Geopolitical Regionalism and New Regionalization of the World Economy

The article analyzes the role of modern geopolitical fragmentation in the regionalization of the global economic space. The research logic is based on the analysis of changes in the theory of regionalization in connection with tectonic transformations in the world economy and politics. A new stage in the development of regionalism, which is called geopolitical regionalism, has been identified, and the methodology for identifying types of regionalization of the world economy has been clarified. Types such as traditional regionalization, based on direct contractual formats of economic integration (integration regionalization), which is determined primarily by economic factors, are considered in more detail; regionalization based on macroregions and subregions (macroregional regionalization), in which the dominant factor is geographic location, and fragmentation caused by political factors (geopolitical fragmentation) and leading to the division of the global economic space into separate opposing blocs of states. Various methodological approaches to identifying separate geopolitical blocs are considered, including the use of a new criterion – geopolitical distance, that shows the degree of foreign policy proximity or distance between the states included in the analyzed group. Unlike other types of regionalization, geopolitical fragmentation is a serious challenge for the global economy as it leads to the collapse of global ties, a fundamental change in existing global value chains and a weakening of the international regulatory system. This requires constant monitoring of geopolitical fragmentation and analysis of its new manifestations as well as a balanced scientific discussion on this issue