Guest Lecture

5.12.2024

A guest lecture was held on “The Impact of the Russian-Ukrainian War on the System of International Relations”.

On December 5, a guest lecture “The Impact of the Russian-Ukrainian War on the System of International Relations” by Serhii Feduniak, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor of the Department of International Relations of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, was held for students majoring in “International Relations, Public Communications and Regional Studies” (first level of higher education); “Political Science” (first, second and third levels of higher education) and “Sociology” (first and second levels of higher education).

The transformational changes taking place in the system of international relations are based on the activities of states aimed at establishing a new economic order, the globalization of the world economy, the creation of global information systems and electronic networks. These changes acquire system-forming characteristics, begin to determine the corresponding structural transformations in the world order, including the international legal order.

There are different interpretations of the concept of systemicity in the field of international relations. Domestic researchers consider the system of international relations as a specific historical form of political organization of international relations, which is fixed in treaties and agreements and reflects both the ratio (balance of power) and the specifics of relations between states that are part of the system. As a general definition, the concept of “system of international relations” means a self-sufficient and capable of self-regulation system (complex) of interaction of subjects of international relations at the level of states, international organizations and non-state actors. At the same time, the main system-forming element is precisely the relations and other forms of interaction both within the system (between its components) and outside its borders (relations with the external environment of the system).

Serhii Heorhiiovych analyzed relations between states over many centuries, which were constantly changing. A lot of time passed before international relations were integrated into the world system. The global system of international relations was finally formed only by the beginning of the twentieth century. The system of international relations depends on the relations that developed between states in a particular period of the development of human society. But having become an important factor in world politics, it in turn influenced the development of interstate relations and the foreign policy of individual countries.

One of the main milestones in the development of international relations was the Peace Treaty of Westphalia. It was signed after the end of the Thirty Years’ War in Europe and laid the foundation for the principle of state or national sovereignty. The system of international relations created as a result began to be called in literature and practice the Westphalian system of peace. The basis of this structure was the state.

The basis of the system of international relations and the main factors of its stable existence is the balance of power, which is understood as the ratio of military and economic potentials, political weight and influence of the states that are part of the system, primarily the great powers, at a certain historical moment in time. Each system of international relations is characterized by a certain stability, which depends on the equilibrium of the balance of power that underlies it. Equilibrium is a state of balance of power in which the dominance of one or more states becomes impossible.

Conceptual approaches to understanding the current stage of the evolution of international relations were laid during the period of the destruction of the bipolar world of the Cold War era and the formation of new foundations of the world and international order. Post-bipolar international relations as a sphere of action and interaction of numerous and diverse state and non-state actors in the political, diplomatic, economic, cultural-humanitarian, scientific-technical, etc. planes are the subject of systemic analysis, which is organically combined with the isolation and detailed characterization of significant structural and functional components of the entire international complex. The peculiarity of this process is that the collapse of the post-war order occurred in peaceful conditions. Accordingly, definitions of a new era in international relations appeared, which quickly spread and even became winged.

We are infinitely grateful to Serhii Heorhiiovych for the relevant, interesting, and meaningful lecture, which was not only informative but also fascinating. The presented lecture material aroused interest and lively discussion among the students.

According to the Department of Political Science and International Relations