Abstract

Problem setting. In most states, the territorial issues were accompanied by the establishment of a sovereign power, the inviolability of borders, the preservation of the independence of the state, the search for a new model of national identity. As a result, territorial integrity has gained the appropriate level of institutionalization and legitimization at the international and national levels, thus becoming one of the most pressing problems for modern humanities. The basis for understanding the territorial integrity of the state is the study of Hajd, Ch.. The territorial integrity of the state scientist understood as its unity and indivisibility, while inviolability – as the preservation of the integrity of the territory, protection from encroachments by other states or other political forces. In this respect, the territorial integrity and inviolability of the territory are considered by the author as a whole and partial, on the basis of which the inviolability acts as a structural component and a necessary condition for the territorial integrity of the state. The purpose of the paper is to conduct a conceptual analysis of the concept of state territory and territorial integrity in the context of modern political science. The objectives of the paper are to find out the essence of the state territory, to specify the main theories of its research, to systematize the main research approaches to the identification of the content of territorial integrity and the tools for its protection within the framework of domestic and Western political science. The paper main body. The concept of Cassese, A. is of significant methodological value within the research. The territorial integrity of the state he understood as “an element of state unity characterizing the immutability of state borders, territorial integrity and inviolability of the territory of the state historically formed and people living in a certain territory”. On this basis, territorial integrity is the basis of strengthening the constitutional system, which in no case may contradict the principle of the right of people to self-determination. Within this research logic, an important role in implementing the mechanism of ensuring the territorial integrity of the state is given to judicial instruments for resolving territorial disputes within a single constitutional space. The scientific approach by Fukujama, F. is analyzed. The scientist makes a methodological attempt to carry out a detailed analysis of the notions of “state unity” and “territorial integrity”. Within the bounds of political analysis, the concept of Eide, A. is of great conceptual value. He defines the notions of “territorial integrity”, “state integrity” and “territorial inviolability”. The concept of Jacobson, J. in this context is also of great importance. The author reveals the essence of territorial integrity in the context of the implementation of the principle of inviolability of borders, which is an important condition for the solution of issues of protection of state borders, which are essential for the provision of international security throughout the world. Conclusions of the research. Thus, our analysis made it possible to find out the essence of the notions of “state border”, “territorial integrity”, “territorial integrity” by systematizing the main research approaches that were formed in the context of world and national scientific thought. On this basis, the structural and functional content of the state territory is clarified, including the determination of its composition, history of formation, morphology, location and characteristics of the boundaries. The economic and political peculiarities of the development of the state territory are presented. The relationship between the structure of the state territory and the territorial structure of the economy, the content of territorial disputes and claims between the states, as well as the nature of the corresponding territorial-ethnic conflicts, which leads to a violation of its integrity, are disclosed. The notions of territorial integrity, which refers to unity and indivisibility, and territorial inviolability, which characterizes the preservation of the integrity of the territory, protection from encroachments by other states or other political forces, are delimited. Territorial integrity and territorial inviolability are considered as integral and partial, on the basis of which the inviolability acts as a structural component and a necessary condition for the territorial integrity of the state. It is this aspect that is least developed within the framework of modern political science, which thus forms the methodological prospects for further study of this problem.