Russia and the civilizational phase in World history

Abstract

The article is devoted to the systematic analysis of the concept of “civilizational choice”, which means the willingness of a certain country to become part of another civilization, in particular, the determination to join that community of countries and peoples, called today the “collective West”. It is noted that the “civilizational choice”, as it is interpreted today, cannot be understood as either “political subordination” to the state leader, or “socio-cultural assimilation” to him. A State making a truly civilizational choice is required to submit to a different historical process, that is, to renounce the right to choose its own future. It is noted that the “civilizational phase” in international history, which begins with the current consolidation of the “collective West”, is to some extent a return to the pre-modern period of history, characterized by the dominance of certain institutions reflecting the highest value priorities of this society. It is noted that the “civilizational phase” in international history, which begins with the current consolidation of the “collective West”, is to some extent a return to the pre-modern period of history, characterized by the dominance of certain institutions reflecting the highest value priorities of this society. It is argued that the “civilizational era” generates resistance from groups devoted to the idea of national sovereignty and unwilling to give it up in the name of prospects for bloc integration. This clash of civilizational fundamentalists and national sovereignists appears in a distorted form as a conflict of “globalists” and “populists”: it unfolds especially dramatically in the United States, but some manifestations of this conflict are also observed in other countries.