FROM POWER BALANCE TO CONLICTING INTENSITIES: TOWARD A NEW PARADIGM OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

PROŠIĆ Slobodan (MA. Minister-counsellor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia),

Having been relieved after the conclusion of ideological and bloc confrontations, mankind was faced with the new challenges and uncertainties, which required not only a new categorial apparatus but also a novel approach to the radically altered situation in the world. The need to adopt a perspective of complex and growing interdependence on the global level arises particularly in connection with the issue of the globalization vs. fragmentation process. As a matter of fact globalization involves two basic and contrary processes: integration and fragmentation/localization. This non-linear feature of globalization requires a paradigm shift toward what James Rosenau has coined as fragmegration. The author applies to the analysis of the dynamics of fragmentation the concept of political intensities, challenging thereby the old balance of power paradigm.

Keywords: globalization, fragmentation, integration, international relations, power paradigm