Julio-Diciembre 2015

Vol. 5 No. 2

Octubre-diciembre 2024

Vol. 14 No. 3

Vovk, Denyshchenko et all / El lugar de la violencia armada en el espacio político

881

Interacción y Perspectiva Dep. Legal pp 201002Z43506

Revista de Trabajo Social ISSN 2244-808X

Vol. 14 N

Octubre-diciembre

ARTÍCULO DE INVESTIGACIÓN

El lugar de la violencia armada en el espacio político: dimensiones micro,

meso y macro

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11206007

Svitlana Vovk*, Denys Denyshchenko**, Andrii Kokhanovskyi***, Oleksandr

Kabysh**** y Taras Feshchuk*****

Resumen

El propósito del estudio es analizar la violencia armada en el espacio político, a nivel del

estado, a nivel de una región separada y a nivel geopolítico. La tarea de este trabajo es

estudiar el tema de la violencia armada en el espacio político: micro-, meso- y macro-

dimensiones. Los métodos utilizados en la investigación fueron: método de análisis,

sistémico, comparativo, estructural-funcional. La hipótesis del estudio es el supuesto de

que la violencia armada es un medio de control de un determinado espacio político, que

permite cubrir a las masas políticas con sus propias fronteras nacionales o convertirlas

en un ámbito de dominación. Está comprobado que la violencia armada conduce a la

desintegración del espacio político-estatal, socioeconómico y, en cierta medida, cultural

y espiritual. Se señala el grado de influencia de la violencia armada en las

transformaciones políticas que tienen lugar en el espacio micro, meso y macropolítico.

Palabras clave: violencia armada, transformaciones políticas, microespacio político,

mesoespacio político, macroespacio político.

Abstract

The place of armed violence in the political space: micro-, meso- and macro-

dimensions

The purpose of the study is to analyse armed violence in the political space, at the state,

separate region, and geopolitical level. The task of this work is to study the issue of

armed violence in the political space: micro-, meso- and macro-dimensions. The

hypothesis of the study is the assumption that armed violence is a means of a certain

political space control. Micro-levels of political, meso-level of political space, political

macro-space is analysed in details. It has been proven that armed violence leads to the

disintegration of the state-political, socio-economic, and to some extent cultural and

spiritual space. The degree of influence of armed violence on political transformations

that take place in the micro, meso, and macro political space is noted. It is indicated

that the consequences of armed violence or the threat of its use, as a rule, occur

suddenly, unlike other forms of violence.

Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N

3 / octubre-diciembre, 2024

882

Keywords: armed violence, political transformations, political microspace, political

mesospace, political macrospace.

Recibido: 12/03/2024 Aceptado: 29/04/2024

* Doctor of Political Sciences, Head of Department of Political Science and Law, Luhansk Taras Shevchenko

National University, Poltava, Ukraine. Email: lanasvitvovk@gmail.com . ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-

6171-4782

** PhD., Student of the Third Level of Higher Education Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University, Poltava,

Ukraine. Email: denishenko79@gmail.com . ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0826-7231

*** PhD., Student of the Third Level of Higher Education Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University,

Poltava, Ukraine. Email: andrijkoh6@gmail.com . ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0094-5966

**** PhD., Student of the Third Level of Higher Education Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University,

Poltava, Ukraine. Email: akabysh@ukr.net . ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9017-0266

***** PhD., Student of the Third Level of Higher Education Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University,

Poltava, Ukraine. Email: feschuk.t@gmail.com . ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6823-794X

1. Introduction

Violence remains a key sign of world political map transformations and the factors

influencing socio-political relations, shaping the political order, or leading to political

turbulence. The struggle for hegemony in the world space, the attempts to establish,

promote and consolidate their initiatives and rules within a single state or a region

become more violent and refined, and the priority is still given to brute force and

weapons. Armed violence remains one of the means of political processes influence

taking place in a certain political space (Andersson et al., 2022; Leitsinger & Tolan, 2014;

Shmorgun, 2015). During the topic evaluation, it is worth identifying the authors and

their works on which this study was based. Mezhenska and Vovk (2017) as well as to

point to a military coup as a violent way of reformatting power in the state, which

remains a frequent phenomenon in politics aimed at overthrowing the current or civilian

regime and changing the subjects of state power.

