INTERSTATE SOCIOCULTURAL RELATIONS IN THE MODERN WORLD AS A SUBJECT OF POLITICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to clarify the definition of such a subject area of political analysis as interstate sociocultural relations, considering the peculiarities of the current phase of historical process. Methodologically, the study employs a systems approach integrated with heuristically productive principles of dialectical logic and historical materialism: the principles of removal, the mediation principle, and the principle of ascent from the abstract to the concrete. The study substantiates the hypothesis regarding the historical evolution of the international interaction space. The development of technical means for mastering new spatial types shifts the emphasis of significance toward these new domains. It is argued that the current primary mode of interaction space is communicative. The analysis supports a reasoned rejection of the term “information space” in relation to the interaction environment since spatial metaphors imply the movement, storage, and transmission of objects, and information cannot be defined substantially. Conversely, the specificity of text as the phenomenon underlying communication permits a meaningful conceptualization of the communication space. Communication, derived from interaction, plays a pivotal role in the modern world. Interstate sociocultural ties usually constitute the stable interactions that shape this communicative space, which in turn can be used for the application of soft power. This conclusion allows us to redefine the specifics of studying sociocultural ties within the framework of political analysis.