Europe, Ukraine and Russia – perspective 2020

1. Europe, Ukraine and
Russia - perspective
2020
Rome
April 26, 2016

2. The religious mobilization of
masses
Events of winter-spring 2014 in Donbass were accompanied with confrontation of
ideologies of civilizational choice: pro-western supporters of "Euromaidan" were
guided by universal human rights, their pro-Russian opponents - by anti-western
"orthodox" values, which were covered with religious tones. Particularly we can see
a surge of religious activity (processions (which mostly weren't initialized by any
church), public prayers, pilgrimages to shrines, acceptance of religiously-inspired
official addresses and documents, formation of military units with religious names),
which maybe has played a key role in mobilization of masses, which are opposite to
the new Ukrainian government.
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3. Non-western unities and ICT
"Nondenominational" (non-institunial)
consolidation of social masses around
religious ideology is one of world
trends of the beginning of the 21st
century. In the age of social networks,
mobile internet, communicators etc.
(information and communication
technologies - ICT) the choice of
religious identity became an effective
method of social protection. This factor
is actively used by different powers,
who bet on the potential of religious
mobilization.
Particularly western method of
solidarisation in the face of collective
threat "Je suis Charlie" is used by
different communities and can be
spread as a manifest existence of
supranational religiously-motivated
communities (Je suis Volnovakha, Je
suis Muslim, Je suis Novorossiya
etc.).
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4. Global alternatives of the West
Today we can talk about three
formed global
projects/communities, which are
an alternative to the West.
Project of Russian world, which
was manifested in Donbass,
was initiated in 2006-2008;
project of "Chinese core
values"(2012-2014) and Islamic
project of the "world caliphate"
(2013-2-14).
Here we are talking about
projects, which are aimed at
formation of supranational
religiously-motivated
communities, which are in a
varying degree opposed to the
West.
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5. End of classical World?
Stated projects should be considered
as quasi-religious formations, because
they don't refuse western methods of
argumentation and acting (forms of
production and trade, infrastructure,
many elements of mode etc.). They
desecularise Modern, but at the same
time they secularize "parent" religious
traditions and reduce by that their
cultural potential. It would be no
exaggeration to say that quasi-
religious alternatives of Modern don't
come from the Modern itself, but also
from classical religiosity. Supranational
communities, which are formed during
the process of their realization,
become significant players of world
politics.
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6. Responses to the challenges
Confrontation between West and
alternatives, which have been/are
being formed, can be considered
as a motive to review classical
belief in non-alternative values of
western mind, ethical, axiological,
praxeological and other purposes
of which must be adopted by other
cultural subworlds. There's a need
to refer to constitutive elements of
western ideology — general
history, tradition, worldview to
reduce confrontation at least in
those cases, when there's a
reason for that.
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7. Conclusions
What are the options of the relations Ukraine-Europe-Russia
configuration?
In this situation it is difficult to look at these opportunities objectively,
but there are two options, which are logically following from the
points above:
A) Ukraine "hangs" between two opposing (from the civilizational
point of view) subworlds- western and "orthodox" ("Russian world"),
each of which mobilizes maximum amount of effort in order to get her
involved on its side. Confrontation increases and (due to the fact that
forces of global players go to the participation in other global
confrontations) efforts to maintain the order in Ukraine reduce.
B) Europe and Russia would develop a method intercultural
dialogue, within the bounds of which sets a complimentary of their
civilizational paradigms, and Ukraine becomes a mediator of the
dialogue, maintains inner balance and takes part in their closer
relations
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