Alternatives and Trajectories of Political Development in the Contemporary World (Examples from The EU and BRICS Countries)

Abstract

This article examines alternative trajectories of political development in contemporary societies through a comparative analysis of selected European Union (EU) and BRICS countries against the backdrop of growing global instability, multiple crises, and escalating international conflicts. The findings demonstrate that the ongoing transformation of the world order in the first half of the twenty-­first century has brought several fundamental alternatives to the forefront of both domestic and international political development. These include political and cultural unification versus diversity, dependent versus sovereign development, the nation-­state versus the civilization-­state as the dominant model of political organization, and monocentrism (unipolarity) versus polycentrism (multipolarity). The study argues that political development in several EU member states has been characterized by increasing political integration accompanied by a partial erosion of national sovereignty. By contrast, despite persistent social challenges and structural imbalances, most BRICS countries prioritize sovereign and autonomous political development, typically grounded in the consolidation of the civilization-­state model. The article further demonstrates that while traditional socio-­political cleavages and the associated developmental alternatives — such as left versus right, socialism versus capitalism, liberalism versus conservatism, globalism versus regionalism, and democracy versus authoritarianism — remain analytically relevant, the increasing complexity of contemporary political systems and the transformation of the international order have generated new configurations and intersections among these paradigms. This process has contributed to the emergence of hybrid political regimes, evolving party systems, and flexible domestic and international coalitions that increasingly shape both the trajectories of individual states and the broader transition toward a new world order.