Известия высших учебных заведений. Поволжский регион: Гуманитарные науки (Nov 2023)
“Rational in the irrational”: ideas of continentalism of the first half of the 20th century in the context of the historical process theory
Abstract
Background. Against the background of the general trend towards expanding the subject field of geopolitical discourse studies, further consideration is given to the possibilities of the interpretive model of continentalism, whose parameters, within the framework of the issue’s actualization, are considered in the context of the main geopolitical dichotomy – its opposition to Atlanticism. The purpose of the study is to actualize the rational (verifiable on the basis of the historical process theory) and pragmatic (responding to modern political realities) beginning of the considered geopolitical scheme. Materials and methods. The discourse under consideration is well-established in historiography, and its components are verified based on different theoretical preferences. The principle proposed by Carl Schmitt in the context of his theory of the nomos of the earth, which emphasizes the spatial conditioning of any system of geopolitical coordinates, is particularly relevant to our analysis of continentalism as a hypothetical but possible system of priorities viewed through the lens of rationalism. We use established methods and principles of historiographical analysis, such as historicism, systematics, comparison, and others. Results. The purposes of continentalism are viewed through the prism of the idea of political dominance, which has both pros and cons. We consider the principles of structural complexity as indicators of external and internal dynamics of society, demographic pressure as a priority within the basic, theoretically neutral, geopolitical parameters, such as a sovereign state, representation as a feed-back mechanism, and the system of international relations as a space of connections. The general analysis of the material is linked to the idea of the state as a complex system with a changing dominant element within the political dichotomy of maritime and continental societies. Conclusions. Continentalism, as viewed in this article, retains its explanatory potential, and the aspects analyzed in this study may be used to further update various geopolitical models. Despite the descriptive limitations of the interpretive scheme, its components can withstand the burden of complex geopolitical systems that take into account the idea of an imbalanced system on the one hand and the need for specific theoretical tools on the other.
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