摘要：The article deals with changing differences among the world’s macro-regions. It examines whether these differences tend to expand or not. Do convergent or divergent trends prevail within the global system? Changes are studied on the basis of the so-called world’s macro-regions that have a high degree of social, economic, and cultural homogeneity. In the parts ʻThe Forming of the World’s Macro-Regionsʼ and ʻThe Typology of the World’s Macro-Regionsʼ the authors explain different macro-regions including their typology. The core part of this article critically evaluates trends in the development of the world’s macro-regions; changes in the basic indicators in different macro-regions between 1990 and 2016 are explained. Contradictory trends (divergence and convergence) often appear. The findings are further discussed in a broader geopolitical framework.
关键词：the complexity of the world;divergence and convergence;global processes;typology;world’s macro-regions
