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Megatrends of World Politics
Edited by
Marina M. Lebedeva and
Denis A. Kuznetsov
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Marina M. Lebedeva and Denis A.
Kuznetsov; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Marina M. Lebedeva and Denis A. Kuznetsov to be identified
as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their
individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-34191-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-34192-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-32094-4 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003320944
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
Contents
Contributors vii
Index 109
Contributors
1. Megatrends are global, i.e., they operate everywhere, although with differ-
ent strengths and manifest themselves differently in different regions of the
world;
2. Megatrends have a long-term nature of action, calculated for decades or
more;
3. Megatrends have a political nature. Scientific and technological develop-
ment, digitalization are only a condition, a factor, and a background for them,
but in themselves they are not a megatrend of world politics.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003320944-1
2 Marina M. Lebedeva
These criteria are met by the process of globalization, which most scholars recog-
nize as a megatrend. At the same time, there are many definitions of globalization
(see, for example, Scholte, 2002). Moreover, it is possible to meet mutually exclu-
sive definitions of globalization. This is largely due to the fact that the phenom-
enon of globalization affects different aspects of economic, political, and social
reality. Accordingly, globalization is studied by specialists from different fields,
namely economists, sociologists, political scientists, researchers of international
relations, etc., each of which highlights its own aspect of study. In addition, the
term “globalization”, having become popular, came to the attention of journalists,
who interpret it quite freely.
In this chapter globalization is understood as the process of transnationaliza-
tion (transparency of national borders of states), which leads to a sharp increase
in the scale of movement of people, things, and ideas across national borders
(Mansbach & Taylor, 2012: 577; Ritzer, 2010: 2). In many ways, transnationali-
zation has become possible due to the current stage of the scientific and techno-
logical revolution.
Globalization contributes to the development of integration processes, which
form the second megatrend in world politics. However, integration, being the sec-
ond megatrend, unlike globalization, implies the mandatory conclusion of inter-
state agreements. Another feature of integration is that despite the development of
integration processes around the world (and in this sense integration as a process
meets the selected criteria), specific integration entities are limited, as a rule, by
regional borders.
The third megatrend that meets the criteria is the democratization of the world.
This megatrend, unlike the previous two, is less obvious. Nevertheless, in his-
torical terms, according to S. Huntington, there is an increase in the number of
democratic states in the world (Huntington, 1991). This process is primarily due
to the transformation of the political systems of states. In addition, as a result of
globalization, many actors take part in the development and lobbying of world
policy decisions. Democratization has been also influenced by integration, which
stimulates cooperation. At the same time, democratization cannot be reduced to
the first two megatrends.
Other processes that meet the above criteria, such as migration, can be
explained by globalization, which has opened borders for human flows, as well as
by integration, which is clearly seen in the example of the European Union.
Such a picture of reality, where only three of these megatrends operate, seems
to be too idyllic, which does not correspond to current realities. In order to remove
this discrepancy, one should use the idea of S. Huntington about the undulating
nature of political development. Analyzing the process of democratization in the
world, S. Huntington showed that the next wave of democratization is followed
by its rollback (Huntington, 1991). It appears that the same pattern of develop-
ment is inherent in the processes of globalization and integration, i.e., they have
their opposite vectors of development (trends): globalization–de-globalization;
integration–disintegration; democratization is the development of de-democrati-
zation processes. In other words, the political development of the world, like any
Megatrends and their reverse waves 3
development, is not a linear process. At the same time, development has a direc-
tion. This was well demonstrated by S. Huntington on the example of democrati-
zation. He showed that throughout the history, the number of democratic countries
in the world has increased, despite the rollback waves. In other words, the vector
of development is directed towards democratization.
In general the vector of development is aimed at megatrends, namely globali-
zation, integration, and democratization. They are opposed by trends (rollback
waves) of de-globalization, disintegration, and de-democratization. In the real-
time period, both megatrends and opposite trends are realized. However, some of
them dominate.
Along with (mega)trends, world politics develops through the change of
two phases: the phase of evolution (ordering and development of structures),
when new structures are built gradually, and the revolutionary phase, when
existing structures are destroyed (chaotic structures). These phases cover the
global world and manifest themselves in all spheres of international relations
and world politics throughout the centuries-old history of world development
(Lebedeva, 2012).
The phase of ordering global political development manifests itself in the
creation of various formal and informal structures – intergovernmental organiza-
tions, interstate “clubs”, coalitions, unions, forums, including state and non-state
structures. The end of the 20th to the beginning of the 21st centuries, in which a
new technological order is being formed, is largely characterized by internal and
international conflicts, the restructuring of the world order (Pantin, 2017), i.e.,
the manifestation of the phase of chaotization, the breakdown of existing struc-
tures. This phase can be traced in such processes as the collapse of alliances and
coalitions, the bipolar system of international relations, the obvious non-compli-
ance with international norms, treaties, etc., the emergence of new phenomena,
the nature of which is poorly consistent with what happened before, etc. Both
phases of world political development come into the focus of attention of leading
researchers, although, firstly, they use different terms to describe them, and sec-
ondly, they focus more on either the revolutionary phase, or, on the contrary, on
the evolutionary phase. For example, R. Keohane and J. Nye in 1972 concentrated
on the analysis of the processes associated with chaos within the Westphalian
system, drawing attention to its erosion due to the activation of non-state actors
in quantitative and qualitative terms (Keohane & Nye, 1971). In turn, for exam-
ple, D. Lake focused his attention on studying the phase of ordering the political
organization of the world at the beginning of the 21st century, analyzing states
and their unions. He showed how regional coalitions are formed and how they
function in the modern world (Lake, 2009). Despite the fact that R. Keohane and
J. Nye, as well as D. Lake consider a large, but still the same historical period
associated with the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st
century, they pay attention to different phases. Obviously, the list of such exam-
ples can be significantly increased. Both phases of development – ordering and
chaos – flow together throughout history, but at one time or another one of the two
phases is especially active. At present, apparently, there is a significant activation
4 Marina M. Lebedeva
of the chaotization phase. Under these conditions, trends that are opposite to glo-
balization, integration, and democratization begin to appear actively.
