The article analyzes the impact of Japan’s participation in United Nations peacekeeping on the country’s domestic and foreign policy. The end of the Cold War highlighted the need to rethink Japanese approaches to foreign policy. Participation in peacekeeping in this context could become a new political tool in Japan’s arsenal. The author, via the analysis of offi cial documents, statements and statistics, examines the issues faced by Japan in its peacekeeping involvement. The author concludes that the participation in peacekeeping has become one of the key steps of the Japanese administration in the ongoing process of “normalization” of Japan, as well as to the formation of a “Middle Power”. 

The article examines a new phenomenon in Russian sports — media football. This form of amateur sport is rapidly gaining popularity in Russia against the backdrop of declining audience interest in professional football. Media football is changing the attitude towards sports for both its participants and the fans who follow it. Therefore, one of the research questions of the work is how the development of media football is transforming the traditional political functions of sports.

Media football, as a result of grassroots initiative by private actors, is considered in the article as a challenge to the hegemony of the nation-state in the sphere of sports, which has always been under state patronage. At the same time, the state does not hinder the development of this industry but even supports it. Why do the Russian authorities support the development of media football, which undermines the state’s traditional monopoly in the sports sphere? The research uses a qualitative methodology of document analysis and a case study of the development of football and media football in Russia, including statements from experts, participants, and sports officials. The dynamics of this form of football’s popularity are also examined based on empirical data on match attendance and views of related social media content.

By examining the phenomenon of media football’s popularity and the relationships between media industry actors and state officials, the author concludes that a new social contract is being formed around amateur sports in Russia: media football takes on some of the functions of professional football, and the state facilitates its development. These functions involve disseminating state narratives, increasing interest in football, and forming a “soft” audience to replace politically dangerous supporter groups — ultras.

In recent years, customs authorities have faced the challenging task of identifying counterfeit products posing a direct threat to consumers as they often do not meet the safety standards set by technical regulations, as well as other norms governing product quality. An important step in addressing the issue of illegal imports of counterfeit goods has been the introduction of mandatory labeling for imported products. The research objective consists in analyzing the characteristics of the importation of goods subject to labeling into the EAEU territory.

Research goals:

To study the regulatory framework governing mandatory labeling of goods in the EAEU (including the Agreement on Labeling Goods with Identifi cation Means);

To examine the stages of implementing the labeling system in EAEU member states, and its impact on reducing counterfeit goods;

To assess the effectiveness of the mandatory labeling experiment on the example of specific product categories;

To suggest some ways of improving the labeling system.

The research is built on the materials presented on the official website of the state labeling and tracking system “Honest Sign”. The research techniques include general scientific methods, statistical processing, and data interpretation.

The paper considers the implications of recognizing or not recognizing the introduction of labeling for a specific product group as a feasible solution across the entire EAEU territory. Some conclusions have been drawn regarding the success and effectiveness of the experiment aimed at implementing mandatory labeling, and, therefore, the introduction of mandatory labeling for all consumer goods is planned in the near future.

This academic paper deals with analyzing the experience of implementing libertarian concepts in the contemporary context of public partnership. The hypothesis of the research is that the practical realization of libertarian concepts as forms of state and social organization in the current realities of public partnership is unfeasible. The study objective is to analyze the existing experience of building a minarchist state and an anarchocapitalist society based on a preliminary analysis of the alignment or misalignment of the theoretical foundations of these concepts with their practical application. The research specifi c goals include: analyzing the theoretical foundations of building a minarchist state and an anarcho-capitalist society; evaluating the attempts to establish libertarian models of state and society in the modern world on the examples of Javier Milei’s Argentina and Somalia under Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed; and summarizing the obtained data. The object of the research consists in libertarian concepts, while the focus is on assessing their practical implementation within the framework of contemporary public partnership. The author has employed a  comparative-analytical method to study both practical and theoretical aspects of the issues addressed, as well as the technique for synthesizing the information collected.

The result of the study consists in the conclusion  that the practical establishment of a libertarian state and society in today’s world is impossible; however, the utilization of certain ideas derived from these concepts is feasible. The relevance of this research could be accounted for by the intense commercialization of public-private partnerships compelling both the state and corporations to engage more thoroughly in the regulation of political-legal and socio-economic processes, leading society to seek a new ideological and socio-political system. 

Currently, one of the most widespread forms of social activism in Russia is environmental mobilization. At the same time, the features and forms of environmental mobilization are determined by a large number of different factors. The “green” agenda can be related not only to the level of environmental problems in the region, but also to be a  marker of regional identity, a form of manifestation of political loyalty or, conversely, political discontent, the basis for the solidarity of citizens. At the same time, there are practically no studies paying attention to the regional factors of eco-activism in Russia. The purpose of this work is to analyze the regional features of environmental mobilization using the example of the Trans-Baikal Territory. The Trans-Baikal Territory was selected as a case study as the region with the most serious environmental problems and occupying one of the last places in the environmental rating of Russian regions. The study was based on a qualitative methodology. The main research methods were semi-structured interviews and focus groups with eco-activists. A  total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted and four focus groups were conducted in July 2024. As a result, it was revealed that the Trans-Baikal Territory is characterized by an average level of environmental mobilization. The main forms of environmental mobilization in the region are clean-up and landscaping of territories. At the same time, eco-activism in the region is predominantly patriotic in nature and is aimed at linking environmental practices with ideas about love for the Motherland and the importance of national history. From the point of view of theoretical signifi cance, this work makes it possible to explain the regional features of the development of eco-activism. From the point of view of practical signifi cance, this work helps to identify the peculiarities of the perception of environmental issues by residents of the region and summarizes the most successful practices of environmental mobilization of citizens. 

The relevance of the research topic could be accounted for by the fact that there is an issue of determining the limits of foreclosure on property protected by executive immunity. This article analyzes the current judicial practice of resolving the problem of foreclosure on the only residential premises of a debtor citizen and the resulting need to protect the rights of the creditor and the debtor. The author examines the mechanism of foreclosure on the only residential premises and the procedure for its subsequent implementation, compares the law enforcement practice of the courts of higher instances of the Russian Federation in resolving the designated problems in different time periods.

The paper suggests settling the issue via the courts using the housing legislation and the concept of the norm for the provision of living space under a social rental agreement, as well as the economic and legal categories of luxury housing. The suggested solution is going to be instrumental in introducing a unified practice for resolving disputes related to foreclosure on a single dwelling.

The relevance of this topic is determined by the identification and specification of legal tools that can and should be used by the court when resolving issues within pre-trial proceedings in criminal cases.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the court’s evidentiary activities to establish circumstances of procedural significance and to fill gaps in criminal procedural legislation governing these activities. For the purposes of this study, the following methods were used: legal analysis, formallogical analysis, systemic-structural analysis, and the method of studying the effectiveness of legal norms. The study of this topic can contribute to the delineation of issues related to the evidentiary process when the court considers information (materials) during pre-trial proceedings in a criminal case.