It always involves the use of weapons and results in human casualties. A form

of armed violence in a coup is the so-called military coup, putsch, pronunciamento, which

is the interference of the military in the process of political governance of the state; a

type of attempt to seize power by military formations. As a result of such a seizure of

power, political governance in the country is transferred to the military; they introduce

a state of emergency in the country, restrict civil rights and freedoms, and launch

repressions against opponents of the military regime (Mezhenska & Vovk, 2017).

Kravchenko (2015) draws attention to the spread of private armed violence, which

occurs with the consent of the state, by transferring certain security functions to private

military companies.

This type of armed violence is associated with various kinds of interventions in

the form of military missions of peacekeeping, peace enforcement, and peace building.

In the context of growing aggressive attitudes in societies that see globalisation agents

Vovk, Denyshchenko et all / El lugar de la violencia armada en el espacio político

883

as their main enemies, armed violence is becoming a global threat to the international

political space. The issue of armed violence has become particularly relevant in the

process of formalising the post-Soviet geopolitical order and shaping the political spaces

of the newly created states that emerged from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

(hereinafter referred to as the USSR). This problem has been the subject of study in

many scholars’ scientific works. The essence consequences of civil war and coup d'état

as forms of armed violence Brik (2019), their role in addressing the geopolitical interests

of global and regional policy actors, and their impact on the transformation of the political

system have been the subject of a study by Mezhenska and Vovk (2017).

Research Problem

In the modern political space, there is a significant escalation or renewal of frozen

armed conflicts of varying degrees of intensity, different in scale and consequences of

local and hybrid wars. The scale and intensity of destructive activities of international

terrorist organisations are increasing. Armed violence remains a pejorative means of

influencing political processes in a certain political space (Bilal, 2021).

Research Focus

In view of the above, the relevant research is focused on determining the place

of armed violence in the political space of a particular state or region, as well as in the

international arena.

Armed violence “is identified with any force used against an individual, group,

population, state, or usurpation, forced restriction of freedom” (Huseinov, 1992):

aggression, wars, sabotage, coup d'état, armed conflict, interventions, deployment of

military bases on foreign territories, border provocations, revolutions, terror, which are

characterised by pathological manifestations and consequences.

Research Aim and Research Questions

The purpose of the study is to analyse armed violence in the political space, at

the level of the state, at the level of a particular region, and at the geopolitical level. The

hypothesis of the study is the assumption that politicians, scholars, and experts associate

political space with the territory of the state or its separate administrative units, which

are subject to legitimate management and control of various state institutions and the

zone of influence of non-state structures. The political space is a kind of field of political

gravity of various socio-political forces.

Therefore, the study of armed violence should be considered from the perspective

of political actors in the following dimensions: local and regional - micro and meso-level,

and, accordingly, global (geopolitical) - macro-level. Since the political life of society is

influenced by objective and subjective factors, it is imperative to take them into account

when determining the place of armed violence in the political space, which is a

component of political life.

2. Research Methodology

Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N

3 / octubre-diciembre, 2024

884

 General Background

The objective factors of the study of armed violence in the political space are: the

processes of globalisation and regionalisation, political transformation, systemic and

functional components and statistical indicators of the dead and wounded, people forced

to leave their places of residence/refugees, and the scale of destruction. The subjective

factors include the interests of political actors, their goals, political determinants of

armed violence, and its consequences. With these important research subjects in mind,

this paper aims to illuminate gun violence in the political sphere through the use of

qualitative data analysis. The methodology of interpretation of the selected sources was

based on a complex content analysis, which was used systematically and step by step.

 Sample, Instruments and Procedure

The selection of documentary sources was based on clearly defined criteria.

1. Relevance of the research. Preference was given to studies that shed light on the

phenomenon of gun violence based on the introduction of new and relevant data.

2. Relevance of the topic. Research should address various aspects of the

development of armed violence.

3. Availability of a broad research methodology. Preference was given to sources in

which the course of the research was covered in detail, and the main methods of

interpreting the sources were characterized.

4. Agreement with the purpose of the study. Each source has been evaluated to see

if it is consistent with the goals and objectives of this work.

1. After using these criteria to select the most relevant works, additional criteria were

developed that take into account the chronological and geographical perspective.

Chronological criteria:

 Preference was given to modern relevant literature from 2010. However, some

fundamental works were also used, which explain the very phenomenon of armed

violence through the prism of theoretical and methodological study.

