THE PROBLEM OF INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS AND UNRECOGNIZED STATES IN THE EUROPEAN AND POST-SOVIET REGION: GEOPOLITICAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ASPECTS

Objective: The main purpose of this study is to analyze the geopolitical and international legal aspects of the problem of international conflicts and self-proclaimed unrecognized States in the European and post-Soviet space. The importance of the topic under consideration is confirmed by a significant number of foreign publications. I. Armakolas, G. Visoka, J. Ker-Lindsay, H. Lauterpacht, C. Weaver, C.S. Chivvis and others made an important contribution to the development of the problems. Conclusions: The study concluded that the period after the fall of the Berlin wall is characterized by the formation of a new geopolitical map of the European and post-Soviet space. The geopolitical fragmentation associated with the collapse of the former socialist federations, the USSR and the SFRY, had a significant impact on this process. The disintegration of these States led to the formation of a significant number of new independent States. At the same time, along with the States that have received international recognition, a new geopolitical phenomenon has emerged: the so-called unrecognized or self-proclaimed States. These States and related international conflicts have become one of the most serious geopolitical problems of European security. There is no unified approach on the part of other States and international organizations in addressing this problem. This problem has raised the question of the correlation between the right to self-determination and the territorial integrity of States, which needs to be specified in relation to modern conditions. It is also necessary to develop a common position of the international community in the face of pan-European organizations in relation to international intervention in conflicts involving self-proclaimed States. Originality / value: The paper makes an original attempt to determine the geopolitical and international legal aspects of the settlement of international conflicts related to the existence of unrecognized States.

Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Russia, international conflicts, unrecognized states, the right to self-determination, secession, geopolitics, international law