2026 Issue №2

This article explores the transformations of the contemporary world order through the prism of the Fourth World theory and the concept of a cosmopolitan order. The author analyses the evolution of the term ‘Fourth World’ alongside the development of postcolonial criticism. At the early stages, the term was employed primarily in the context of advocacy for indigenous rights, whereas contemporary interpretation views it as a tool to investigate structural inequality across all ethnic communities experiencing systemic discrimination. The study provides a detailed examination of the phenomenon of state-building, which frequently results in the destruction of
authentic cultural communities and triggers separatist movements along the historical boundaries of ethnic settlement. Special attention is dedicated to a critical treatment of the liberal ‘rules-based order’. The author interprets it as an American cosmopolitan ideology designed to undermine traditional Westphalian sovereignty and consolidate the global hegemony of the United States. Quantitative data from demographic projections are presented to illustrate population aging and large-scale migration flows in Europe. The author views these processes as eroding national identity and leading to an inevitable crisis of the classical concept of the nation-state. In conclusion, the article sketches the outlines of a future international reality. Instead of conventional nation-states, the emergence of a multi-layered and fragmented political space is anticipated, consisting of religious communities, ethnic theocracies, monarchical dynasties and informal alliances. The author compares this mosaic structure to the political map of pre-Columbian America, where a diverse array of regimes coexis­ted in a state of fruitful anarchic disorder.

This article seeks to explore how the sanctions measures imposed by the European Union have influenced, first, the level of political support for the ruling and opposition forces in the Baathist Syria and, second, the level of voter turnout in parliamentary and presidential elections. It also aims to identify possible dependencies, their causes and characteristics. The study employs the process-oriented approach. The primary method used is factor analysis, which enables the identification of hidden connections between the study variables through comparing changes in the level of sanctions pressure with the outcomes of every Syrian parliamentary and presidential election held between 2004 and 2024. After collecting the relevant data, a factor model was built and a regression analysis performed. The findings of this study indicate that, although sanctions can have an impact on the political dynamics in a targeted country, the nature of this relationship remains elusive. Perceived as an external threat, sanctions can elicit stronger support for ruling elites as manifested in rallying behind the leader.