- most peoples and countries in the world have common goals or ends - security, a high standard of living, justice - although there are different tools or means to achieve them. At the same time, with the development of civilization and the expansion of social demand from society, The Set of these goals continues to grow and expand also;
- however, no country or nation in the world is able to achieve all its goals in complete isolation and without cooperation with others. This determines political and economic gravity and the desire for connectivity between countries and peoples;
- but often this cooperation remains devoid of harmony and balance, trust and justice, high-quality international legal regulation, which became especially evident during the Covid pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine;
- recognition that the old rules do not work properly and the world is undergoing radical changes - these are no longer the words of experts - but the statements of the US President J. Biden, the leader of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping, Josep Borel and other political and economic leaders;
- but again, just like on the eve of the First or Second World Wars, we are faced with a choice: what model of international relations should we build? A model based on rules that would be unprofitable for anyone to break, or a model based on an order that only superpowers would observe? A free market of many sellers and buyers with free competition for quality and price, or a regulated supermarket with one or few monopoly owners and sellers?
- of course, it is especially difficult for small or middle states in such a situation. But sometimes, when we come to a dead end, in order to move forward, we need to think first, and maybe then take a few steps back to bypass an obstacle or a dangerous place. Therefore, the first thing we can strive for now is to rationalize international dialogue and cooperation. After all, big powers often behave like geopolitical animals, serving only their goals and instincts, acting rationally and selfishly, even ignoring their obligations within their blocs and alliances. At the same time, superpowers often force dependent small states and organizations to act irrationally in terms of their own interests. Therefore, a rational political dialogue - from the point of view of finding mutual benefit and satisfying the national interests of all participants - should become the starting point of a new international relations/ politics. Rationality should become a privilege not only of the strong and sovereign states - superpowers, but a right for all players of international politics. Recognition of the right of small and middle powers to a rational international policy and the satisfaction of their national interests is an extremely important task for building a balanced and stable world. Secondly, it is necessary to return to the dialogue about the basic understanding of permissible goals and means of international politics. This admissibility should not be determined by the strength and capabilities of the most powerful countries, but by the interests of humanity. In the same aspect, it is necessary to return to the basic understanding of the concept of natural human rights. Third, we may be entering a new era of discovery. But we are no longer talking about Columbus' voyage to North America (even taking into account that he wanted to discover the way to India), but about the discovering of the Global South by the West. The future of the international system and humanity in general largely depends a lot on the West's willingness to reopen the Global South for itself, to recognize it as a partner and ally. Moreover, without this reopen on an equal footing, the Western countries will once again face the problem of internal right-wing radicalism, as it has happened many times in history.
- In general, in my opinion, we should strive for international relations that would resemble tango or round dances; rather than being a convoy of groups of states imprisoned by a few of the strongest overseers - superpowers or alliances. At the same time, it is necessary to preserve everything positive that was developed by previous generations of politicians, for example, the free European market, security systems, the UN system, etc.
- Moreover, because we are faced with global challenges related to unpredictable climate change and environmental threats, the new industrial revolution and artificial intelligence, the threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and a New World War.
Ruslan Bortnik
