When does the state disappear? (in memory of Rudolf Kjellen)

Abstract

Geopolitical tensions in the world are recognised as the first in the list of threats to the progress and potential of the 21st century. It is impossible to understand the essence of this geopolitical tension without clarifying the semantics of the adjective “geopolitical”, which, in turn, requires elucidation of the meaning of the concept of geopolitics, as outlined by its author – Swedish historian Rudolf Kjellen. The occasion of appealing to the figure of this researcher can be considered the fulfilment in 2021 of 105 years since the publication of his fundamental work “The State as a Living Organism.” Namely: why R. Kjellen is talking about the “immortality of territorial domination” as opposed to the “perishability of the state”; whether digital technologies cancel “immortality of territorial domination” and, accordingly, geopolitics are abolished; which is hidden behind calls to abandon geopolitics as some “scientific nonsense.” It is concluded that, first, in light of R. Kjellen 's doctrine of the state, the latter is doomed to destruction in case of refusal to build its own system of “territorial domination” in favour of another state, which, of course, does so in view of ensuring its own self-preservation and its own viability.