 The chronological framework of the study covers the period from the beginning of

the 20th century to the present day. The focus is on a selection of sources that

analyze the Bolshevik coup, the First World War, the Second World War, and modern

wars and conflicts in various regions. Thus, the work characterizes the phenomenon

of armed violence in different time periods in order to highlight the development of

approaches to its interpretation in scientific discourse.

Vovk, Denyshchenko et all / El lugar de la violencia armada en el espacio político

885

Geographical criteria:

 Attention is drawn to the literature that analyzes the phenomenon of armed violence

in different parts of the world. Therefore, the main focus is on Ukraine, Cambodia,

Belarus, Sudan, Vietnam and China. Also, the main attention is paid to the problem

of the functioning of terrorism in such countries as the United States, the United

Kingdom, Spain, Israel, the Russian Federation.

 The focus of the selection of documentary sources is also directed to certain regions

that suffer from wars and conflicts: Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Transcaucasia.

Moreover, there are a number of methodological approaches studying and

determining the consequences of certain political phenomena. With the regard to armed

violence, one recommends to use the criteria proposed by Schmitt (1999), namely:

1. - Severity. The nature of the use of armed violence, the involvement of civilians in

the struggle, the range of participants and weapons, etc;

2. - Immediacy. This criterion determines the speed of the use of armed violence and

the onset of consequences;

3. - Directness. What does the use of violence lead to, what are the consequences for

the state, region, or international relations, how are legal norms violated?

4. - Invasiveness. The degree and scope of violent armed intervention by one state

or several states in the internal affairs of another state (aggression, invasion,

intervention)

5. - Measurability is determined by the extent of measurable consequences of armed

violence, such as the amount of destruction, demographic data, and damage

ratio;

6. - Presumptive legitimacy means that the use of armed violence is assessed from

the standpoint of domestic or international law

Data Analysis

Qualitative analysis of selected documentary sources is based on hermeneutics and

content analysis. In particular, hermeneutics was used to explain individual texts in a

political-military sense. Using hermeneutics, the authors of this work aimed to determine

the deep meanings found in the selected sources. Such analysis included the stage of

contextual analysis - the study of armed violence based on the study of different cultures

Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N

3 / octubre-diciembre, 2024

886

and periods. At the same time, critical reflection was also important, which involved a

critical attitude toward the selected documentary sources and an assessment of their

relevance, representativeness, and reliability. In order to process the received sources,

content analysis was also used, which involved a detailed study of information based on

the principles of systematicity and criticality. After that, the results obtained using the

above-mentioned research approaches and methods were integrated.

3. Research Results

The political space micro-level

The policy of “red terror” became the basis of the Soviet government's policy, which

was launched by the Bolsheviks immediately after the October Revolution of 1917

(Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, n.d.).

The victims of Bolshevik crimes committed by various structures of the new

government in 1918-1919 alone were 1,766,118 people. Representatives of religion

(bishops, clergymen), the academic elite (professors, teachers), doctors, officers,

soldiers, and representatives of law enforcement agencies (police officers, police agents)

were murdered. Landlords, workers, peasants, and intellectuals were also killed. The

terror of 1917-1919 became a tool for the Bolsheviks to retain power in the occupied

territories, the basis of the communist totalitarian regime throughout its existence

(Ukrainian Institute of National Memory).

It was aimed at: the mass destruction of combat-ready and unreliable elements;

the elimination of opponents of Bolshevism, political opponents; intimidation of the

population, and suppression of anti-Bolshevik uprisings. The next large-scale campaign

of mass extermination of citizens, which was launched in the USSR in 1937-1938 on the

initiative of the USSR leadership and J. Stalin personally, went down in history as the

“Great Terror”. Its goal consisted of two parallel operations: one against peasants,

former kulaks, former parties, priests, and believers, and the other against so-called

national lines. During the period of the “Great Terror,” historians estimate that more

than 260,000 Ukrainians were killed in the Ukrainian SSR alone, about two-thirds of

them were shot (Shtohrin, 2020).

