Megatrends of world politics in the face of international terrorism's challenges

Abstract

This chapter examines the influence of terrorism on three megatrends of modern world politics – globalization, integration, and democratization. The authors argue that modern international terrorism uses the fact of uneven distribution of benefits from globalization and its unifying features in its destructive ideology. As a result, in many underdeveloped countries, especially of the Muslim world, globalization is perceived as a negative trend equated with westernization and loss of unique local cultures. Concerning the influence of terrorism on integration, it is shown how international terrorism undermines unifying potentials in particular regions, and creates split within functioning integration associations. The interaction of terrorism and democratization is named dialectical, as terrorism, on the one hand, uses the possibilities of democratization; on the other hand, it becomes a constraint on the path of this phenomenon’s progress. It is concluded that terrorism is a significant negative factor for the selected megatrends. If for globalization trends the influence of terrorism is observed at the local level, and is unlikely to become a de-globalizing force, in the context of integration, terrorism is capable of deepening disintegration tendencies through transformation of political geography and civilizational-cultural identity. The same conclusion is appropriate for democratization the ups and down waves of which are directly or indirectly affected by international terrorism.