and identification dimensions. With the help of the case studies featuring the threshold states in the Asia-Pacific, it is demonstrated that latent nuclear nations can exist in this liminal space for decades, even benefitting from their transient condition. That being said, the heterogeneity of the space of liminality finds expression in the presence of various threshold actors on its different stages.

The article analyzes the image of the military generation of the Great War using the example of the works of Ernst Junger and Erich Maria Remarque. The work of E. Junger is significant for understanding the historical memory of the war, since in his works he tried not only to record what was happening, but also to understand the motivation for the actions of the participants in the battles. In the historical memory of Germany, his book “In Storms of Steel” became a striking example of recording the historical memory of the war, gained worldwide fame and became one of the central works on the history of the war and the war generation. Erich Maria Remarque’s novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” became an example of an anti-war work that gained worldwide fame. The article explores the methods of transmitting the historical memory of the war, that were used by E. Junger and E.M. Remarque to convey to the German population the war experiences of war participants. It seems that through the demonstration of war experiences, the authors tried to show the deep connection between war veterans and the global world processes of the First World War. The article discusses the formulation of the problem of the military generation as a “lost generation” and its various assessments by E. Junger and E.M. Remark.

Based on the works written in 1914–1916 by the world-famous scientist V.M. Bekhterev, the article discusses the fundamental problems of the theory and methodology of history, including a multifactorial approach to the analysis of the causes of the First World War, the role of the personalities of the warring powers’ monarchs in history, historical forecasting and the possible terms of the future peace deal. The purpose of the article is to show the contribution of academician V.M. Bekhterev to the solution of the wartime problems. The aim of the paper is to introduce V.M. Bekhterev’s publications into scientific circulation. The novelty lies in the fact that for the first time V.M. Bekhterev’s publications are introduced into scientific circulation as a historical and historiographical source on the history of the First World War. Special attention is paid to the methodology of V.M. Bekhterev, to his integrated approach to the analysis of events, which combines the methods of natural, humanitarian and social sciences. The article demonstrates the continuity of V.M. Bekhterev’s ideas in P.A. Sorokin’s integral methodology. The author comes to the conclusion that academician V.M. Bekhterev laid the theoretical foundations of the doctrine of war, and those foundations do not lose their significance today.

The article discusses the historical, philosophical, and religious views of F.A. Stepun (1884–1965), a scientist and Christian thinker, on World War I, drawing from his three-year firsthand involvement in the conflict. The paper highlights F.A. Stepun’s unique research strategy and reveals the central role of religious symbolism in his historical philosophy, particularly his interpretation of the war as a religious tragedy. Stepun’s unique view of war as a semantically complex event, based on his religious beliefs and meticulous attention to factual details, is emphasized. The article also discusses his recognition of the significance of religion and religious consciousness in wartime experiences, particularly on the front lines.
The article focuses on Stepun’s analysis of Russia’s failures in the war and on his study of the real state of affairs in the active army in their dynamics up to the February Revolution. His ideas of the impact of industrialization on the nature and style of modern total warfare are examined. This article is the first to explore Stepun’s observations on the cultural destruction aimed at erasing enemy’s national identity during a war. His positive evaluation of the army as an important structure for the national existence of the country is highlighted. Stepun’s contribution to the study of the complex system of the relations between the officers and the lower ranks in the Russian army is indicated. The article concludes by recognizing the scientific merit of Stepun’s World War I reflections, which offer valuable factual and theoretical insights into the nature of modern warfare.

