GLOBAL AND EUROPEAN CONTRADICTIONS IN THE MODERN GEOPOLITICAL DISCOURSE IN BULGARIA

В центр внимания статьи вынесена Болгария – старейшее государство в Европе, возникшее в своих нынешних границах уже в 700-х гг. задолго до возникновения большинства других стран, ныне составляющих Европейский Союз. Обращение к обозначенной теме вызвано динамично развивающимися на Балканах сложными, конфликтными процессами, в которых немаловажное место занимает Болгария, как «осевое» государство региона. Статья имеет цель осмысление формирования болгарского видения своего места и роли в мире и регионе, своих национальных интересов, культурно-исторических, ментальных и когнитивных предпосылок и оснований современной внешней политики Болгарии, основных противоречий, проявляющихся в современном национальном геополитическом дискурсе, тенденций изменений болгарского общественного мнения по геополитическим проблемам и поиске связанных с этим осмыслением возможностей для укрепления геополитических позиций России в этой стране, на Балканах и в Черноморском регионе.

Imaginative vision of space in geopolitics: approach to study

The vision of space in critical geopolitics, expressed through the image, is defined. The geopolitical concept of space is interpreted as the result of the geopolitical interaction of the latter with the outside world. Its historical development, the nature of organisation and behavior in relation to other geopolitical entities play a decisive role in this regard. The accumulation of these processes over time forms the semantics of stereotypical political ideas about space, such as: mission, security, buffering, a tendency to integrate and interpenetrate attractiveness, conflict, centrality, peripherality, etc., expressing themselves in a geopolitical image. The images of space, which are becoming increasingly important in geopolitical interaction, direct modern geopolitics to a deeper understanding of the status, role and orientation of various entities expressing geopolitics. A system-representative model of the study of the geopolitical image of space as a basis of methodological orientation, presented as the main idea of the study, has been developed. The model synthesises the interaction between the main factors and elements that form the geopolitical vision of space, which are projected onto its image in a dependent relationship. With this model, we defend the idea of launching an algorithm that adequately structures the process of forming a geopolitical image of space. The attributes that determine the formation of the geopolitical image of space have been displayed: factors of perception of space of internal and external character; sources of space perception (social experience and education, art, media products, maps, media); geopolitical identification; geopolitical identity; geopolitical discourse; semantic stratification and the scale of the geopolitical image.

Foundations of Modern Eurasianism in Russian Political Discourse

The growing integration processes in the Eurasian space confirm the geopolitical place and role of this region in modern international relations. Thus it becomes more important to understand the basic postulates of the Eurasianism concept for the development of national and geopolitical interests of Russia, as well as to study the process of evolution of the main provisions of classical Eurasianism in the foundations of modern Russian neo-Eurasianism, as well as to determine the main stages of this process.The work is based on the analysis of publications of Russian neo-Eurasianism representatives, scientific works of foreign and domestic researchers of this phenomenon in the Russian political discourse.The geopolitical vector of the Eurasian concept is becoming the most relevant at the present stage in the context of increased interest in the geopolitical discourse and research of interaction, the “clash of civilizations”.For the modern Russian political discourse, the Eurasian theme has become one of the most promising foreign policy vectors. At present, we can observe how the theoretical concept of classic Eurasianism is reflected in Russia’s foreign policy. The Eurasian project began to be implemented from theory into political practice.

Problematic (Post)Sarmatism: On the Possibility of Adapting Sarmatian Heritage in a Demo-liberal Culture

