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13Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 3 (2009 2) 367-373
УДК 130.3
Regionalization as a Social-Economical Basis of Enforced Globalization Alternatives
Victoria L. Pfanenshtil*
Siberian Federal University, 79 Svobodny, Krasnoyarsk, 660041 Russia 1
Received 14.08.2009, received in revised form 21.08.2009, accepted 28.08.2009
In the given article we would like to show, that in the modern and quickly changing world there are a lot of discussions of the essence of globalization, regionalization, localization and these discussions go on with increasing sharpness and obviously reflect the major changes in the global economy forces alignment and apparent aggravation of the international military and political situation. Will the growth of hegemonism bring to globalization and mono-polar world becoming? Or shall we witness some other fundamental processes of the world development?
We also pay special attention to the fact, that globalization is often depicted by scientists and publicists as some universal process, which inevitably and successively subordinates «the periphery» of microsystem sphere to the laws of its development. These notions are sooner ideal-typical and they are free from such «independent» factors, structuring humane micro-communities, as geo-climatic conditions, national models of demographic reproduction, cultural-educational «capital» of the nation and its intellectual and professional skills, the volume of its present natural resources, and economically viable and adaptive potential of the society. Being used in different combinations, these qualitative parametersfinally form the nation's ability to respond efficiently to transnational impulses - challenges, which origin is beyond the limits of national political systems.
Keywords: hegemonism; globalization; regionalization; localization; micro-system sphere; sub-globalization processes.
Point
Outrushing changes of the world economy were generated not only by economical, but, first of all, by cardinal political shiftings, which took place in the end of XX century. These changes required a new approach to evaluation of globalization and different countries groups' place and role in this process. The notions of «growth» and «development» became one of the key notions in the second part of the previous century, as far as various models of development
were tested with mixed success in the world economic sphere.
In the second part of XX century the dominant influence was gained not by the geopolitical paradigm (the paradigm of cultural-historical types), but by the meaningfully opposite one - «globalistic» («formational», «revolutionary») paradigm, which referred us to such spiritually related phenomena, as the conception of «global revolution», anti-globalism, the ideology of «the world
* Corresponding author E-mail address: IPhanenstil@sfu-kras.ru
1 © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved
communist revolution», the conception of social-economical formations changing by K. Marks, the idea of the world-wide freedom of trading, the idea of «global directorate» (global control of the world), and Enlightment progress philosophies of XVII-XVIII centuries.
To our mind, the main direction of globalization definition by means of internationalization lies in the propaganda of inevitable departure of sovereign States from historical arena and their losing of the main democracy requirement- powerful sovereignty of people. In connection with the mentioned, it is rather principle to separate the notions of «globalization» and «regionalization», as far as in the modern conditions it would be more appropriate to use the notions of «economical integration» or «economical interrelation» as the main objective factors, predefining the essence of globalism and globalization not only in the economical interrelations of countries and nations, but in all the spheres of their activity.
Preciselythatiswhytheideaofregionalization, as a social-economical basis of the modern enforced globalization alternatives, acquires a greater popularity and gradually becomes a paradigm of the modern scientific cognition and a principle of the social practice. The matter is that social instability, as a factor of socialization, can be considered on three interrelated levels: society on the whole, a group and a person. On the society level, social changes are revealed in the form of a crisis of the major part of normative-axiological notions. «Comprehension of the existing norms and values, as phenomena of the past, which have been discredited by new tendencies, existing in society, does not in abstracto lead to creation of any of new ideas... On one hand, new social groups appear to be the creators of new systems of values, on the other hand - they are carriers of these values.» [1, p. 152].
Example
As V.Strada notices, as from the point of view of the old, defeated communist internationalism, so from the point of view of the new and on-coming communistic globalism, national question appears to be a survival of times past. Internationalism considers it to be permitted in the frames of its economical and technological structures, and globalism supposes it to be overcome due to new economical and technological tendencies. Thereat, in both cases, everything goes on independently and beyond the borders of national states. The Italian researcher is sure, that in the frames of the global context, the national beginning does not disappear; it constitutes the element of vital resistance to cultural homogenization, which presence is doubtless; and acquires new, less exclusive forms in comparison with the past. [2, p. 60].
The world situation of our days confirms that sovereign national state - particularly, if we are speaking about minor states, which do not possess any economical or military predominance - loses many of its prerogatives of the past and become relative within the frames of wider contexts. The control over the social-economical processes, which have local regional character, is often depicted by scientists and publicists as some universal process, which inevitably and successively subordinates «the periphery» of the micro-system sphere to the laws of its development. These notions ignore many factors, structuring humane microcollectives: geo-climatic conditions; national models of demographic reproduction; cultural and educational «capital» of the nation and its intellectual and professional skills; the volume of its present natural resources, and economically viable and adaptive potential of the society. Being used in different combinations, these qualitative parameters finally form the nation's ability to respond efficiently to transnational impulses -
challenges, which origin is beyond the limits of national social-economical systems. The matter is that globalization and the processes, being generated by it, subject traditional behavior models, the way of life, the types of world vision, and also the values, being rooted in the mass conscious, orientations, and prejudice to the test of strength and adaptability [3, p. 92]. To N.Kosolapov's mind, on the global level the problem of coordination, regulation and management subject and object has become one of the main consequences of the intercrossing of various globalization levels and processes [4, p. 145].