The consequences of the communist terror in Ukraine included the destruction of

the political, artistic, and scientific elite, deformation of social ties, destruction of

traditional value orientations, spread of social depression, and denationalisation. The

unspoken principles of state governance formed by J. Stalin and continued by the leaders

of totalitarian states, which legalised the right to violence in the state, became

established:

- A people can be qualitatively governed if the only method of governance is terror;

- The terror is not only a means of exterminating the unruly but also a means of

subjugating the social masses;

Vovk, Denyshchenko et all / El lugar de la violencia armada en el espacio político

887

The victims of the genocide in Cambodia in 1975-1979, organised by the military

forces of the Communist Party, which seized power and established a totalitarian Maoist-

nationalist political regime, were the middle class, urban population, ethnic and religious

minorities, and all those who expressed at least the slightest disagreement with the

Khmer Rouge's policies. In total, 25% of the urban population and 15% of the rural

population were killed. The overall estimate of the number of victims, including those

who died of starvation, ranges from 1.7-2.2 million (Karen, Palian). The result of the

idea of “one loyal million” was a complete cultural and economic decline. It led to an

aggravation of the political situation and civil war.

The struggle of the Ukrainian people for democratic values (2013-2014), against

the establishment of an authoritarian regime, began with political protest and ended with

the use of armed violence. The determinants of this confrontation were the aggravation

of the political, economic, and social crisis in the last years of Yanukovych's rule. The

Maidan events themselves showed the world that Ukrainians are ready to actively shape

their political life, that they are willing to fight for their rights and defend democratic

values. It should be recognised that fundamental political transformations took place

that brought Ukraine to a qualitatively different level of politics: the Association

Agreement was signed and implemented; the Ukrainian party system underwent

changes; the public demand for renewal of the country's political system was partially

met; the prime ministerial-presidential model was restored (return to the 2004

Constitution was among the key demands of the protesters), etc.

The struggle for their rights continues in Belarus. An attempt to express distrust in

the election results in Belarus on the night of August 10, 2020, ended in a violent

dispersal of protesters. The protests were unsuccessful, but in case of “mass unrest”,

the legislature allowed the army to be involved in suppressing the protests, introduce a

state of emergency, and use the armed forces to suppress them (Radio Svoboda, 2021).

Unfortunately, Belarus remains an authoritarian, police state led by a dictator.

For example, the self-proclaimed government of Myanmar, created by pro-

democratic politicians in parallel with the junta that seized power in a February coup

(November 2020), declared “war” on the military leadership. The nationwide uprising

(February 14-March 27, 2020) was suppressed by gunfire. Journalists and human rights

activists estimate that more than 400 demonstrators have been killed in the

confrontation since February 1 (Shchur, 2021).

Another type of armed violence within the state is civil war. In this case, military

actions can be both limited in nature (Ireland - 1919-1921; China - 1927-1950; Algeria

- 1991-2002) and determine the entire socio-political life of the state over a long

historical period (the conflict in South Sudan is one of the longest ethno-political conflicts

in Africa, which led to two bloody civil wars (1955-1972), 1983 - 2005); Sudan - the

struggle for the distribution of power, government positions and seats in the parliament

between different ethnic groups in the country (1983-2005); Lebanon - civil war between

religious communities, clans, etc. (1975-1990). Civil war within the state is aimed at

destabilising the internal political situation, overthrowing the constitutional order, or

fighting against the mafia and gangs (Vovk, 2017).

Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N

3 / octubre-diciembre, 2024

888

Political space meso-level

Regional armed conflicts arise on the basis of historical, territorial, economic,

political, interethnic, and other contradictions between neighbouring states or different

socio-political groups for a sphere of influence in a particular territory, for example:

Transcaucasia, the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Karabakh (1992 - present); conflicts

in the Kodori Gorge (2001, 2006); Africa, Algeria (1991-2002), Libya (2011-present),

Sierra Leone (1991-2002), Côte d'Ivoire (2002-2007); Middle East: Israeli-Palestinian

conflict (2008-2009); Lebanon (2011-2017), Iraqi-Kurdish conflict (2017); Europe,

Albanian-Macedonian conflict (2001) and others.

The Russian-Ukrainian war is a war of a new type of violence, or low-intensity

conflict, which has been called a “hybrid war,” a local war. OHCHR estimates that the

total number of human casualties related to the conflict in Ukraine (from April 14, 2014,

to January 31, 2021) is 42,000-44,000: 13100-13300 dead (at least 3374 civilians,

approximately 5700 members of armed groups); and 29500-33500 wounded (7000-

9000 civilians, 9700-10700 Ukrainian military and 12700-13700 members of armed

groups), nearly two million Ukrainians forced to seek new housing, the Office of the UN

High Commissioner for Refugees (Radio Svoboda) reported. As a result of the

deployment of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, the work of the judicial system has been

hampered, as many institutions have been virtually paralysed (Gorinov & Mereniuk,

2022).

