Philosophical interpretation of spatial archetypes in the spatial analysis of Baltic sea geopolitics

Анотація

The purpose of this article is to develop a formalised methodological framework within the philosophy of history for analysing spatial archetypes in Baltic geopolitics and transforming narratives into structured and comparable models of geopolitical cognition.

The study is based on an integrative methodological approach combining philosophy of history, historical geography, geopolitics, and sociology of space. Spatial archetypes are conceptualised as historically conditioned topological configurations and operationalised through analytically defined variables (centre, periphery, boundary, liminal space, route, and zone of chaos). The research employs a coding procedure and an intensity scale, enabling the transformation of qualitative narrative material into semi-structured analytical data. Composite indices of spatial expansion, contraction, stabilisation, and chaotisation are constructed to ensure systematic comparison (see Appendix A; Appendix B).

The empirical analysis, based on a comparative study of the Heraclean cycle and the Estonian epic Kalevipoeg, reveals two distinct spatial regimes of geopolitical cognition. The classical model demonstrates an expansive spatial logic characterised by outward movement and the transformation of peripheral disorder, whereas the Baltic model reflects a contractive spatial logic oriented toward boundary maintenance, containment, and stabilisation. The calculated indices confirm structural differences between these regimes, demonstrating that narrative sources encode coherent and analytically tractable models of spatial reasoning.

The study shows that spatial imaginaries function as constitutive structures of geopolitical cognition and can be systematically analysed through formalised procedures. The proposed framework integrates hermeneutic interpretation with mathematically informed analytical methods, enhancing analytical precision and reproducibility without reducing interpretative depth. The findings contribute to the development of philosophy of history and geopolitics by providing tools for modelling spatial cognition and analysing regional dynamics, particularly in boundary-oriented geopolitical contexts such as the Baltic Sea region.