scholarly journals The Power of Hegemon: the Role of Discourse

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-178
Author(s):  
Piotr Dutkiewicz

This paper explores one of the central issues of current international discourse : how is world order sustained and maintained, is it shifting and changing, is it being reinvented and reimagined, or are we on the cusp of global disorder and competition among great and small powers? The conventional lens used to examine these questions is that of ‘hegemony’ or ‘dominance.’ This paper discusses how hegemony is conceptualized, what kinds of resources are mobilized (material, discursive, institutional, and performative) in maintaining hegemony, and what the current chessboard of geopolitics looks like in terms of rising and falling powers. Despite a chaotic picture of the train derailed there is also an optimistic end of that story. First we are moving from a unipolar to the polycentric world. Secondly that new world will be less dramatically divided as it will be based on macro-regional arrangements. Thirdly multi-regional arrangements will be closer civilizationally and thus less prone to conflicts. Finally - in order to survive - most probably they will voluntarily keep close ties with other macro-regiond making the system more stable that today.

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-109
Author(s):  
Piotr Urbanowicz

Summary In this text, I argue that there are numerous affinities between 19th century messianism and testimonies of UFO sightings, both of which I regarded as forms of secular millennialism. The common denominator for the comparison was Max Weber’s concept of “disenchantment of the world” in the wake of the Industrial Revolution which initiated the era of the dominance of rational thinking and technological progress. However, the period’s counterfactual narratives of enchantment did not repudiate technology as the source of all social and political evil—on the contrary, they variously redefined its function, imagining a possibility of a new world order. In this context, I analysed the social projects put forward by Polish Romantics in the first half of the 19th century, with emphasis on the role of technology as an agent of social change. Similarly, the imaginary technology described by UFO contactees often has a redemptive function and is supposed to bring solution to humanity’s most dangerous problems.


Author(s):  
T.B. Golam ◽  

The article is devoted to the analysis of the role of Russia in the economic, political and social aspects of the СOVID-19 pandemic. The author considers publications of world leading research centers and think tanks as well as foreign policy decisions of leading world powers, considers relations between Russia and the United States as one of the most influential actors in the international struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Particular attention is paid to comparing different approaches to the international struggle against various epidemics and pandemics at the present stage. In conclusion the author makes a forecast on the possibility of the formation of a new world order in the post-pandemic period.


Author(s):  
Herman T. Salton

This chapter reviews the role of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) before and during the Rwandan genocide. After introducing the peculiar context of the early 1990s and the promises of the so-called ‘New World Order’ which followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the chapter outlines the role of DPKO during the early reconnaissance mission to Rwanda and reviews several decisions taken by the peacekeeping department. These include the size of the mission and its troop levels, the so-called ‘genocide cable’ sent by Dallaire about forthcoming ethnic massacres, and the mandate and rules of engagement of the Rwandan operation. The chapter also introduces the phenomenon of the ‘anticipatory veto’, or a tendency on the part of Secretariat officials to recommend to the Security Council only what the latter is likely to endorse.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document