Political macro space

A world war is a war of large coalitions, blocs, or states alliances, which directly

or indirectly involves all the leading powers of the world, and which extends to all or

most of the continents and waters. World wars are long-lasting, pursue large-scale goals,

and, when they become global, are accompanied by great destruction and numerous

losses of armed forces and civilians. History knows two world wars that took place during

the twentieth century: The First World War of 1914-1918 and the Second World War of

1939-1945.

The First World War (1914-1918) was a long-armed struggle between the most

powerful geopolitical players for the conquest and/or preservation of colonies, for new

markets, for sea trade routes, and for the expansion of political and economic influence.

The war involved 38 countries. The First World War marked the end of the old-world

order that emerged after the Napoleonic Wars and laid the groundwork for the Second

World War and has a direct impact on modern armed conflicts.

The Second World War of 1939-1945 is an example of a global armed conflict, a

large-scale external, organised, collective armed violence involving 61 countries (80%

of the world's population), with hostilities taking place on the territories of 40 of them.

110 million civilians were mobilised into military formations. In the macro-political

dimension, World War II led to a complete change in the system of international

relations, to the redistribution of political and economic forces and spheres of influence

in the world. Most importantly, it transformed the system of international relations from

multipolar to bipolar.

Vovk, Denyshchenko et all / El lugar de la violencia armada en el espacio político

889

Such hegemons as Germany, Italy, Japan, France, and to a large extent the United

Kingdom have weakened their positions. The United States entered the world political

arena, and by the end of the war, it was the richest and strongest country in both

economic and military terms (until 1949, the United States had a monopoly on nuclear

weapons). The role of the USSR increased, as despite being exhausted by the war, it

was the winner in the war and occupied a large part of Europe at the end of the war. In

addition, in 1949, the USSR created its own nuclear weapons. As a result, two poles of

power were formed around which other states grouped.

After the end of World War II, the planet was shaken by more than one armed

confrontation that caused destruction and massive casualties. The bloodiest in Asia was

the Vietnam War of 1955(57)-1975. About 4 million people died in the war between

North Communist Vietnam, supported by the USSR and China, and South Vietnam,

supported by the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea. A unified

country under the rule of the Communist Party of Vietnam appeared on the world political

scene. In the Afghan war, which has been going on since 1978 (about 2 million victims),

the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988 (more than a million dead), the Korean war of 1950-

1953 (about 2 million victims), and others (SIPRI, 2016: 204). The danger of these wars

is that they continue mainly due to “foreign hands”, supported by rebel groups, private

military campaigns that exist outside the international law of warfare.

At the micro level of the political space, armed violence should be divided by its

essential characteristics into violence initiated by state structures and violence initiated

by groups of the population that differ in size and socio-political characteristics. In the

first case, state institutions and other political actors (political parties, blocs, government

and administration bodies, party functionaries, government officials, etc.) resort to

armed violence. Violence in this case is legitimised by the state and can be both collective

(repression, terror, genocide) and individual (elimination of individual political figures

who pose a threat).

This type is characteristic for states with non-democratic political regimes. In turn,

as for democratic countries, it is proposed, for example, in the European Union

(hereinafter referred to as the EU) to resolve issues and prevent the use of weapons and

armed violence - a coalition of national parliaments, taking into account the principle of

subsidiarity in resolving disputes and conflict situations, which will contribute to the

effective distribution of powers between different authorities to resolve a particular issue

for EU member states (Kumar, 2021).

As for terror as a type of armed violence in the political space, its goal is to create

in the minds of the people total fear, powerlessness, and slavish obedience to the power

of the state (Badrak, 2010). In the “interests of the state”, all law enforcement agencies

had the right to use any punitive and repressive methods, including criminal methods

that violated human rights and deprived people of their lives (Rezvorovych et.al., 2023).

Stalin's terror and political repression became a method of subjugating the

population in the state, a way to devalue the value of human life in totalitarianism, and

a way to assert the supremacy of state rights over human freedom. Thus, terror and

Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N

3 / octubre-diciembre, 2024

890

genocide are large-scale forms of unilateral, collective armed violence against national,

ethnic, racial, or religious groups and political and ideological opponents.

