Shifts in the New World Order: Key Actors and Challenges
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52340/splogos.2026.01.01Keywords:
Multipolarity, geopolitical actors, liberal order, hegemony, collective securityAbstract
This article examines the transformation of the 21st-century world order from a U.S.-dominated unipolar system to a more complex, multipolar model. The paper analyzes the roles and strategic goals of the key geopolitical actors, the United States, China, and Russia, within this process. The United States is presented as the architect of the liberal world order, striving to maintain its hegemony amid rising competition and domestic sentiments such as populism. China is discussed as a critical economic and technological power that is actively shaping alternative global influences through its "Belt and Road Initiative" and significant military modernization. Russia is described as a revisionist power advocating for multipolarity while attempting to restrict Western dominance and restore its own spheres of influence through military interventions, specifically in Georgia and Ukraine. Particular attention is given to the reactivation of NATO as a guarantor of collective security and the challenges it faces, including the issue of alliance expansion and existential threats emanating from Russia. The article concludes that the contemporary world order is characterized by great power rivalry, a technological race, and the evolution of international norms.
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