The article is devoted to the emergence of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and its most recent and bloody phase – the war in the Gaza Strip. The facts and details of these recent events have not yet been sufficiently studied, but we can understand the root causes of the acts of violence, terror, military operations and wars that are shaking the Middle East, including Gaza. We will talk about the origins of the Palestinian problem. Not only has it not been resolved in the last almost 80 years, but it has also been escalated today more than ever. This was manifested in the real war that broke out on October 7, 2023, in the Gaza Strip between the Palestinian movement Hamas and the Israeli army (IDF), which led to the military actions in Lebanon and to the Iranian-Israeli clash. The study shows that extremism and terror of some Palestinian movements, in particular, Hamas, did not arise from scratch. The article presents the facts of how Zionist organizations, even before the creation of the State of Israel, started carrying out the acts of terror on the land of Palestine, and during the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948–1949. Those actions acquired, according to not only Arab, but also foreign researchers, the scale and features of genocide. Violence engendered retaliatory violence, and terror – counterterrorism. As a result, the conflict has turned into one of the longest and bloodiest in modern history. The article is based on Russian and foreign sources and literature, as well as on the author’s own materials obtained during the field studies on multiple business trips to the Middle East, including Israel and Palestine.

The current article delves into the key elements of the economic cooperation between the USSR/Russia and Canada between 1989 and 2003. It is widely known that Russia and Canada are prominent global players due to their substantial size and influence in today’s geopolitical landscape. However, the historical bond between these nations is not only pivotal in their foreign policies but also serves as a vital topic for research aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the historical past. Although the ideological disparities and the Cold War legacies have complicated the dialogue between them, both sides have demonstrated a willingness to enhance their cooperation for mutual benefit. Official documents, statistical data and scientific works on related topics are analyzed initially using the research method, and then the information obtained is synthesized to reach further objective conclusions. Furthermore, the study examines some fundamental aspects of trade and investment collaboration between the two countries, along with the challenges they encounter in establishing economic partnerships. The findings of this research can provide valuable insight into the overall characteristics of the economic relationship development between the two countries in the early post-Soviet period.

The article examines the main areas of the NATO cooperation with Australia and New Zealand at the present stage within the framework of the anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda. The paper assesses the role which the partnerships with these countries play in implementing the Alliance’s strategic goals. The author examines the attempts of Washington and its allies to involve Canberra and Wellington in the employment of large-scale geopolitical projects in the space of the artificially formed Indo-Pacific region in order to organize a military-political deterrence of China. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the NATO cooperation with Australian and New Zealand with regards to Ukraine. The role of Canberra and Wellington in providing military assistance to Kiev is explored, and their contribution to various anti-Russian initiatives promoted by the North Atlantic Alliance is characterized. For the first time in Russian science, the author systematically studies the simultaneous participation of Australia and New Zealand in the NATO geopolitical projects aimed at military-political containment of Russia and China.
It is concluded that NATO will continue to interact with its Australian and New Zealand partners in the medium term on the anti-Russian and anti-Chinese basis. Despite the fact that it is not in the national interests of Australia and New Zealand to confront either China or Russia, they will participate in the projects which were aimed at containing these states and which were initiated by the United States and its NATO allies, since Australia and New Zealand will expect to receive certain dividends from their Western partners.

Cooperation between Germany and the Baltic states is of great importance to Berlin, which sees the region as a key component for deterring Russia and the area of its direct political influence. With the degradation of the international conventional arms control regime and the growing probability of a nuclear conflict, the importance of this study is determined by the need to examine the military policy of the NATO member states. This research paper addresses the issue of a multi-vector military cooperation between Germany and the Baltic States and the impact of this cooperation on the overall European security system, taking into account the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which started in 2014 and continues to this date, covering an increasing geographical area, including the Baltic Sea. One of this study’s key results was examining the military-political cooperation between Germany and the Baltic states from the perspective of a military-political and military-technical cooperation. The research contains an assessment of the challenges and the potential opportunities for Germany and the Baltic states in the context of the ongoing degradation of the European security architecture. The methodological basis of this study was the theory of military force building, which allowed the author to provide an objective approach to understanding the issues of the military-political cooperation between the countries under consideration.

