Manoylo, A.V. Geopolitical situation in the modern world.

Abstract: The modern geopolitical situation is rather unstable. Its main specific feature is that the borders separating modern states and nations are formed in the minds of people, separating the society into “us” and “them” based on belonging to certain national interests, values, ideological concepts and doctrines, models of political behavior, which are suitable for both continental and island states, rather than finding these borders in geographical boundaries of water and mountains ridges. In order to support these boundaries in the minds of the population the marker symbols are used in order to mark “us” and these markers are recognized by other “us” people, separating “us” from “them”. Sometimes these markers may be primitive, such as flowers (roses in Georgia, tulips in the Kazakhstan, the cornflowers in Belarus, cacti in Mexico, jasmine in Tunisia) in the hands of supporters of colored revolutions in the CIS territory, or bits of orange cloth in Ukraine, or white ribbons in Russia, the figs in Tunisia or Egypt, etc. Sometimes, more complicated symbols and symbolic constructions are used to distinguish “us” from “them”, such as democratization, followers of which wish to introduce the Western liberal values into the traditional communities at any costs, reviving the traditions of the Crusades, or the technical gadgets, such as iPhones and iPads, allowing to use social networks for the conflict mobilization of the society (“Twitter” revolution in Egypt in 2011, etc.). These markers may bring together large numbers of people living around the globe, in the territories of different states, having different landscapes and climatic zones, on the isles and continents, highlanders and the lowlanders. Thanks to the modern connection and transportation means the geographical borders become transparent and easily crossed, they are no more the natural boundaries, holding back the foreign political expansion of the leading world powers, claiming leadership in the modern world.

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