This article presents an analysis of the actions of the Rastafarian community in the context of the ongoing decolonization processes in Jamaica. To achieve the goal of this research - to analyze the role of the Rastafarian community in the decolonization of Jamaica - tasks were set related to the analysis of the ideological base of the Rastafari, the study of the role of the spiritual leaders of this religious group in Jamaican late colonial politics, as well as the assessment of the influence of Rastafarian ideas in the post-colonial space. The scientific novelty of this work lies in the consideration of the Rastafarian movement not only as a non-state actor in international relations, but also as an active participant in decolonization. In the course of the study, the hypothesis posed about the Rastafarian influence on Jamaica’s break with the British Empire was proved by studying the actions of the Rastafari, both with the help of sources left by the spiritual leaders of this movement, and with the help of studies that made it possible to confirm an extremely negative and, in some ways, very sharp reaction to this denomination of the British colonial authorities. 
The Rastafari movement in a short time managed to survive many metamorphoses associated with the need to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions of late colonial Jamaica. In fact, this movement, which glorifies the emperor of Ethiopia and seeks radical decolonization and the satisfaction of pan-African aspirations, played the role of an important antipode to the moderate supporters of decolonization in the person of Norman Manley and Alexander Bustamante, trade union leaders who sought to preserve both the Westminster system and friendly relations between London and Kingston. The Rastafarians, on the other hand, who wanted a radical change in Jamaican domestic and foreign policy, under the influence of the repressive measures of the colonial administration, experienced serious radicalization, which risked turning into either a civil war or multiple violent actions against the British. The further development of the Rastafarian community in the post-colonial world allowed it to abandon the doctrine of black supremacism and radicalism, focusing on Pan-Africanism and peaceful influence on the governments of Africa and the Caribbean. 

The article studies the activity of Cuban internationalist mission in Angola from the moment of achieving independence from Portugal in 1975 until the complete withdrawal of the Cuban military and civil specialists from the republic in 1991. Descriptive and quantitative methods are used for the analysis of the cooperation between Cuba and Angola on education and healthcare as well as for scrutiny of its meaning for the development of the Angolan society and its impact on the quality of life. The scale of the engagement of Cuban specialists in the Angolan educational and medical organizations is estimated. 

The long-term consequences of this cooperation for the Angolan social sphere as well as for its state and society are considered. The author proves the concept of dual influence of the Cuban mission on the Angolan society, which resulted, on the one hand, in building up a permanent dependence of the Angolan education and healthcare systems from the foreign aid and inhibiting their development and, on the other hand, in a considerable positive impact on the Angolan social sphere and, in prospective, on its economy, with the civilian aid playing an important role in maintaining order and backing the authority of the MPLA, which was necessary for its victory in the civil war. 

The article examines the works of Iranian public and political figures, whose views had a decisive impact on the formation of the discourse of the Islamic Revolution of 1978–1979. The revolution in Iran caused a wide international response and attracted the attention of many researchers. Nevertheless, the relationship between religious and secular forces, the ideological and political orientationoftheparticipantsintherevolution and its significance for the subsequent development of Iran and the countries of the Islamic world remain the subject of polemic, which is especially acute due to the ongoing conflict between the political regime of modern Iran and opposition groups. Decades earlier, a contradiction line between Iran’s political forces was based on the issue of modernization. Why did this issue turn out to be key to the political process? What attitude towards modernization was formulated by the theorists of the Islamic revolution? What is the connection between the anti-colonial agenda of the revolution and the views of its ideologues on modernization? The purpose of the paper is to answer these questions. The description of the concepts of the ideologists of the Islamic revolution and the comparative analysis provided in the article allow us to answer the questions posed and form an image of the main religious and political discourses of the Islamic revolution. This idea is a prerequisite for a comprehensive assessment of the ideological and theoretical basis of the Islamic Revolution, which should be taken into account in the context of researches of the last decades of Iranian history and political processes in Islamic countries.

The article studies the dynamics and prospects of relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and African states. The study isrelevantduetothefactthatsince 2021 (when President Ebrahim Raisi came to power in Iran) Africa has become one of the promising directions of Iran’s foreign policy. The first part of the paper gives a brief outline of relations between Iran and African countries since 1979 and an overview of the current state of affairs. Then, the mutual interests of the parties are identified, and the factors contributing to and hindering the interaction are analyzed. The article considers positive and negative scenarios for the development of relations in the short term. In order to provide a comprehensive view on the issue studied, the authors have analyzed a wide range of factors in Iran-Africa interaction. Different sources (Iranian, African, Arab,
 
Western, and Russian) were used to address the issue from different perspectives. Iran- Africa relations and its development are influenced most by the economic, political, ideological and security aspects. It is shown that Iran today emphasizes political and religious advancement in Africa, while African states are mostly interested in economic cooperation with Iran. The article suggests that the development of Iran-Africa relations is more important for Iran than for its African partners. Despite certain benefits that the parties may derive from the cooperation, a significant breakthrough in this field in the coming years is unlikely, which is due to both the ambiguous elements of Iranian activities in Africa and competitive advantages of Iran’s rivals and their greater attractiveness to African states.