The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users ar... more The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.
Despite the Cold War and numerous hot wars, there is an essential continuity in the postwar perio... more Despite the Cold War and numerous hot wars, there is an essential continuity in the postwar period based on the Charter International System created in 1945. The United Nations and the associated declarations, organizations and normative orientations remain the framework for the conduct of international relations. At the level of international politics, orders are created in which states contend and hegemonic formations take shape. The Soviet-led bloc disintegrated in 1989-1991, leaving the field clear for the U.S.-led political West to claim universality, and on that basis seek to expand globally. However, the distinction between the system and conjunctural political sub-order is crucial to explain the dynamics in international affairs today. Russia has long resisted the expansive dynamic of the political West, an order created and sustained by Cold War logic, although drawing on U.N. Charter norms and principles. Russia's relationship with the civilizational West is more ambivalent, while the country insists RUSSIA IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS
The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users ar... more The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.
Europe in Changes: The Old Continent at a New Crossroads, 2021
Following the end of the Cold War in 1989-91, the Atlantic power system became the core of a unip... more Following the end of the Cold War in 1989-91, the Atlantic power system became the core of a unipolar pattern of world politics and at the same it radicalised. The Atlantic power system rebranded itself as the liberal world order with genuinely universal aspirations, claiming to be the only viable model of modernity. Liberal universalism undermined traditional patterns of sovereign internationalism and diplomacy. The New Atlanticism reinforced the link between democracy and security, norms and power, encouraging democracy promotion and regime change. As the Atlantic power system expanded, the realm of norms was reinforced by the empire of dominion. This rebranded liberal world order claimed to be synonymous with the international system established at Yalta-Potsdam in 1945, a substitution that was to have momentous consequences. This radicalised version of liberal hegemony was 'bound to fail', since its ambitions were so expansive as to classify as delusional, and which in the end provoked domestic and external resistance, notably by Russia. In Europe it meant the suppression of neo-Gaullist aspirations for continental autonomy, although elements of this are now being revived. Although it is still too early to talk about the emergence of a post-Atlantic world, long-term structural changes as well as some more contingent decisional factors are leading in this direction. The resurgence of aspirations for 'strategic autonomy' of a more 'geopolitical' European Union takes place at a time when it is increasingly marginalised geopolitically, and Europe as a whole is more fragmented. This paper examines the dynamics and evolution of post-Cold War Atlanticism, and assesses its future trajectory as the bond between the power system that bears its name and the liberal world order crumbles.
General Editor's Introduction - Notes on the Contributors - Introduction: The Democratic Expe... more General Editor's Introduction - Notes on the Contributors - Introduction: The Democratic Experience R.Sakwa - Experiences of Democratisation: Elements of a Comparative Historical Framework A.Szakolczai - Gorbachev's Bitter Draft: Failure to Achieve a New Union Treaty, 1988-91 J.Russell - Continuity and Change in Historical Thinking in Belarus: some Critical Remarks on Post-Soviet Historiography R.Lindner - Regionalism: An Underestimated Dimension of State-building in Ukraine G.Nemiria - Elites of North-Eastern Kazakjstan in a New Geopolitical Context, 1989-95 N.Melvin - Civil Society Endangered D.N. Nelson - The Structuring of Party Systems in Postcommunism: The Roles of Political Process and Social Cleavage J.Bielasiak - The Changing Role of Local Government in the Post-communist Transformation M.Illner - Trade Unions and the Making of Civil Society in Russia V.Peschanskii - The Emerging Order: Bulgarian Experiences with Democracy R.Daskalov - Polish Responses to Global Challenges: Geopolitics of Central and East European Transformation K.Zielke - Cultural Difference: Russia's Putative Entry into the European Union J.Armstrong - The Emergence of Democracy in South Africa and Poland: A Comparative Experience U.J.van Beek - Index
This led to the end of the cold war between the two superpowers USA and USSR. It was marked by ev... more This led to the end of the cold war between the two superpowers USA and USSR. It was marked by events like the fall of the Berlin Wall and power shift from Soviet center to the republics. The breakdown of USSR made USA the sole global power, ending the bipolarity in the world order.
The Beacon: Journal for Studying Ideologies and Mental Dimensions, 2021
COVID-19 pandemic is possibly the most serious challenge to the humanity since the end of World W... more COVID-19 pandemic is possibly the most serious challenge to the humanity since the end of World War II. Surprisingly, this threat did not unite countries of different ideological blocks. The ideological division of the world only exaggerated in the COVID-19 times. Not even common programmes of mutual healthcare assistance were elaborated. Instead, Russia, the East (mainly China) and the West deepened their discrepancies in international relations and strengthened their hostile rhetoric against each other (with exception of Russo-Chinese relations). The paper studies possibilities of overcoming ideological barriers that prevent the world now to create effectual administrative, political, social and legal techniques of counteracting such outstanding a threat as the Great Pandemic.