In the result of enforced globalization the principle features of social-economical basis are subjected to a serious transformation. The loss of these features is followed by systematic tension and social panic, when the feelings of self-perception, belief in one's own social role and its continuance pass away; «extrapolation of the liberal regime tendencies development (the regime which has been historically formed in European countries) over the societies, being different in time and in space, is fully groundless; in the basis of modern states there are no young and flexible types of ethnos, which are sensitive to developed cultural forms, but there are traditionally fixed social structures. Precisely, that is why in the peripheral countries there can be no building of a new social-economical basis according to the European pattern without full destruction of the old pattern. The consideration, that today's economical and technological power of post-industrial countries will make them invulnerable to expansion of foreign social systems, is a dangerous illusion. To the mind of the researchers V.Inozemcev and E.Kuznecova, these premises must be the leading ones in the attempts to evaluate possible development scenarios of the on-coming inter-civilizational conflict [5, p. 138].
The crisis of regional social-economical basis is much deeper, than we could have supposed and it has influenced almost all the countries. If we are speaking of the ways of reappearance of the social-economical self-sufficiency feeling, thenwe should note that it is federalism and regionalism. A.Zaharov is sure, that precisely «.federalism and globalization do always accompany and enforce each other: federal methods of decision making are best suited for the world, where everything is interconnected, while today's world dynamics generates and stimulates far and wide federative kinds of practice and institutions. He considers that federalism is political clothes of globalization and to be a federalist is «considered to be a common courtesy» in the epoch of globalization [6, p. 166].
The starting point for us is the fact that region population makes up a certain integrity, which is characterized by special forms of symbioses with nature, specific types of self-sufficiency, commonness of behavioral features, having been generated for centuries and formed in the process of people's adaptation in natural and socio-cultural environment. All these in total are qualified as regional peculiarities [7, 198-201].
N.Ja.Danilevskij has been the first, who has suggested the model of multi-polar world order, which is, to his mind, presents the necessary and, at the same time, the only possible guarantee of the world-wide balance keeping, the only stronghold against the world-wide domination of Europe.
Two conditions of the world-wide balance according to Danilevskij are the germ of the world project, which is an alternative to the project of the global monocracy. The first and the main condition is the appearance of Slavonic states around the Russian Federation («The Omni-Slavonic Union» in terms of N.Ja.Danilevskij). Today, the given condition has been altered; it is present as a possibility of integration of the
post-soviet states and, first of all, a possibility of formation of the common economic territory of Belorussia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. N.Ja.Danilevskij has formulated the second condition of the world-wide balance as follows: «The result of the Omni-Slavonic Union would be... an equal and a fair distribution of power and influence between...Europe, the Slavonic states and America» [8, p. 458-459].
In XXI century, in Eurasia there are, of course, more than three (as it was in the epoch of the colonial world) potential participants of such a geopolitical project. They are, at least 1) the United States of America with its surrounding South American zone of free trading; 2) the future superpower - «the United States of Europe»; 3) Russia and the sates of CIS integrating with it; 4) «Great China and the cultures of Southern Asia, being kindred with it; 6) Japan; 7) the Islam world; 8) this or that union of the South American countries.
The importance of social-economical analysis of the regions potentials is connected with the fact that regions present by themselves a higher level of generalization in comparison with ethnic peculiarities, as far as regional communities can include several types of ethnos, but this level is lower than civilization peculiarities, as far as this level presents only a part (in the given case - a part of European) civilization. Regional peculiarities create a certain stereotype of social behavior. At the same time, within the frames of this common stereotype there are ethnic communities, which form the population of the region and possess certain concrete features and unique qualities. From the point of view of systematic approach, regionality (as integrity) is that very new quality, which is formed in the result of interaction and mutual complement of ethno-cultural communities (as elements), constituting this integrity. That is why we suppose the research of dialectics of the common and the peculiar to be an important part
of the region sociology. This is the part of research, which is aimed for the analysis of the object's inner structure. But there is another part, which is aimed for the outer environment of the object, for the region's position in the socio-cultural sphere. Research of the structure of its interaction with the environment is considered to be another important part of the region sociology [9, p. 27-28].
Economical regionalization is a comparatively new process, which has appeared in the sphere of international relationships after the Second World War. By the term of regionalization we understand formation and development of economical communities by neighboring countries. There are agreements of preferential character in the basis of such groups. Though in practice, there are two different types and one sub-type of regionalization: rebirth (initiation) of regional empires, formation of regional (integration) groups and appearance of so called development triangles.
The first type is understood as an ability of this or that rather large country to impose its will on the neighboring and, as a rule, minor countries by means of relatively peaceful, diplomatic (as political, so economical) methods. In other words, regional empire appearance and existence originally presupposes significant inequality of economical powers of the neighboring countries. At the beginning, formation of such regional groups pursues mainly political-economical aims.
