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Transforming of Political Spaces:
Toward Polycentric World Order

Pantin V.I.,

Head of Department, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences, v.pantin@mail.ru

elibrary_id: 74145 | ORCID: 0000-0002-4218-4579 | RESEARCHER_ID: K-5736-2017

Lapkin V.V.,

Leading Researcher, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences, vvlh@politstudies.ru

elibrary_id: 43429 | ORCID: 0000-0002-0775-2630 | RESEARCHER_ID: AAB-9386-2021

DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2018.06.04

Rubric: Theme of the Issue: Problems of Political Development in the Epoch of Transformation of the World Order

For citation:

Pantin V.I., Lapkin V.V. Transforming of Political Spaces: Toward Polycentric World Order. – Polis. Political Studies. 2018. No. 6. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2018.06.04

Abstract

The article analyzes the key factors, trends and prospects for the transformation of political spaces in the context of transition to a polycentric world order. In this, transformation of political spaces is understood primarily as a change in the structure of relations of political actors operating in the politico-institutional, socio-political, and the sphere of identity policy, resulting in a change in their geopolitical significance and status in the world politics. The authors emphasize the following factors due to their significant impact on the transformation and reconfiguration of political spaces: 1) increasing role in the world politics and economy of non-Western countries; 2) migration crisis and the cleavage among the EU and U.S. elites; 3) phenomenon of secession, separatism and “new nationalism” in the EUcountries; 4) aggravation of U.S. relations with Russia, China and the EU; 5) contradictory consequences of technological, social and political innovations. The authors focus on the analytical and forecasting potential of the institutional, world-system and systemevolutionary approaches to the study of the reshuffling of political spaces – both that already take place and that are likely to happen in the coming 25 years. The authors show that in the modern era, the reformatting of political spaces (including rising separatism, regional conflicts and geopolitical shifts) relates primarily with the competitive dynamics of world or regional centers of political, economic and military power that shape various regional alliances and associations around them. Based on the analysis of this trend in the selected temporal perspective, the authors outline and describe the most probable scenarios of large-scale reshaping of political spaces and geopolitical shifts towards the polycentric world-order.

Keywords

political spaces; transformation of political spaces; world order; polycentrism; spatial identity; separatism; political institutions; the world power center; regional unions; geopolitical and geo-economic revolution; European Union; U.S.; Russia; China.

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