Russia is moving from metacorruption, that is a system which is corrupt in its very essence, to ‘... more Russia is moving from metacorruption, that is a system which is corrupt in its very essence, to ‘normal’ corruption; from a corrupt system to a system with corruption. The communist system was metacorrupt in that it never subordinated itself to the rule of law (although of course it ruled by and through the law), because of its lack of accountability, and because of the systematic enjoyment of privileges granted its leadership from the common ownership of the means of production.1 A new form of metacorruption, however, has emerged, rooted in the transition from a state-owned economy to a market-based system. The enormity of the attempt to disentangle the political process from its deep embedment in the economy, while at the same time structuring political life as an autonomous activity governed by the impartial rule of law and accountable to the electorate, can hardly be exaggerated. The extrication of the Russian state from, on the one hand, deep involvement in the economy and, on the other, from its dominance by a single party that governed for some seventy years in an arbitrary and voluntarist manner, represents an act of political reconstitution unprecedented in its scope and complexity. What has emerged, though, is a dual system where new forms of systemic meta-corruption coexist with what we shall call venal corruption, the pursuit of individual gain out of the pursuit or attainment of public office.
Recruitment policy and the nature of the changes in the social composition and occupational struc... more Recruitment policy and the nature of the changes in the social composition and occupational structure of party membership were a central concern and cause of controversy throughout the civil war. With the growth in bureaucracy, attempts were made to ensure a flow of party members to occupy the key posts, and so their training and political education became an important issue. The principles governing the vetting of party recruits and the expulsion of various categories of undesirables had an important role to play in the political debates and organisational developments in this period.
400 West 59 th Street New York, NY 10019 USA ... Distributed in the United Kingdom and Western Eu... more 400 West 59 th Street New York, NY 10019 USA ... Distributed in the United Kingdom and Western Europe by Plymbridge Distributors Ltd., Estover Road, Plymouth, PL6 7PZ, United Kingdom ... All rights reserved. No part ofthis ...
The Journal of Political Theory, Political Philosophy and Sociology of Politics Politeia, 2004
Революция может положить конец самодержавпому произволу и ненасытной, рвущейся к власти тирании, ... more Революция может положить конец самодержавпому произволу и ненасытной, рвущейся к власти тирании, по она никогда не произведет настоящего переворота в сознании людей. Вмес то этого новые предрассудки, подобные старым, приходят им на смену, и служат средством удер жания на коротком поводке огромной неразум ной толпы.
The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users ar... more The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.
Despite the Cold War and numerous hot wars, there is an essential continuity in the postwar perio... more Despite the Cold War and numerous hot wars, there is an essential continuity in the postwar period based on the Charter International System created in 1945. The United Nations and the associated declarations, organizations and normative orientations remain the framework for the conduct of international relations. At the level of international politics, orders are created in which states contend and hegemonic formations take shape. The Soviet-led bloc disintegrated in 1989-1991, leaving the field clear for the U.S.-led political West to claim universality, and on that basis seek to expand globally. However, the distinction between the system and conjunctural political sub-order is crucial to explain the dynamics in international affairs today. Russia has long resisted the expansive dynamic of the political West, an order created and sustained by Cold War logic, although drawing on U.N. Charter norms and principles. Russia's relationship with the civilizational West is more ambivalent, while the country insists RUSSIA IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS
The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users ar... more The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.
Europe in Changes: The Old Continent at a New Crossroads, 2021
Following the end of the Cold War in 1989-91, the Atlantic power system became the core of a unip... more Following the end of the Cold War in 1989-91, the Atlantic power system became the core of a unipolar pattern of world politics and at the same it radicalised. The Atlantic power system rebranded itself as the liberal world order with genuinely universal aspirations, claiming to be the only viable model of modernity. Liberal universalism undermined traditional patterns of sovereign internationalism and diplomacy. The New Atlanticism reinforced the link between democracy and security, norms and power, encouraging democracy promotion and regime change. As the Atlantic power system expanded, the realm of norms was reinforced by the empire of dominion. This rebranded liberal world order claimed to be synonymous with the international system established at Yalta-Potsdam in 1945, a substitution that was to have momentous consequences. This radicalised version of liberal hegemony was 'bound to fail', since its ambitions were so expansive as to classify as delusional, and which in the end provoked domestic and external resistance, notably by Russia. In Europe it meant the suppression of neo-Gaullist aspirations for continental autonomy, although elements of this are now being revived. Although it is still too early to talk about the emergence of a post-Atlantic world, long-term structural changes as well as some more contingent decisional factors are leading in this direction. The resurgence of aspirations for 'strategic autonomy' of a more 'geopolitical' European Union takes place at a time when it is increasingly marginalised geopolitically, and Europe as a whole is more fragmented. This paper examines the dynamics and evolution of post-Cold War Atlanticism, and assesses its future trajectory as the bond between the power system that bears its name and the liberal world order crumbles.