Conclusion
Three megatrends, as they were defined above, globalization, integration, and
democratization and three opposite trends (de-de-globalization, disintegration,
and de-democratization) cover the entire modern world and manifest themselves
in various areas. Megatrends and trends have a mutual influence on each other,
but globalization, which contributes to the further erosion of the foundation of the
political organization of the world – the Westphalian system – acts as the main
megatrend.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the processes opposite to megatrends
are becoming more active, which generates further processes of chaoticization in
the world. Nevertheless, megatrends continue to operate. The manifestations of
these megatrends are uneven across spheres, regions, and countries of the world.
For example, during the pandemic, globalization was sufficiently evident in the
field of academic communication. In general, the global crisis, which was pro-
voked by the COVID-19 pandemic, did not fundamentally affect the nature of the
megatrends that were formed before it began, but strengthened and exacerbated
the trends that had emerged earlier. This aggravation due to the intensification of
chaotization has led to a significant polarization of the world in many parameters
(in the spheres of manifestation of (mega) trends, in their geographical manifes-
tation). Polarization can potentially lead to significant contradictions, conflicts,
and wars. In practical terms, there is a need to “smooth out” the resulting splits
8 Marina M. Lebedeva
that appear as a result of polarization, both at the level of states and at the level
of international organizations. To a certain extent, business can also contribute
to smoothing out contradictions through its social and humanitarian activities.
Finally, the civic activism of NGOs, as well as structures related to education and
culture, can improve the situation.
If these contradictions are leveled, there are grounds for further evolutionary
development of the world. Based on the wave-like development of (mega)trends,
it should be assumed that the trends will again be replaced by processes associated
mainly with globalization, integration, and democratization.
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2 Taming the waves of globalization
and democratization
Global Governance of Megatrends
Maxim Kharkevich
Introduction
Historical studies of democratization and globalization show that these processes
develop in waves, and there is a connection between them (Wolf, 2017). In the late
19th and early 20th centuries, both processes were on the rise. In the period between the
two world wars, they simultaneously went into decline. In the 1950s and 1960s, there
were no special ups and downs; this period for both processes can rather be character-
ized as a stable plateau. A growth and strengthening shift for both globalization and
democratization emerged in the 1970s. Today, amid trade wars between the US and
China, the coronavirus pandemic, and right-wing populism, many observers believe
we are witnessing a decline in both globalization and democratization (Kornprobst
and Paul, 2021; Lee and Park, 2020; Steger, 2013). The connection between globali-
zation and democratization is obviously present but seems to be complicated since
there are many contradictions between these two processes. Democracy is based on
national identity; for transnational capital, nationality is not important. Democracy
is local in scope (national); capitalism is transnational and global in its essence and
scope. Democracy is harmed by strong socioeconomic stratification; capitalism inevi-
tably breeds economic inequality and cares little about the fair distribution of wealth.
Democracy assumes that all electoral votes have equal legal weight; for capitalism,
the voices of the rich are more important. Voters strive for social and economic secu-
rity; capitalism is subject to inevitable crises and is based on the “creative destruction”
of established socioeconomic forms of social organization.
Why these contradictions are not reflected in the seemingly coordinated waves
of globalization and democratization remains not entirely clear. Some governance
mechanisms seem to be at work here. Moreover, the mechanisms must be of self-
regulatory nature because the processes unveil themselves on international level,
where governance structures are still rather weak or non-existent (Drezner, 2009).
The famous globalization trilemma suggests that
DOI: 10.4324/9781003320944-2
Waves of globalization and democratization 11
about democracy. And if we want to combine democracy with the nation
state, then it is bye-bye deep globalization.
(Rodrik, 2011: 200)
Conceptual clarifications
The two processes can be conceptualized as two types of freedom – globalization
as economic freedom and democratization as political freedom. Neoliberalism,
for example, puts economic freedom first. Milton Friedman argues that
However, due to the increased criticism of neoliberalism after the global eco-
nomic crisis of 2008, there is a revival of republican ideas about the relationship
between political and economic freedoms (Wolf, 2014). This trend is particularly
evident in works of institutionalists, like Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson.
They argue that political freedom must precede economic freedom, first there was
the Glorious Revolution, and only then the Industrial one.
Using this definition, Huntington identified three waves and two setbacks of
democratization. Staffan Lindberg and Anna Lührmann argue that the third roll-
back was evident already in 2017 (Lührmann and Lindberg, 2019).
Democracy as accountability is presupposed in electoral conceptions of
democracy. Accountability requires the creation of institutions that provide infor-
mation to those who exercise control and that allow them to impose sanctions on
violators. Accountability becomes problematic in discussions about democratiza-
tion on international level, populated by TNCs, IOs, NGOs, etc. Can they be held
accountable and to whom?
Democracy as deliberations is the foundation of deliberative democratic
theory. As Simone Chambers puts it, “talk-centric democratic theory replaces
voting-centric democratic theory” (Chambers, 2003). Electoral democratic theory
views democracy as the arena in which fixed preferences and interests compete
via fair mechanisms of aggregation. In contrast,
the rules of chess are elements of world culture; the game is defined by a
standard set of procedures that are deemed valid everywhere, and depar-
tures from those rules are considered nonsensical. The principles of physics
are world-cultural, assumed to apply at every point on the globe and even
beyond. Human rights, as codified in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and its associated conventions, are couched in world-spanning terms,
applying to all humans in all countries.
(Boli and Lechner, 2015: 225)
World-cultural norms are not necessarily embraced universally. Like national cul-
tures, world culture is replete with competing cultural norms and narratives. Boli
and Thomas posit, that
in its contemporary form, world culture began to coalesce in the second half
of the nineteenth century. We can trace its emergence through the rise of
international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), which are the key
structural form through which world culture is expressed.
(Boli and Thomas, 1999)
Due to the last proposition – that key structural form of world culture is interna-
tional nongovernmental organizations – I argue that world culture can be concep-
tualized as the result of democracy working on international level.
ended with the outbreak of World War I, when the decline of liberalism and
the rise of nationalism led to the collapse of international trade. After World
War II, trade began to grow again. Today, about 60% of all goods and services
produced in the world cross national borders.
