Rozov Nikolay

№ 1, 2019

• Epochs of Turbulence and Ways to Overcome Them

  The article is devoted to conceptualization of the phenomenon described by the term “epoch of turbulence”. The epoch of turbulence is defined as a historical period when social and international conflicts become more frequent and aggravated, exacerbated by the increased violence, which is reflected in the social sentiments full of confusion and anxiety, intensity of insurrections, revolutions, and wars that affect the strongest states and violate significantly their internal social order, as well as the order of international relations. Epochs of turbulence occur at both regional and global levels. Due to the European nations’ global expansion that started in the 16th century, epochs of turbulence in Europe are especially important, and by the 20th century they have become increasingly global. Six major epochs of turbulence can be identified: 1) 1517—1648 (Reformation and religious wars); 2) 1789—1815 (Great French Revolution, the subsequent revolutionary and Napoleonic wars), 3) 1848—1871 (“Spring of Nations”, the Crimean War, the Bismarck Wars, the Paris Commune); 4) 1914—1919 (World War I, the Russian Revolution and the polemogenic revolutionary waves); 5) 1939—1953 (World War II, Communist Revolutions and Korean War); 6) 2003 — present (the current epoch of turbulence). The notion of the epoch of turbulence is included in the conceptual model of the coevolution of social, mental and functional orders. It is shown that each of the epochs of turbulence was overcome through the adoption of a new international order, new principles of the internal political structure of the states, the spread of novel religious, social, and moral values. On the basis of the factors that made it possible to overcome the epochs of turbulence in the past and documenting the basic causes of the current epoch of turbulence, the author delineates the contours of the international order that is capable of providing a solution to the situation of chaos and uncertainty.

  DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2019-92-1-81-96

  Pages: 81-96