It has been proven that a powerful totalitarian ideology promoted violence and

isolation. And the use of armed violence and mass extermination became a method of

exercising control over society for many decades in many countries of the world.

Regardless of the type of armed violence that takes place within a particular state, it

leads to the disintegration of the state-political, socio-economic, and to some extent

cultural and spiritual space and has tragic consequences at the cost of human life.

The meso-level of the political space includes all meso-subprocesses at the regional

level, both political events in the regions and the interaction of central and local

authorities with regional authorities in terms of policy-making in a particular region, the

formation of regional elites, and political systems.

Most armed conflicts in the early 21st century are internal conflicts where the

central government of a state is opposed by an ethnic, social, or religious group of its

own population. Armed conflicts are usually sudden, without an official declaration of

hostilities, and their political goals are rather limited. They are characterised by the

involvement of limited armed forces, conventional warfare with a constant threat of more

powerful means of destruction. The danger of armed conflicts is that they become

protracted, tend to expand both in terms of participants and territorial scope, involve

civilians or become victims of armed violence, and have unpredictable political, socio-

economic, and demographic consequences.

Armed border clashes between two or more states affecting their political,

economic, national, territorial, ethnic-confessional, and other interests, characterised by

narrow political goals, limited spatial scope of warfare, participation of small troops

(forces), and the use of conventional weapons are identified as local wars (Siryi, 2006;

Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, 2019; Ukrinform, 2021).

The purpose of local wars by the aggressor country is usually to deprive the

opponent of independence, depriving it of political subjectivity as an independent

international player; to deprive it of subjectivity in resolving internal issues

(administrative division, language, faith, etc.); and to destroy national identity. Despite

the strict prohibition on the use of armed forces, the use of armed violence in the

international political arena remains a reality that must be taken into account.

Political macro space

The main political actors using armed violence are nation-states, empires, and

global corporations. The struggle is for natural resources, for geographical/territorial

space, which is actually a struggle for real survival and improvement of the quality of

life of the country, for zones of economic and political influence. The struggle of states

for the expansion of their common geopolitical space is conducted almost exclusively by

military force.

Today, there are different forms of warfare (world wars (mostly between several

coalitions), regional wars, local wars, interstate wars (including low-intensity ones), wars

between a state and a coalition, foreign intervention, civil war (of various intensity levels,

including external intervention).

Vovk, Denyshchenko et all / El lugar de la violencia armada en el espacio político

891

International armed conflicts are a type of armed violence close to war.

“Armed/military/war/conflict”, “hot spots”, “trans nationalised insurgency”,

“internationalised armed conflict” (IISS) (Brick, 2019), and others should be understood

as a specific type of interaction in which the interests of social actors, such as individuals,

groups, strata, classes, and nations, intersect.

Armed intervention is a special type of armed violence characterised by

interference in the internal affairs of other states by sending troops, using lethal and

non-lethal weapons, or threatening to use them, by one or more states in the internal

affairs of other states and directed against their territorial integrity, sovereignty, political

independence (Hoehne, 2002, p. 29).

3. Discussion

It is impossible to give an unambiguous assessment of the success/failure of an

armed intervention (international military intervention), even if it was carried out under

the auspices of humanitarian intervention. As a rule, armed intervention leads to

numerous human casualties, economic collapse, general destabilisation of institutions

and governance mechanisms, deepening of socio-political chaos, and a new round of

internal political struggle for a monopoly on violence.

Terrorism also exists in the political macro space (Zakharchuk, 2022). It affects all

spheres of existence of modern society, primarily the security, stability, and functioning

of political institutions of the state, the stability of the multilevel system of socio-political

and international relations (Höhne, 2002).

The strategic goal of political terrorism is to destroy a stable political environment.

Today, almost all countries of the world, including the United States, the United

Kingdom, Spain, Israel, the Russian Federation, and other actors in international

relations, are the arena of its manifestations. The danger of terrorism lies in its cruelty,

degree of immorality, indiscriminate means, and uncontrollability (Global Terrorism

Index 2020 Measuring the Impact of Terrorism, 2020). Armed violence in the form of

terrorist acts is not limited by geographical boundaries or any norms, without a clear

front line, secrecy in the preparation of operations, and their unsystematic nature

(Bilenchuk, Kofanov, & Kobylianskyi, 2009).

