Contemporary Bolivia and perceptions of a multipolar world

Abstract

This article is devoted to the peculiarities of perception and representation of a multipolar world in Bolivia. Since the governments of the "Movimiento al Socialismo" party came to power, this country, on the one hand, can be called one of the leading critics of the world liberal order in the region, opponents of US dominance, and on the other hand, it is characterized by a nationalist course in the economy, proactive integration strategy and presence in reputable multilateral institutions for the Global South. These circumstances make the Bolivian case of attitude towards the issue of multipolarity very illustrative. Critical discourse analysis according to Teun Van Dijk was chosen as a research strategy. We consider selected materials of various genres and formats, referring to the semantic code “multipolar world” both explicitly and implicitly, through associations and metaphors. It is shown that, in general, for Bolivia the issue of forming a multipolar world is highly relevant and is associated with a number of fundamental aspects of the domestic and foreign policy model built by the ruling party “Movement to Socialism”. The positive expectations of Bolivian political leaders and international relations from the emerging multipolarity are associated not only and not so much with the decline of US dominance, but with the preservation of multilateralism and the opportunity for the country to diversify external relations, and integration is recognized as the key way to involve Bolivia in global dynamics. The scientific novelty of the work is ensured by the lack of study of the problem risen in both the Russian and foreign research fields; the author’s contribution is created by the results of a detailed analysis of the discourse concerning the multipolar world in Bolivia according to its main proponents, contexts and topics (“topics”).