Coincidence of waves of international trade liberalization and democra-
tization in the 1970s raised the question of the relationship between these
processes. Early research on the relationship between the political regime and
international trade argued that in the developing world it was autocracies, not
democracies, that were more likely to liberalize trade (Haggard and Kaufman,
2018). On the one hand, autocracies are safe from lobbyists who, under a more
democratic regime, could protect some domestic producers from international
competition. On the other hand, trade liberalization increases long-term tax
revenues, which is beneficial for any regime, but at the same time, autocra-
cies may not pay attention to the costs of globalization for some categories
of voters that democracy cannot afford. Adam Przeworski offers a more com-
plex explanation for the link between democratization and economic reforms
such as trade liberalization. He argues that democratizing states are likely to
pursue trade liberalization in the short term but may abandon such reforms
over time as voters bear the costs of globalization (Przeworski, 1991). More
recent research shows that democratization, as a rule, leads to trade liberali-
zation (Milner and Kubota, 2005). The explanation is based on the Stolper–
Samuelson theorem: low-skilled workers will prefer greater trade openness
in developing countries and less trade openness in developed countries, since
unskilled labor is abundant in the developing world and scarce in the devel-
oped one.
In turn, studies show that trade liberalization has a rather negative impact on
democratization. Acemoglu and Robinson argue in their papers that an increase in
the openness of trade leads to an increase in income inequality in society, and this
shift in income distribution usually negatively affects the likelihood of democ-
ratization of the political regime (Acemoglu and Robinson, 2005). Moreover, in
developing countries, narrow interest groups that benefit from globalization may
delay democratic reforms or pursue trade liberalization bypassing democratic pro-
cedures (Adserà and Boix, 2002).
Waves of globalization and democratization 15
The question of accountability at the transnational and global levels mostly
attracts institutionalists and students of global governance (Buntaine, 2015;
Hale, 2008; Held, 2004; Kahler, 2004; Keohane and Nye, 2021). Among others,
Robert Keohane answers this question by proposing two models of accountabil-
ity based on different notions of legitimacy: the delegation model and participa-
tion model (Keohane and Grant, 2005). The fundamental difference between
them lies in the answer to the question to whom the power holders are account-
able: to those whom they influence with their decisions (participation model),
or to those from whom they receive their authority (delegation model). At the
national level, in liberal democracies, these two models coincide. Through elec-
tions, voters exercise both participatory accountability and delegation account-
ability – evaluating the performance of their delegates, whom they can punish
in case of low evaluation by refusing to vote for them. However, in world pol-
itics, these models diverge since democratic elections are not possible at the
global level. Keohane and Grant propose a list of seven accountability mecha-
nisms in world politics based mostly on the participation model: Hierarchical,
Supervisory, Fiscal, Legal, Market, Peer, and Public reputational (Keohane and
Grant, 2005: 36). Delegation model can be found only in Legal and Hierarchical
mechanisms, when one entity delegates its authority to a subordinate entity
through legal or other means. The most accountable actors in world politics,
according to Keohane and Grant, are multilateral intergovernmental organiza-
tions such as the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank, etc. The least accountable are
the great powers, especially superpowers.
If one broadens the question of accountability to a more general question of
legitimacy on translational and global level, one will find even more volumes
discussing this issue (Anderson et al., 2019; Bernstein, 2011; Keohane and Nye,
2021; Scholte, 2019; Zürn, 2018). Among others, Ian Clark undertook a produc-
tive effort to integrate legitimacy within English school (Clark, 2008).
The question of deliberative democracy on the global level attracts many fol-
lowers of Habermas’s philosophy of communicative action. Thomas Risse found
traces of deliberative democracy on international level (Risse, 2000, 2018). Social
contexts in which communicative rationality manifests itself in world politics,
according to Risse, are international negotiations and various public discourses
(for example, on human rights). Communicative rationality comes to the fore
when parties are not sure about their identities, preferences, world views. Such
a situation developed during international negotiations on the accession of a reu-
nited Germany in NATO (Risse, 2000: 25).
The relationship between world culture and globalization is a popular topic
within the Stanford School (Boli and Lechner, 2015). As mentioned above,
Stanford School measures world culture in numbers of international nongovern-
mental organizations operating within a given year. The Yearbook of International
Organizations by the Union of International Associations shows that in 1909
there were only 176 international NGOs, in 1958 – 1,073, and in 2016 – 25,380.1
The increase in the number of INGOs over the 20th and early 21st centuries cor-
responds to the waves of globalization over the same period (Kharkevich, 2021).
16 Maxim Kharkevich
The mechanism governing waves of democratization
and globalization
Arguably the most famous theoretical innovation of Habermas is the ontological
division of society into two spheres that are irreducible to each other – the system
and the life world (Habermas, 1991). Each of these spheres is necessary for the
existence and development of society, but at the same time they are built on dif-
ferent types of rationality and involve different types of social action. The system
is based on instrumental rationality, the life world is based on communicative
rationality.
The life world is the world of everyday communication, a set of informal and
non-market spheres of public life, such as family and household, culture, politi-
cal life outside organized parties, the media, voluntary associations, etc. It is in
the life world that the formation of social meanings, values, ideas that ensure the
social unity of people in society takes place. In the political sphere, the life world
manifests itself in deliberative democratic processes that ensure the preservation
and reproduction of fundamental social values under new historical conditions.
The system is the sphere of dominance of instrumental rationality, where the
rationality of social action is evaluated by its effectiveness in terms of obtaining
the desired economic or political result. In relation to the economic sphere, the
example of a systemic organization is the capitalist system, and in relation to the
political sphere, the system of state power. The main function of the system is the
material reproduction of society, that is, the creation and circulation of goods and
services in society. But the system also performs another very important function,
similar to the function of the life world: it coordinates the interaction of mem-
bers of society and integrates them into a single whole. Habermas calls this func-
tion system integration (as opposed to the social integration provided by the life
world). As societies become larger and more diverse because of industrialization
and modernization, and people become more mobile, the task of social integration
becomes increasingly difficult. Systems such as the economy and public adminis-
tration come to the aid of the life world, which help to keep society united.
In the 1970s, Habermas proposed a reconstructed version of historical materi-
alism to explain social evolution (Habermas, 1975). He suggested that
the species not only learns technical knowledge relevant for the development
of the productive forces, but also the decisive dimension of moral-practical
knowledge which can be embodied into structures of interaction. The rules
of communicative action do not automatically follow changes in the field of
instrumental and strategic action; they develop rather by virtue of their own
dynamics.
(Habermas, 1975: 294)
Conclusion
Two waves of globalization and democratization develop almost synchroni-
cally. The governance mechanism that synchronizes them is dialectic interaction
between two rationalities of social action – instrumental and communicative –
which manifest themselves in system and life world on fundamental level, and in
globalization and democratization (globalization of life world in form of world
culture) on global level.