I would like to draw attention to the fact that modern armed violence is acquiring

a special character, which demonstrates two new trends: the privatisation of armed

violence, which leads to the destruction and suspension of the state monopoly on the

use of force, and the spread of international interventions This form of armed violence

is characteristic of events in Liberia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, etc. The danger of armed

violence by private actors is beyond the control of the state.

5. Conclusions and Implications

Armed violence has an ambiguous but significant impact on political life, the

functioning of the political space, and the formation of the political map of the world as

Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N

3 / octubre-diciembre, 2024

892

a whole. It still remains a universal and popular means of achieving political goals, a

decisive means of influence in situations of contradictions in state, regional, and

interstate relations. It provides political actors with the opportunity to assert themselves

and acts as a kind of tool for exercising power, achieving political dominance, regulating

and comprehensively influencing economic, social, spiritual, and other phenomena and

processes.

The above-mentioned and other armed conflicts have had and continue to have a

decisive impact on political processes in the country and the region, on the

transformation of the political space, and are characterised by enormous losses for

economic and human potential.

A common feature of armed violence is numerous human casualties, destabilisation

of institutions and governance mechanisms, economic collapse of the country and/or

region, deepening of socio-political chaos, or repeated escalation of internal political

struggle.

Regardless of the spatial level or form, armed violence is characterised by long-

term and, in some cases, irreparable destructive consequences. Armed violence deepens

discriminatory processes and is a gross violation of human rights. Armed violence or the

threat of its use is a means of controlling a certain political space, a means of

encompassing political areas within their own national borders or turning them into a

sphere of domination, and can ensure domination of the most integral geopolitical areas.

Armed violence can lead to a complete change in the system of international relations,

to the redistribution of political and economic forces and spheres of influence in the

world.

Regardless of the level of political space, there is a plane in which the

reverberations of armed violence are long-lasting and tragic. It is about the socio-

demographic sphere: deaths, increased mortality, falling birth rates, destruction of the

intellectual elite, deterioration of public health, violation of the age and gender balance,

migration processes, etc. The demographic consequences affect many generations of

people, manifest themselves over time, and do not have a clear form. Therefore, the

study of armed violence consequences in the demographic aspect is currently relevant

and open.

Bibliographic references

 Andersson, A., Hedström, K., & Karlsson, F. (2022). Standardizing information

security – a structurational analysis. Information & Management, 59(3),

103623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2022.103623

 Badrak, V. (2010). Strategies of Evil Geniuses. An Anthology of Destructive

Motivations. Kharkiv: Folio.

 Bilal, A. (2021, November 30). Hybrid warfare - new threats, complexity, and “trust”

as an antidote. Retrieved November 5, 2023, from NATO Review website:

Vovk, Denyshchenko et all / El lugar de la violencia armada en el espacio político

893

https://www.nato.int/docu/review/uk/articles/2021/11/30/gbridna-vjna-nov-

zagrozi-skladnst-dovra-yak-antidot/index.html

 Bilenchuk, P., Kofanov, Andrii., Kobylyanskiy, O. (2009). International Terrorism:

Consolidated Analysis of Security Provision. Kyiv: National Scientific and Pedagogical

Center of the Kyiv National University of Internal Affairs. Retrieved from

http://elar.naiau.kiev.ua/jspui/handle/123456789/5464

 Brik, T. (February 20, 2019). Civil war” and other clichés. Why is it important to

study terminology, context and data? Vox Ukraine. Retrieved from

https://voxukraine.org/gromadyanska-vijna-ta-inshi-klishe-chomu-vazhlivo-

vivchati-terminologiyu-kontekst-i-dani

 Global Terrorism Index 2020 Measuring the Impact of Terrorism. (2020). The

Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP). Retrieved November 5, 2023, from

Visionofhumanity.org website: https://visionofhumanity.org/wp-

content/uploads/2020/11/GTI-2020-web-1.pdf

 Gorinov, P., & Mereniuk, K. (2022). Military law in Ukraine: future prospects for

development. Futurity Economics&Law, 2(3), 18–27.

https://doi.org/10.57125/FEL.2022.09.25.03

 Höhne, M. V. (2002). Somalia zwischen Krieg und Frieden : Strategien der

friedlichen Konfliktaustragung auf internationaler und lokaler Ebene. Hamburg:

Institut für Afrika- Kunde im Verbund Deutsches Übersee-Institut. Retrieved from

https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/5168313. Accessed: 18 Apr. 2023.