The article shows (post)Sarmatism as an element of the Polish identity discourse in its community dimension, which mainly takes account of its civilisation and cultural aspect, defined by relations with (post)modernity. Although this discourse includes (post)Sarmatism in reflection on the key determinants of collective identity, such as community, Polishness and so on, it generally does so in a simplified manner, not free from prejudices and excessive bias. Liberal thought, which should have the greatest share in shaping the sphere of self-ideas of (post)modern society, shows a clear reluctance towards Sarmatian heritage, which is hardly surprising given its Enlightenment origin. However, one should understand the reasons for this reluctance, taking into account its stricter context, which is determined by the mechanism of programming Polish cultural projects in essentialist codes. Meanwhile, according to the author, the ‘post-mortem’ history of Sarmatism (nineteenth–twenty–first centuries) is part of the pan-European struggle of Tradition and modernity. When set on this plane, (post)Sarmatism can be considered in terms of lack (discontinuation of a specific tradition) and compensation (attempts to work through modernising deficits). The Sarmatian heritage, torn out of the vicious circle of stereotypes, myths and silences, should now be included in the debate on the foundations of Polish civic culture, because it belongs to the contingent (in the liberal sense) history of the Polish habitus, and it is also characterised by the syndrome of un-working (not being discussed in contexts important from the point of view of the struggle of Polish consciousness with what is broadly understood as modernity). It also needs to be made real by being located in the circle of geopolitical discourse. The perspective of the recontextualisation of Sarmatism, which neo-Sarmatism with its essentialist-nostalgic poetics has created in contemporary identity discourse and postcolonial thought with its binary schemas, seems insufficient.

Geopolitical Discourse

Contemporary geopolitical discourses are to a large extent shaped by networks of global actors with different sources of power. In such networkskey source of power is not just a territory, but also effective and vibrant economic policies that are shaped by countries, companies and other economic actors. The growing attention on geopolitical and geostrategic issues have placed the issue of economic integration high on the list of policy and governance priorities in last two decades. While every country, region, alliance shapes its own geopolitical and geostrategic positioning by formulating and implementing its own energy policy, such policies are to a large extent influenced with what takes place in the territory of Eurasia. In geopolitical discourses, Eurasia has been in the focus of scholarly and political discussions for quite some time now. Previous reviews of geopolitical discourses on Eurasia have showed, however, that while the concept of Eurasia is often employed in the context of its relations with western democracies, the boundaries or properties of concept itself still remain unclear. This paper aims to tackle this problem and define Eurasia in geographical as well as cultural, political and social terms. The literature review and document analysis are, thus, employed to offer the answer to the question: “What and who is Eurasia?” While answering to the question, this paper takes into account the important role Eurasia plays for European Union as a territory with significant energy resources and with a consequential attractivity for economic integration with European Union and its members states. In order to offer the answer to the question “What and who is Eurasia?”, in order to unfold the dimensions of its geopolitical domination, the paper focuses on cultural, economic, geopolitical and social dimensions.

Nomos akumulacji pierwotnej i anomos dóbr wspólnych w dobie niewczesnej nowoczesności

The article aims to challenge the narrative on modernity, which was presented by Carl Schmitt in his book The Nomos of the Earth. The publication of Polish translation of this classic book is a good opportunity to re-think the conditions of possibility of Schmitt’s philosophical and geopolitical discourse. The German jurist described the formation of Eurocentric and stato-centric global order (nomos) in a way, that delegitimized the practices of resistance as unlawful (anomos). The author proposes – following Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari – to re-interpret the terms nomos and anomos in order to present anomos in positive way, as a potentiality to form an alternative political order. In conclusion the author tries to convince that the order of anomos is based upon the development of the commons and its contemporary manifestations express themselves in the practices of social movements, which disturb linear vision of history.

The Idea of the Anavatapta Lake in India and Its Adoption in East Asia

This article centers around the Anavatapta Lake. In East Asian pictorialization of worldview, Maps of Mt. Sumeru, which depict the mountain at the core of the world, are often paired with Maps of India, in which the Anavatapta Lake occupies a significant place. When the concept of the Anavatapta Lake was transmitted from India to China and Japan, it was understood through the lens of local cultures and ideologies, and the lake was envisioned as a site spatially connected to various places in China and Japan. As a result, the idea of the Indian lake located at the center of the human world helped China and Japan formulate their statuses and positions within the religious and geopolitical discourse of Buddhist cosmology. Through investigations of both pictorial and textual sources, this article explores the significance and place that the Anavatapta Lake occupied in East Asian religion and literature.