Note
1 Historical overview of number of international organizations by type, 1909–2016.
Retrieved from https://ybio.brillonline.com/system/files/pdf/v5/2016/2_9.pdf
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3 Subnational actors in the
context of megatrends
Sergey Arteev, Ekaterina Shlapeko, and
Ivan Ulises Kentros Klyszcz
International politics have been thought of for a long time as being the exclu-
sive realm of states. International law and organizations such as the UN regard
states as the primary actors in world affairs. However, there has been a long trend
of other political entities becoming actors and entering the international scene.
Non-state actors and non-government organizations in particular have received
attention as new agents, capable of shaping the international agenda. Similarly,
subnational governments – that is, governments of constituent regions of a coun-
try – have increasingly sought to engage partners beyond their countries’ borders
and have their agency recognized in more fora.
In this sense, subnational governments have become part of international
relations and part of the megatrends that shape global politics. This chapter con-
tributes to the study of megatrends by adopting the perspective of subnational
governments. We highlight in particular three dyads of trends shaping the ways
sub-state regions engage in world affairs. These are globalization–isolation, inte-
gration–disintegration, and democratization–de-democratization. These trends
are unevenly distributed across the globe and sub-state regions respond to them
differently according to local dynamics. However, we can identify the main fea-
tures of each one of these and the way regions tend to respond and interact with
megatrends in world politics.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003320944-3
Subnational actors in the context of megatrends 21
established close economic ties with one another (Tolstyh 2004). The regions of
Western European states have also begun to actively develop their international
relations in a wide range of areas. The period of the late 20th–early 21sr centuries
is the time when non-Western paradiplomacy has begun to develop actively. It
was during this period that the post-Soviet space became involved in subnational
transnational relations.
The regions of Russia have begun to actively establish their international rela-
tions at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, although some elements of paradiplo-
macy were present during the Soviet period. This can be seen in the example of
twinning relations of the states that were part of the socialist commonwealth. For
example, the Komi Republic actively cooperated with Bulgaria in the 1960–1980s
(Arteev and Lymtseva 2019).
From the point of view of the megatrend of globalization, the Russian paradi-
plomacy is divided into two periods: the wave of globalization (1990–2014) and
the wave of deglobalization (2014–present).
The wave of globalization consists of two phases – decentralization (1990s)
and centralization (2000s–mid-2010s) (Arteev and Kentros Klyszcz 2021). The
heyday of international relations of Russian regions occurred during the decen-
tralization phase in the 1990s. It was the time when the paradiplomacy in Russia
was formed as a full-fledged political institution and an integral part of the inter-
national communication of the Russian Federation. The legal framework was
formed at the federal and regional levels. The regions of the country gained prac-
tical experience of international cooperation. It is also important that the federal
center began to build a new type of relationship with the regions, which can be
described as a partnership. The institutionalization of Russian paradiplomacy
was not carried out without mistakes, however. Yet, the external relations of the
regions, contrary to the later layers in the public discourse, did not lead to separa-
tism. So, the case of Chechnya was not typical.
The scope of transnational activity of the Russian federal subjects during this
period are impressive: the regions of Russia have signed several thousand agree-
ments with foreign regions, states, transnational corporations, banks, NGOs.
Various forms and formats of interaction have appeared. The list of spheres of
interaction was constantly expanding. In total, two main areas can be distin-
guished – the economy and humanitarian contacts. The Western vector was dom-
inant for the external relations of the regions of Russia throughout the 1990s.
Europe after the Cold War was of great interest to the regions of Russia. At the
same time, the new Russia, which is rightly considered the Russia of the regions,
was attractive to Europe (Sergunin 1999). The peculiarity of the 1990s was the
rapid development of asymmetric relations in several variants: the region of the
Russian Federation – a foreign state, the region of the Russian Federation – an
international governmental or nongovernmental organization, the region of the
Russian Federation – foreign corporations and banks. It was the asymmetric con-
nections that caused the center the most concern.
A special issue of the international relations of the Russian’s regions is
the paradiplomacy of ethnic autonomies. More than a hundred ethnic groups
22 Sergey Arteev et al.
live in Russia, dozens of them have their own autonomies in the form of
federal subjects. Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, and the republics of the North
Caucasus cooperated along religious lines with the Muslim states of the
Middle East. Kalmykia, Buryatia, and Tuva have organized constant inter-
action with Mongolia on the basis of Buddhism as a common religion. The
Finno-Ugric regions (Karelia, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Komi, Mari
El, Mordovia, Udmurtia, Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug – abolished in
2003) have established close ties with Finland, Hungary, and Estonia in the
field of culture, education, science, and economics.
The second phase of the megatrend of globalization for the paradiplomacy
of Russian regions took place under the shadow of centralization. This phase is
placed in the context of de-democratization and de facto defederalization (budg-
etary over-centralization, unification of regions, including ethnic autonomies).
The financial dependence of the regions on the center increased significantly,
which affected their international relations. Gradually, the external relations of
the regions of Russia began to diminish. The ties of ethnic autonomies with kin
foreign states were particularly affected. For example, the programs of student
education and academic exchanges of the Finno-Ugric autonomies with Hungary
were curtailed.
The wave of deglobalization for Russian regions is associated with two sets of
reasons: (1) the geopolitical situation (in two phases: (a) 2014–2021; (b) after 24
February 2022); and (2) COVID-19.
Russia entered deglobalization in 2014 after the Crimea and the outbreak of
hostilities in the south-east of Ukraine (Donbass). Since 2014, the economic situ-
ation of the subnational regions of the Russian Federation has worsened and their
dependence on the central government has increased. At the same time, the center
began to push the regions to develop their economic ties with China and other
states in Asia. Indeed, the center provides advisory and information support to the
regions through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic
was a blow to Russian paradiplomacy. The economic situation further affected the
resource base for transnational relations. Many projects were frozen. Moreover,
after 24 February 2022 and a powerful Western sanctions strike, Russia’s isola-
tion in many areas became almost inevitable. While regions may adapt, the events
of 2022 around Ukraine raise the question of the existence of Russian paradiplo-
macy as an institution.
The megatrend of globalization has formed the Russian paradiplomacy. And
paradiplomacy has largely created Russian federalism. The reverse megatrend
– isolationism – has put this achievement at risk. The prospects for the return
of Russian regions to the international arena are now directly dependent on the
interstate relations, and a breakthrough is hardly possible because of economic
degradation and militarization of the political situation inside the country. If
the confrontation between Russia and the West can be overcome, then Russian
paradiplomacy can become a tool for further deconfliction. Russian subnational
relations with the states of the East and other regions of the Earth are still at a low
level in general.