General Editor's Introduction - Notes on the Contributors - Introduction: The Democratic Expe... more General Editor's Introduction - Notes on the Contributors - Introduction: The Democratic Experience R.Sakwa - Experiences of Democratisation: Elements of a Comparative Historical Framework A.Szakolczai - Gorbachev's Bitter Draft: Failure to Achieve a New Union Treaty, 1988-91 J.Russell - Continuity and Change in Historical Thinking in Belarus: some Critical Remarks on Post-Soviet Historiography R.Lindner - Regionalism: An Underestimated Dimension of State-building in Ukraine G.Nemiria - Elites of North-Eastern Kazakjstan in a New Geopolitical Context, 1989-95 N.Melvin - Civil Society Endangered D.N. Nelson - The Structuring of Party Systems in Postcommunism: The Roles of Political Process and Social Cleavage J.Bielasiak - The Changing Role of Local Government in the Post-communist Transformation M.Illner - Trade Unions and the Making of Civil Society in Russia V.Peschanskii - The Emerging Order: Bulgarian Experiences with Democracy R.Daskalov - Polish Responses to Global Challenges: Geopolitics of Central and East European Transformation K.Zielke - Cultural Difference: Russia's Putative Entry into the European Union J.Armstrong - The Emergence of Democracy in South Africa and Poland: A Comparative Experience U.J.van Beek - Index
This led to the end of the cold war between the two superpowers USA and USSR. It was marked by ev... more This led to the end of the cold war between the two superpowers USA and USSR. It was marked by events like the fall of the Berlin Wall and power shift from Soviet center to the republics. The breakdown of USSR made USA the sole global power, ending the bipolarity in the world order.
The Beacon: Journal for Studying Ideologies and Mental Dimensions, 2021
COVID-19 pandemic is possibly the most serious challenge to the humanity since the end of World W... more COVID-19 pandemic is possibly the most serious challenge to the humanity since the end of World War II. Surprisingly, this threat did not unite countries of different ideological blocks. The ideological division of the world only exaggerated in the COVID-19 times. Not even common programmes of mutual healthcare assistance were elaborated. Instead, Russia, the East (mainly China) and the West deepened their discrepancies in international relations and strengthened their hostile rhetoric against each other (with exception of Russo-Chinese relations). The paper studies possibilities of overcoming ideological barriers that prevent the world now to create effectual administrative, political, social and legal techniques of counteracting such outstanding a threat as the Great Pandemic.
Russia is moving from metacorruption, that is a system which is corrupt in its very essence, to ‘... more Russia is moving from metacorruption, that is a system which is corrupt in its very essence, to ‘normal’ corruption; from a corrupt system to a system with corruption. The communist system was metacorrupt in that it never subordinated itself to the rule of law (although of course it ruled by and through the law), because of its lack of accountability, and because of the systematic enjoyment of privileges granted its leadership from the common ownership of the means of production.1 A new form of metacorruption, however, has emerged, rooted in the transition from a state-owned economy to a market-based system. The enormity of the attempt to disentangle the political process from its deep embedment in the economy, while at the same time structuring political life as an autonomous activity governed by the impartial rule of law and accountable to the electorate, can hardly be exaggerated. The extrication of the Russian state from, on the one hand, deep involvement in the economy and, on the other, from its dominance by a single party that governed for some seventy years in an arbitrary and voluntarist manner, represents an act of political reconstitution unprecedented in its scope and complexity. What has emerged, though, is a dual system where new forms of systemic meta-corruption coexist with what we shall call venal corruption, the pursuit of individual gain out of the pursuit or attainment of public office.
Recruitment policy and the nature of the changes in the social composition and occupational struc... more Recruitment policy and the nature of the changes in the social composition and occupational structure of party membership were a central concern and cause of controversy throughout the civil war. With the growth in bureaucracy, attempts were made to ensure a flow of party members to occupy the key posts, and so their training and political education became an important issue. The principles governing the vetting of party recruits and the expulsion of various categories of undesirables had an important role to play in the political debates and organisational developments in this period.
400 West 59 th Street New York, NY 10019 USA ... Distributed in the United Kingdom and Western Eu... more 400 West 59 th Street New York, NY 10019 USA ... Distributed in the United Kingdom and Western Europe by Plymbridge Distributors Ltd., Estover Road, Plymouth, PL6 7PZ, United Kingdom ... All rights reserved. No part ofthis ...
The Journal of Political Theory, Political Philosophy and Sociology of Politics Politeia, 2004
Революция может положить конец самодержавпому произволу и ненасытной, рвущейся к власти тирании, ... more Революция может положить конец самодержавпому произволу и ненасытной, рвущейся к власти тирании, по она никогда не произведет настоящего переворота в сознании людей. Вмес то этого новые предрассудки, подобные старым, приходят им на смену, и служат средством удер жания на коротком поводке огромной неразум ной толпы.
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Papers by Richard Sakwa