Poly-participant and multidimensional world: On the way to a new theory of international relations

Abstract

In the early 21st century several conditions favorable for a new theory of international relations have been formed in Russia. New trends in interstate relations have clearly been displayed and Russian foreign policy needs to update its theoretical and conceptual foundations. A new philosophical basis has been formed as Russian IR theory is in crisis. To overcome the crisis, the framework of a new IR theory is suggested. It rests on existing theories and concepts that satisfy the principles of post-non-classical philosophy of science, the concept of Russian foreign policy, the fact that contemporary world events cannot be explained using the previously created concepts, and interdisciplinarity which does not lead to the erosion of the language of science in regard to IR. These sources made it possible to identify a number of fundamental provisions for the new IR theory: the interpretation of chaos as an order with unknown laws, recognition of each state as a self-sufficient participant in international relations, multivariativity of foreign policies, and the understanding of the world as a non-polar system. On their basis, a framework was developed for the theory of a poly-participant and multidimensional world where the main elements are states (participants) and non-state actors. According to the theory, the world has several dimensions: space, dynamical time, structural time, a set of subsystems (functional spheres), level, and control. Balance is ensured by the balance of foreign policies and reactions to them, which are determined by the interests of states, the influence and power of states in certain regions or functional fields. This sets the curvature of the world, which makes it change constantly. In the event of imbalance or a weakening of control, a vacuum appears and it provokes the development of uncontrolled processes. Such a complex structure of the modern world allows us to characterize it as a network that defines contemporary international relations as relational.