Subnational actors in the context of megatrends 23
Integration – disintegration
Integration implies that a number of governments begin to create and to use com-
mon resources to be committed in the pursuit of certain common objectives and
that they do so by foregoing some of the factual attributes of sovereignty and
decision-making autonomy (Lindberg 1970). The representatives of the school of
functionalism stood at the origins of the theoretical understanding of integration
processes. Furthermore, neo-functionalists proposed a political spillover effect to
explain the importance of supranational and subnational actors in the integration,
as they create pressure for more integration to pursue their interests (Haas 1961).
Integration processes always imply the existence of interstate agreements, institu-
tionalization, and introduction of new norms and practices.
The research in the field of regional studies mainly touched upon the issues
of European economic integration. However, the change in the world order in
the 1980s–1990s strengthened worldwide regionalization, facilitating the entry
of sub-state governments and cities into the international scene. Integration of
states doesn’t not necessarily lead to the convergence of sub-state regions and
vice-versa, but often rapprochement of states stimulates international activism of
sub-state entities.
The ability of regions to interact internationally depends primarily on the
political and legal system of a given country (Raś 2021). Cooperation is possible
when there are opportunities and potential for implementing economic, social,
and intercultural relations. However, the blossoming of socioeconomic and cul-
tural interactions does not necessarily mean that territories converge in terms of
their structural characteristics: in many cases, the intensity of exchanges is linked
to the magnitude of socioeconomic disparities (Sohn 2013).
In the past decades, the reinforcement of regional integration mechanisms such
as the EU, the MERCOSUR, the USMCA (former NAFTA) and the ASEAN gave
opportunity for sub-state entities to enter new markets, develop infrastructure, and
attract human resources. Investors and skilled migrants think about places such
as cities and regions, rather than entire countries. Cities are now integrated into a
world city network of informational flows, knowledge and economic exchange.
For instance, most of the largest headquarters in Europe are located in the so-
called pentagon, an outstanding geographical zone of global economic integration
in Europe defined by the cities London–Paris–Milan–Munich–Hamburg.
While macro-regionalism creates new structures of opportunity, it also cre-
ates new constraints through economic integration and institutional building.
For its part, micro-regionalism reveals a significant ability for policy learning
and adaptation alongside sub-state governments (Cornago 2010). Establishment
of the MERCOSUR Advisory Forum of Municipalities, States, Provinces, and
Departments resulted in an institutional space for greater involvement of subna-
tional governments in the regional integration process. That is, the diffusion of the
integration process, from a paradiplomatic perspective, was an important element
for the incorporation of new actors, strengthening it and making it more open to
local demands (Filho 2013).
24 Sergey Arteev et al.
Geographic proximity is a key condition for integration; thus, the border loca-
tion is objectively conducive to greater international activity. In spatial terms, the
development of border cities is no longer necessarily confined to the boundaries
of national territories and increasingly concerns cross-border spaces (Sohn 2013).
It is difficult to infer that increasing economic integration provides a positive envi-
ronment for cross-border relations, but there is much data to ponder (Cornago
2010). Economic activities tend to concentrate in cross-border regions where geo-
graphical distance is moderate between major urban centers with good connectiv-
ity and favorable infrastructure.
Border territories can be highly integrated not only economically. For instance,
the twin cities of Valga (Estonia) and Valka (Latvia) facilitate provision of medi-
cal care through the sharing of hospital facilities. In general, there is a massive
amount of regional activity in Europe mainly due to the implementation of cross-
border programs regarded as a development policy tool within the overall context
of European integration. Another example is the Amazon Cooperation Treaty
Organization that brings together eight states sharing the vast Amazon basin and
develops a series of programs for border areas with specific impact on their com-
mon ecosystem.
Permeability is the essential characteristic of bordering. Modern borders are far
from being equally permeable to different flows and actors even within regional
blocs. Schengen cooperation has been one of the most debated European issues
since the migration flows into the EU increased in 2015. In 2016 the Solidarity
Cities initiative was launched to promote government cooperation on refugee
issues, including direct transfer of refugees between cities without state systems
intervening. The COVID-19 pandemic brought new difficulties for cross-border
movement, living, and cooperation. The states have used various strategies to deal
with the COVID-19, directed toward isolationism and restrictions affecting the
crossing state borders. For instance, the borders were closed even for countries of
the Schengen area, where previously they were very conditional.
Territorial disputes continue to affect the international relations of contigu-
ous states. Border relations are part of diplomatic discussions both in the African
Union and in the MERCOSUR (Brunet-Jailly 2022). In Asia, trade relations have
notably contributed to resolve border disputes and seem to continue to be a driver
of peaceful cross-border relations between China and its many neighbors.
Disintegration is a trend opposite to international integration, which means the
collapse of the existing unit and even break of diplomatic relations. Disintegration,
like integration, refers to the processes associated with interstate relations. The
experiences of the impact of disintegration can be economic, cultural, political.
Following Brexit, the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of
Ireland becomes an external EU border. Around half of respondents of the sur-
vey conducted among locals point to problems with the supply, delivery, and
general availability of goods (The Border after Brexit 2021). Current political
situation involving Russia and Ukraine has an impact on the implementation of
the CBC programs even if the programs are not directly under the sanctions set up
by the European Council. The European Commission recommended suspending
Subnational actors in the context of megatrends 25
payments, advances, or reimbursement, concerning Russian partners, and the
bans set to the Russian banking sector already largely prevent proceeding with
payments.1
The success of regions and cities integration in regional networks depends on
their accessibility, decision-making autonomy, global connectivity, and infra-
structure provision. Regional blocks are able to create an institutional framework
for sub-state units to maintain their organizational convergence by promoting the
adoption of common practices, information sharing, and coordination of actions
across borders.
Democratization – de-democratization
The last thirty years have witnessed a ‘third’ democratic wave throughout the
world (Huntington 1993). This megatrend brought many changes in the poli-
tics, public administration, and foreign policy of the states involved, each one
with consequences for subnational actors. However, from 2011 on, the wave of
democratization reached its peak and democracy has been either stagnating or
declining worldwide. By 2022, many countries that went through processes of
democratization now experienced de-democratization (or ‘backsliding’), affect-
ing all the spheres mentioned above. Examples from Latin America can illus-
trate these trends as the region has featured cases of sharp democratization and
de-democratization.