The article is devoted to the study of agri-food policy in the State of Japan and the Republic of Ecuador. With the help of a case study method and the principle of unity of logical and historical, the author verified the structural characteristics of the functioning of the agricultural sectors of the two states. The models of Food sovereignty policy implementation adapted to the specific socio-humanitarian and political-legal landscapes of the two states were identified and compared based on the cross-cultural analysis and a comparative approach. It was found that the implementation of the strategic principles of food sovereignty is equally a priority not only for the modern countries of the Global South, but also for the countries of the Global North. In particular, the author proves that through the institutionalization of profile models (Shokuiku and Buen Vivir), the Governments of Japan and Ecuador, are implementing a number of strategically important national tasks. For instance, they strengthen local food systems, reduce the “metabolic rift” between urban and rural areas, protect biodiversity and popularize environmentally sustainable farming methods. At the same time, the author verified the structural shortcomings of the programs implemented in the two states. In particular, the problems associated with the cultivation of synthetically modified organisms, the monopolization of the domestic food market, the re-McDonaldization of the population and gaining independence from large TNCs.

The article attempts to consider the application of the methodology of topology within the context of political science. Based on the use of an interdisciplinary approach, the paper substantiates the possibility of employing the methodology of different sciences (on the example of topology) to analyze the processes and phenomena of a new social reality. It is noted that the use of topological optics for the analysis of socio-political reality makes it possible to comprehensively characterize the processes and phenomena of modern society. The methodology of topology has been successfully applied in a wide variety of fields, both from a theoretical and methodological perspective and in practice.
The topological perspective of studying social and political economic processes makes it possible to consider them at multiple levels in the context of space and the forms of their manifestation. An interdisciplinary approach to the research of the political space permits to identify the new contours of political communications and political relations in networks. The online political space expands the spectrum and transforms the forms of political practices. The application of the methodological potential of topology allows scientists to identify the new models of political communications in the space of a network society. Thus, the topological dimension of the space of social communications, including political communications, expands the methodological apparatus of specialists. The topological optics of studying socio-political processes and phenomena allows researchers to carry out their qualitative analysis in the conditions of global turbulence of the modern world.

This article is devoted to the analysis of the rationalist and symbolic approaches to the ethnopolitical conflicts justification. The authors note that the rationalist approach, which interprets ethnic violence as the result of certain “calculations” made by political agents, splits into two conditional directions. The first direction is based on the idea of an “ethnic security dilemma” and suggests that such conflicts begin with the preventive violence caused by the uncertainty of one of the political agents about the intentions of the opposing side. The second direction is focused on the so-called “predatory elites” who seek to use ethnic violence as a tool to raise their own legitimacy in the conditions when other options have been exhausted. The authors emphasize that these trends do not take into account the psychosymbolic dimension of politics, in particular, they do not consider the fact that ethnic violence may not have a purely rational basis and be the product of the conflict of identities or collective memory, etc. On the contrary, the symbolic interpretation developed by the constructivist political scientists suggests analyzing its myth-symbol complex in order to understand the deep essence of an ethnic conflict, namely, to explore the evocative symbols that become the triggers of political violence. At the same time, this approach does not discount and, to a certain extent, absorbs the rationalist interpretations of ethnic violence. The authors attempt to examine Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which began in 2023, through the prism of the rationalist and symbolic approaches.

The article examines the present-day activities of the national defense department of the Russian Federation to ensure a comprehensive protection of an individual, society and the state in all spheres of life of the Russian society. Particular attention is paid to the issues of ensuring protection and security in the cultural, spiritual and moral spheres, the importance of which has increased immeasurably in the third decade of the 21st century. This is determined by the fact that in the conditions of the present-day interstate confrontation and the special military operation conducted by Russia to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine, the collective West led by the United States, seeking to maintain its leading position in the world system, pursues a targeted and multi-vector sanctions policy towards Russia so as not to only slow down the socio-economic development of the Russian society, to change the political regime and destroy the state sovereignty, but also to impose neoliberal and non-traditional values on the Russian citizens, to falsify the historical role of the Russian state and the Russian people in world history. The analysis of the destructive policy of the United States and its allies made it possible to determine the measures to counter the destructive cultural, spiritual and moral impact, to identify the tasks that need to be solved by the state authorities in their activities to ensure the national defense of Russia and the Russian society.