Global economic progress in a fragmented world

Abstract

Over the past decade, the global economy has experienced a number of overlapping crises, so we are increasingly talking about poly-crises, which are difficult to predict and affect economic progress. Regional integration has turned into an essential determinant of globalization processes. In the context of scientific discussions on the main transformation features of the modern global political system, global and regional studies certainly remain relevant, especially considering the fact that regionalization processes have acquired the status of an independent analysis level, while geopolitics and geo-economics have acquired a fundamentally new capacity of impact on global processes. The article aims to examine the impact of the fragmentation of the world economy on global economic progress. The peculiarities of economic development in conditions of fragmentation and its impact on global economic progress are identified. The interdisciplinary nature of global economic fragmentation is outlined. The article argues that the impact of fragmentation on economic progress is negative for the global economy, which is in crisis after decades of increasing economic integration. The conceptual approaches to the geopolitical role and economic capacity of actors involved in the processes of ensuring global economic progress are examined. Fragmentation and its connection with regionalization processes in the global economy are analyzed. The fact that the disruption of trade relations will affect low-income countries the most is emphasized. The article reveals that fragmentation has increased under the impact of crisis phenomena, namely the 2008–2009 global financial crisis, trade wars, sanctions policy, disintegration processes in the EU, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the russian war in Ukraine. The functions of interregional interaction are determined. The article notes that the institutionalization of the global system promotes the expansion of full-fledged cooperation, the development of principles and rules of interaction, and the search for optimal ways to solve global problems and combine the resources of the parties involved more efficiently. The global export of goods, services, and financial flows is analyzed considering the pace of globalization.