Democratization is relevant to subnational governments as it often involves
decentralization and devolution. For example, in Mexico, democratization in
the late 1990s brought an end to the Institutionalized Revolution Party (PRI in
Spanish) authoritarian rule. This transition rendered governors into more than del-
egates from the central authorities. Indeed, the scope for regional governments to
oppose and check federal power grew during those years, altering the relationship
between center and region (Haber et al. 2008).
For the regional governments of states under democratization, opportunities
to carry out external relations will likely increase. Democratization – with its
implied governance reform and participatory institutions – opened up the scope of
governors to engage in international affairs without restrictions they would have
found otherwise. Several channels opened up, such as the possibility to lobby the
central government in external relations matters and, most importantly, seek out
and implement partnerships abroad. At the same time, democratization implied
regional constituents – voters – pressuring governors to engage certain interna-
tional matters (Nganje 2014).
In Mexico’s case, federal laws were passed in the 1990s to give governors
a legal framework to enter agreements with foreign partners without the direct
involvement of federal authorities. Subnational authorities made full use of these
and other opportunities. For example, San Luis Potosi, a landlocked state in
central Mexico, actively pursued foreign investment, with foreign governments
opening representations in the region and foreign companies entering agreements
with the regional authorities. In short, democratization opened opportunities for
26 Sergey Arteev et al.
San Luis Potosi to exploit the opportunities that the former NAFTA agreement
opened.
However, de-democratization puts into question the continuation of these
trends. In fact, some scholars have called the ongoing trend of de-democratization
as a ‘third wave’ of autocratization, mainly affecting established democracies
and democratizing states (Lührmann and Lindberg 2019). Today’s de-democ-
ratization trend involves executive aggrandizement, and electoral manipulation
and harassment (Bermeo 2016). These processes often feature a legal facade and
are more gradual in nature than the sudden takeovers of the past (Lührmann and
Lindberg 2019).
Venezuela, for example, was a forerunner for those democratizing states that
gradually fell to those de-democratizing trends that would take over later in the
century (Corrales 2020). While Venezuela’s democracy in the 1990s was far
from ideal, the 2000s saw the gradual but constant erosion of democratic institu-
tions and the entrenchment in power of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela
(PSUV in Spanish). Venezuelan federalism similarly oscillated from attempts at
decentralization in the 1980s and 1990s to the re-centralization of authority in
the 2000s. Subnational governments saw the prospect of decentralization dashed
as the central government retained the highly centralized nature of Venezuelan
federalism in the 1999 constitution.
The consequences of today’s de-democratization for subnational governments
are not well studied but we can identify a few. The trend of executive aggrandize-
ment is particularly relevant as it involves attempts by the executive to undermine
checks on its power, such as that of subnational governments. Then, subnational
governments tend to engage in international relations with agendas that may not
entirely overlap with those of the central government, including on essential nor-
mative and symbolic matters (Cornago 2013, 118). This latter element can be a
point of contention with aggrandizing executive authorities, as they attempt to
consolidate their authority, with normative consequences along the way.
In Venezuela’s case, de-democratization was gradual but decisive. During
the period of authoritarian consolidation, electoral processes continued, giving
a facade of legal consistency. But, systematic irregularities were exploited early
on by the Fifth Republic Movement (Hugo Chavez’s party before the PSUV’s
creation) to tilt the established processes to the party’s favor from the early 2000s
onward (Corrales 2020). At the level of subnational governments, the political
trajectory of the country took over from other concerns. For instance, border
states actively engaged in cross-border relations with their neighbor regions in
the 1990s, even creating institutions such as the Colombian-Venezuelan Council
of Cross-Border Governors. This council ceased to operate in the 2000s as cen-
tralization took over and polarization pitted opposition regions against the central
government. Since then, opposition federal states remained focused on their bat-
tle against the PSUV’s consolidation and the PSUV-governed states focused on
policy implementation. In either case, de-democratization represented the closing
scope of Venezuela’s federal system along with the potential orientations that
subnational governments could take – abroad or at home.
Subnational actors in the context of megatrends 27
In sum, democratization implies a widening scope of action for governors and
an opening window of opportunity – at least domestically – to exploit the oppor-
tunities offered by the international system. De-democratization does not neces-
sarily represent a diametrically opposed trend but it does undermine the ability of
subnational governments to engage foreign partners autonomously.
Conclusion
Subnational governments are frequently thought as belonging exclusively to the
realm of a country’s domestic politics. Well-established patterns of international
institutions and law give a framework for states to cope with the world’s meg-
atrends. Subnational governments dispose of no similar frameworks as they are
each subject to those of their respective countries. Yet, this does not prevent sub-
national governments from participating in the larger trends that affect the world.
In this chapter, we examined several megatrends in three crucial dyads: globali-
zation–deglobalization (isolation), integration–disintegration, and democratiza-
tion–de-democratization. Some elements cut across each of these trends, such
as the role of institutional change, both inside states and at the level of multilat-
eral organizations. Moreover, it can be said that in these three dyads, one pole
tends to go with its counterparts found in the other two dyads. So, for instance,
democratization often – although not always – went along with globalization and
integration. Mexico’s case above illustrated these three trends meeting together in
facilitating the external relations of its federal states. There are also cases where
these trends do not meet. Brexit – for example – did not represent a case of de-
democratization and hardly did it represent deglobalization. But it does represent
a sharp case of de-integration, with multiple consequences for Northern Ireland
and the other constituent regions of the United Kingdom. In any case, it is not
possible to exclude subnational actors from megatrends.
Note
1 Information to the project beneficiaries of the Karelia CBC program. Retrieved from:
https://www.kareliacbc.fi/en/information-project-beneficiaries-karelia-cbc-pro-
gramme
References
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1–12, doi: 10.1080/10758216.2021.2009350
Arteev, S.P., & Lyamtseva, L.V. (2019). Mezhdunarodnye svyazi rossijskih regionov:
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gosudarstvennogo universiteta, 445, 82–87, doi: 10.17223/15617793/445/11 [Arteev,
S.P., Lyamtseva, L.V. (2019). International Relations of Russian Regions: Genesis and
28 Sergey Arteev et al.
Institutionalization (On the Example of the Komi Republic). Tomsk State University
Journal, 445, 82–87, doi: 10.17223/15617793/445/11] (In Russian).