In the given situation, the key factor is a constancy of external threats or (what is better) a mutually advantageous character of economical cooperation, formation of the common economy elements, and mutual completability. Though, to achieve such a quality of relations is not at all easy, so usually only regional empire possesses the main set of such elements.
At first sight, regionalization of the second type is more stable and productive. Efficiency of
such unions increases a relative equality of the participating states' potentials, and, as a rule, they create a stronger juridical base of co-operation. It is easier to the participants, which are comparable in their power, to refuse from some part of sovereignty to the benefit of supernational organs and to provide there a sound and proportional representation.
Nevertheless, we may observe a parallel existence of regional empires and regional integration groups. It seemed that on practice obvious advantage of the old types of associations does not lead to a mass outflow of minor countries from under the cover of regional empires to these associations. Probably, ascending waves of the world business environment more encourage regionalization of the second type [10, p. 8990].
Most modern authors pay special attention to complication of the North-South relations, to impossibility of identical evaluations in the result of high dynamics of changes as in the world economy on the whole, so in separate countries. They are made closer by the strivings of their authors to give an analysis of the globalization modern stage, of its inner inconsistency and various degrees of some countries' involvement in the process (there are the largest Eurasian states in the centre of the research - India, China, Russia), that allows seeing that the process has a non-general character. The authors' key opinion is the following: «the degree of integrity and manageability of the appearing world has been exaggerated» [11, p. 6].
This position is topical in the connection with the existing opinion of the total globalization coverage of all and everything. Is it rightful that on the given stage the idea of mono-polar world or the presence of large economical sub-systems, such as India, China, Russia, have significant influence over the rate of globalization, creating sorts of enclaves, which retard its distribution -
this is not only the problem of today, but the problem of future as well [12, p. 199].
Obviously, in perspective, globalization creates deep tendencies to consistency of the world economical sphere, on the given stage it increases the unevenness of development between separate countries and also changes most of habitual, well-known phenomena.
At the same time, within the frames of globalization process there appear some unidirectionality tendencies of commodity flows and direct investments, and that leads to «the appearance of peculiar regional governors», as it has been successfully defined by the authors [13, p. 145]. Actually, it causes the necessity of correlation analysis of regionalization and globalization, their parallelism, and subsequently, their contradictions, when in the regional scale and at a certain level of development of economical, political and other kinds of bonds regionalism becomes a globalization deterrent.
From our point of view and taking into consideration economical efficiency, globalization will never be able to involve into its orbit all the countries without exceptions. There has been defined a group of countries- outcasts, which are scarily involved into the process of internationalization and are connected with the Centre mainly because of aid programs, being performed by international organizations and governments of developed countries in order not to let a new social-economical crisis, a border conflict and etc. generate new waves of refugees. The problem is in the following: will the number of such countries increase or decrease.
We are to agree with the authors, who assert, that «.globalization definitions, such as an accomplished internationalization, integration, social transformation and other realities, on the given stage of the history of mankind is nothing else, but an utopia or illusion. That is why the statement of the cutting of the modern
globalization time in thousand times is hardly reasonable in comparison with the previous stages and the appearance of a new world-wide civilization in the life period of just one generation is hardly possible» [14, p. 88].
The main perspective of technological development of the mankind is: to deepen the gap and to make it unsurpassable, the gap between developed and other countries, and also between developed countries, creating new technologies, and other developed countries; informational technologies employees' segregation into an inner «informational community» and its concentration in developed countries; gradual concentration of the world's «informational community» together with the whole world progress in «the most developed» countries; termination of progress beyond the limits of developed countries; social and financial degradation of developing countries; a potential sudden slowing down of the process in the result of the global financial crisis and destructive competition between USA and European currency union. Socio-cultural identity crisis prevention presupposes joining of various societies' efforts for preservation of the various and motley human society.
To our mind, positive and negative lessons of social development of XX century allow people and countries, revealing their will, energy and persistence, paying special attention to better and optimal ways of self-development, using socio-economical potentials of their regions.
Moreover, it is important not only to proceed from the realities, existing in the world community, but also to presuppose possible scenarios of further events development. The gap
between USA and the members of NATO on the whole and the rest of the world is so deep, that it gives us grounds to think about a possibility of realization of the idea of a super-empire, it could be American or built around most developed countries («golden billion») as an integral block. If the idea were realized, global empire world order would most probably suffer the fate of all the empires-predecessors: having outlasted for some time, it would be broken by the forces of inner transformation and would for long give place to the dominance of sub-globalization phenomena and processes of all the types and levels.
Resume
To our mind, the advancement of manageability, as the man criterion of globalization, does not at all mean the reduction of the latter only to the political topics. This criterion is important for other, non-political spheres as well. Though, here, while achieving the set political objectives, manageability is as much present, as many economical, cultural and other specifics are taken into consideration. At the same time, there can be revealed special imperatives and development bases for each of the rest of reality projections - starting from economy to culture.
Survival of the world, as a mono-polar phenomenon, wherein there is no crisis of socio-cultural self-identity, is possible only by means of rebirth of local and regional values, as an opposition to the global system of «pan-human values», which carry in themselves the destruction of socio-cultural identity as of separate nations, so of the whole mankind.
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