 Huseinov, A. A. (1992). The Ethics of Nonviolence. Questions of Philosophy, 3, 72—

81. Retrieved from https://kph.ffs.npu.edu.ua/!e-book/clasik/data/vopros/23.html

 Kravchenko, V. (2015). Globalization and contemporary political violence. Actual

Problems of Politics, 55, 70–81. Retrieved from

https://doi.org/10.32837/app.v55i0.146

 Kumar, A. (2021). Analysis of the Principle of Subsidiarity as a Principle of EU Law:

Future Perspectives. Futurity Economics&Law, 1(4), 18–27.

https://doi.org/10.57125/FEL.2021.12.25.03

 Leitsinger, M., & Tolan, C. (2014, August 7). A timeline of the Khmer Rouge regime

and its aftermath. CNN. Retrieved from

https://www.cnn.com/2014/08/06/world/asia/cambodia-khmer-rouge-

timeline/index.html

 Mezhenska, O. V., & Vovk, S. O. (2017). State coup: a violent method of

reformatting power. Starobilsk: Taras Shevchenko LNU. ISBN 978-966-617-376-1

 Radio Svoboda (2021, February 21). “UN counts the number of casualties in

Donbas”. Retrieved from https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-oon-kst-gertv-

boyovyh-donbas/ 311 10 937.html

 Rezvorovych, K., Skaletska, Z., Dorosheva, A., & Sushytska, Y. (2023). Application

of law as a special form of its implementation: trends for the future. Futurity

Economics&Law, 3(1), 28–35. https://doi.org/10.57125/FEL.2023.03.25.03

 Schmitt, M. N. (1999). Computer network attack and the use of force in international

law: Thoughts on a normative framework. Fort Belvoir, VA: Defense Technical

Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N

3 / octubre-diciembre, 2024

894

Information Center. Retrieved from

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1603800

 Shchur, M. (9 Sept. 2021). What is happening in Myanmar and what role do

Ukrainian weapons play there? Retrieved from

https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/ukrajina-myanma-torhivlia-

zbrojeju/31452344.html.

 Shmorgun, O. (2015). The First World War: Causes and Consequences in the

Geostrategic Dimension. The First World War: Historical Fates of States and Peoples

(to the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War) (pp. 36-53).

Kyiv: State Institution “Institute of World History of Ukraine”. Retrieved from

https://elibrary.ivinas.gov.ua/id/eprint/2901

 Shtohrin, I. (May 17, 2020). Researchers talk about millions of victims of communist

repressions in Ukraine from 1919 to 1991. Radio Svoboda. Retrieved from

https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/den-pamyati-gertv/ represin 30616759.html

 SIPRI (2016). Arming, disarmament and international security. Retrieved from

https://razumkov.org.ua/images/sipri/SIPRI_2016_ukr.pdf Accessed: 18 Apr.

2023.

 Siryi, S. (2006). The Essence of the Concepts of “Local War” and “Military Conflict”

and Their Typology. Political management, 4, 124–134. Retrieved from

https://ipiend.gov.ua/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/siryi_sutnist.pdf

 Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (2019, September 4). 1939 - World War

II began. Available online. Retrieved from https://uinp.gov.ua/istorychnyy-

kalendar/veresen/1/1939-pochalasya-druga-svitova-viyna.

 Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (n.d.). 1918 - Decree on the Red Terror.

Retrieved from https://uinp.gov.ua/istorychnyy-kalendar/veresen/5/1918-dekret-

pro-chervonyy-teror.

 Ukrinform. (2021, November 21). The Revolution of Dignity. Let's remember the

main things. Retrieved from https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-polytics/2122489-

revolucia-gidnosti-zgadajmo-golovne.html.

 Vovk, S. (2017). Civil War as a Crisis Model of Political Conflict Development

Politicus, 4, 27-31. Retrieved from http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/polit_2017_4_7.

 Zakharchuk, A. (2022). Legal regulation in the field of arms control: forecast of

future challenges. Futurity Economics&Law, 2(3), 4–11.

https://doi.org/10.57125/FEL.2022.09.25.01