Bermeo, N. (2016). On democratic backsliding. Journal of Democracy, 27(1), 5–19.
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Cornago, N. (1999). Diplomacy and paradiplomacy in the redefinition of international
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Diplomacy, 5(1–2), 11–36, doi: 10.1163/1871191x-05010102
Cornago, N. (2013). Plural diplomacies: Normative predicaments and functional
imperatives. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Corrales, J. (2020). Democratic backsliding through electoral irregularities. European
Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Revista Europea de Estudios
Latinoamericanos y del Caribe, 109, 41–65.
Filho, A. G. Y. (2013). Paradiplomacy and the diffusion of regional integration: An analysis
of the mercocidades network. Perspectives, 21(2), 83–95.
Haas, E. (1961). International integration: The European and the universal process.
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Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hayward, K., & Komarova, M. (Eds.). (2021). The Border after Brexit: Experiences
of Local Communities in the Central Border Region of Ireland / Northern Ireland.
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Huntington, S.P. (1993). The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century
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4 Megatrends and socio-humanitarian
resources of world politics
Leili Rustamova
DOI: 10.4324/9781003320944-4
30 Leili Rustamova
A number of sports organizations have already allowed for the demonstration
of political preferences, and this has led to the fact that sport has become an arena
for political battles between states and an instrument of sanctions pressure like
never before. Sports have been used to boycott some countries in the past, but
today’s trends are unprecedented. Nowadays the issue of political preferences,
and not just the sporting achievements, largely determines the admission of ath-
letes to sports competitions.
Politicization also affects those areas that seem far from politics: such as the
healthcare sector. This was most evident at the time of the coronavirus pandemic,
during which issues of access to a vaccine were determined by the willingness of
countries to improve their attitude toward the donor state, which was reflected in
such a relatively new term as vaccine diplomacy (Hotez, 2021).
In parallel with political science concepts that conceptualized the changes
taking place in world politics, economic concepts that explain the significance
of social and humanitarian resources and their advantage over others began to
appear. In 2011, the German scholar Klaus Schwab introduced the concept of
the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, which states the transition to a new social
formation, in the center of which is the human and human capital, actively
developing information technologies. Information technologies have become
the capital on which the economic development of advanced countries is based
(Schwab, 2016). They help to form an information society, in which non-state
actors, thanks to modern information and communication technologies, get
ample opportunities to participate in political life and enter the international
arena. The fact that man and his creative potential today are at the center of new
economic processes has become another reason that the social and humanitarian
sphere is so significant.
Technological changes and the human agenda have empowered actors operat-
ing in the social and humanitarian sphere: scientists, cultural figures, influential
athletes, journalists, INGOs, TNCs, think tanks. They have gained ample oppor-
tunities to limit the state’s monopoly on almost all issues that were previously
within the state’s exclusive competence, contributing to pluralism and democra-
tization of international relations in general.
States have also largely abandoned direct intervention in the work of such
actors and do not regulate most social and humanitarian issues, recognizing the
importance of non-state actors operating in them. Thus, environmental INGOs
actively keep records of biodiversity on the planet, human rights INGOs ensure
the protection of human rights, annually compiling ratings of countries and fixing
offenses on their part. The influence and significance of INGOs is recognized by
the UN, which includes them in its leading structures as observers. One of the
main bodies, ECOSOC, is authorized to give them a consultative status, which
allows them to give expert advice to countries and express their opinion on issues
within their sphere of interest, as well as act as an early warning agent on exist-
ing and new challenges and threats. The list of their powers is quite long and it
includes, inter alia, control over the observance of international rules and norms,
and promotion of codification process of the international law norms.1 At the
Megatrends and socio-humanitarian resources 31
moment 5,593 organizations have a consultative status, giving them full opportu-
nities to promote their vision of political processes.2
Thus, the intervention of actors of the social and humanitarian sphere in politi-
cal issues, promotion of their agenda and assessments of countries’ foreign policy
through their principles has led to the fact that categories related to issues of more
morality than politics prevail in world politics today.
Notes
1 Working with ECOSOC. An NGOs Guide to Consultative Status. United Nations.
New York, 2018. Retrieved from: http://csonet.org/content/documents/ECOSOC
%20Brochure_2018_Web.pdf
2 NGO Branch. Official UN website. Retrieved from: http://csonet.org
3 FIFA. Financial report. 2018. Retrieved from: https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m
/337fab75839abc76/original/xzshsoe2ayttyquuxhq0-pdf.pdf
4 O strategicheskih napravlenijah razvitija evrazijskoj jekonomicheskoj integracii do
2025 g. (2020, December 11). [On strategic directions for the development of Eurasian
economic integration until 2025]. Retrieved from: https://docs.eaeunion.org/docs/ru-ru
/01428320/scd_12012021_12 (In Russian).
References
Hotez, P.J. (2021). Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-
science. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of My sweetheart's
the Man in the Moon
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and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
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you are located before using this eBook.
Language: English
Illustrated by STALLMAN
Jeanne laughed softly. "Talk about your prostitution," she said, half-
aloud.
"Huh? What say?" Effusive with enthusiasm, Lubrano hardly heard
her.
"Nothing. Nothing. It's been interesting, Dan." She stood up, led him
to the door. "Let me think about it. I've got to think."
"Say, wait a minute." Almost, Lubrano seemed indignant. "You
looked all hepped up about it, honey—why the quick freeze? If you
think you can do this yourself without help from me, you've got
another guess coming. I've got the contacts, you've got the name we
want to sell. You can't do it alone. A fifty-fifty split, straight down the
middle."
Mechanically, Jeanne's mind went to work. Also mechanically, she
spoke. "Fifty-fifty baloney. You get twenty-five per cent, Mr. Lubrano,
and not another penny. You must take me for a yokel."
"Forty."
"I said twenty-five."
"All right. All right. There's still enough in it for me. Twenty-five per
cent. Meet me tomorrow morning at my—"
"That's if I decide the idea is worthwhile," Jeanne said, pushing him
across the door-sill and watching him retreat reluctantly down the
walk to the street.
When Mom and the others asked Jeanne later, she was the picture
of co-operation. She told them everything about Mr. Lubrano and his
pleasant interview. She told them nothing about Dan and his not-so-
fantastic plans.
Jeanne excused herself after dinner, her mind seething with proposal
and counter-proposal, and went upstairs to her room, but found
sleep impossible. Was it fair to Tom, capitalizing on whatever
feelings they had for each other? Was it fair to herself? If Lubrano
had his way, a glorified Hollywood love would result. Jeanne and
Tom would be adopted by the nation as its favorite lovers. Their
faces would grace pop-bottles, sipping cola together in an infinite
regress of progressively smaller bottles. Their forms would loll on all
the beach billboards, proclaiming in the latest, brightest colors that
the Man in the Moon and his girl-friend insisted on Sunburst bathing
suits. And Jeanne would be waiting with her Chlorogate toothpaste
smile for her lover to return from the infinite distances.
When he returned, nothing would be left. Commercial love, exploited
love, hounded love, a cheap, impossible, publicized and doomed-to-
failure marriage, if Tom ever allowed it to go that far.
"Phooey on you, Jeanne Peterson!" Jeanne said aloud, and sat up in
bed, surprised at the loudness of her own voice. She was imagining
things. It wouldn't be as bad as all that. Exploitation for a few months
—and a small fortune, if not the great wealth that Dan promised. And
the physical comforts made possible by whatever she earned would,
over a period of time, smother Tom's anger.
Still, the one honest emotional experience which somehow had
penetrated deeper than the veneer she exposed to the world had
been her relationship with Tom. But she could make money, make
herself happy, make Tom happy—if not immediately on his return
then eventually. But....
Soon after the milkman pulled his truck to the curb down on the
corner, Jeanne fell asleep.
"Hold it! Hold it!" The agency director of photography, a small, round
man with a thin voice, waved the photographer off his camera
impatiently and scowled at Jeanne. "You're a nice girl, Miss
Peterson. That's a nice nightgown, filmy, but not so filmy it won't get
by the censors. You got a nice figure and the country will love you.
So why don't you be a nice model too?
"That ain't just a mattress you're on, Miss Peterson. How many times
I gotta tell you that's the mattress you're waiting for Tom on? 'I miss
Tom so, I'd never sleep, thinking of him so helpless and far away, the
first Man in the Moon. Except for my Beautysleep mattress which
induces sleep with its special inner-spring construction.' I ain't no
copy-writer, Miss Peterson, but it will be something like that. So,
cuddle up on that mattress like it will have to do till Tom comes home
from the moon. Cuddle nice, Miss Peterson, cuddle nice."
It took Jeanne exactly fifty-five minutes longer before she could
cuddle nice. They then took the picture in a matter of seconds, and
Jeanne was allowed to change into her street clothes. Hurrying, she
was only fifteen minutes late for her luncheon engagement with
Lubrano.
"Three months," Lubrano said, after they'd settled themselves over
cocktails. "Not bad, honey. Know how much we grossed, including
the Beautysleep account?"
"Yes," Jeanne told him. "Twenty-eight thousand, three hundred and
four dollars."
"Not bad," said Lubrano. "It takes the right kind of press, naturally.
That's me, honey, the right kind of press."
"Yes," said Jeanne. "We're a good combination, Dan. You're right, it
can't miss."
"Funny, you never sound excited about it."
"Maybe that's the way I am. I don't excite easily. So what?"
"So nothing." Lubrano began cutting his pork tenderloin.
"What's next on the agenda?" Jeanne wanted to know. "Maybe I
lasso the moon with smoke rings blown from Buccaneer cigarettes?"
"Maybe you do eventually. Not right now. Right now you have to hop
a plane for New Mexico and have a chat with the boyfriend."
"What?" Jeanne felt something flip-flop madly in the pit of her
stomach. "Dan! Oh, Dan!"
"That's right, honey. Through the courtesy of 'Hands Across the
Ocean,' sponsored by Cleopatra Complexion Soap. A radio
broadcast across a quarter of a million miles of space to re-unite you
and Tommy boy. At least, for three minutes."
"Oh, Dan, Dan—that's wonderful." Jeanne stood up, removed the
napkin from her lap. "If I hurry home and pack I can make a night
plane and be in New Mexico by—"
"Whoa. Relax, honey, there's no rush. The show is tomorrow night,
11 P.M. our time. I've booked your reservation for the morning."
"I'm too excited to eat, Dan. Really. But thanks for everything."
Jeanne bent down as Lubrano prepared to attack his tenderloin
again. She kissed his forehead playfully, turned to leave.
Someone snickered, "That's the moon girl, I think. I thought her
boyfriend was way up there. Another cheap publicity stunt."
"Careful," Dan frowned. "So you're happy. Don't go around ruining
everything."
Still smiling, Jeanne left.
Ten minutes later, Pate arrived. He was young, florid of face, and
looked like he'd soon have a bad case of high blood pressure if he
didn't already have it. He waved a hand carelessly at the general.
Too carelessly. Like he was a recently discharged enlisted man who
felt he didn't have to bow and scrape any more.
"You're Jeanne. Recognize you anywhere. Like to tell your Tom he
has good taste."
"Fine," said Jeanne. "Tell him anything you want. I'm not speaking."
"Ha, ha. Good joke."
"It's no joke, Mr. Pate. I won't recite any prepared speech. I
absolutely refuse."
"Say that again. No, don't bother." Pate's brick-red face assumed the
color of good claret wine. "Not ordinary, this. You probably thought
we wouldn't reimburse you. Five thousand dollars all right?"
"Please, Mr. Pate. I came here to talk with Tom. I want to talk, not
recite. Tear up your speech and I'll do it for nothing."
"Can't."
"Don't, then. Good-bye."
"Wait! General, can't you do something?"
"She's not under my jurisdiction. I told her you know your business
and she was being—shall we say—something less than sensible."
"General! You never said anything like that. Don't you think I have a
right to speak to my fiance?"
"There's something to what you both say." Now the general sounded
like he was talking from a prepared speech. If it's a matter of
publicity, never hurt anyone's feelings. Straddle that fence. Walk that
tight-rope.
"Well, I'll be damned," said Pate. "Show's got to go on. Is that final,
Miss Peterson?"
"You can bet your bottom dollar on it, as the expression goes."
Jeanne almost felt like smiling, despite the situation.
"Don't say anything unprintable, then. Tear up your speech. We've
got to. See you in two hours." Muttering a brief word or two, Pate left,
not bothering to say good-bye to the general.
The general grinned professionally at Jeanne. "Any time I can be of
further assistance...."