Is the unipolar world order on the path of ending because of the geopolitical shifts? It has remained one of the major concerns among all the scholars in every age, some are of the view that the world is moving towards the multipolar world order with a fast pace while others argue that the rise of multipolar world order will take time and there are even some scholars who consider that the world has become the multipolar order because of the engagement of a number of states in the global competition and challenging the dominancy of United States as it became the hegemon in the world and created the unipolar world order after succeeding the era of cold war.

“China and Russia, the main competitors of the United States, have been creating hurdles in the sustainability of the unipolar world order.”

In the current times, though, the United States holds the superiority over other states and is the most economically developed state in the world, but its dominancy has been challenged because of the various factors such as the competition with China and Russia, the skepticism of the world towards the International Organization, and the rise of third-world countries, etc. The United States has long maintained its authority over the matters of other states, claiming its legitimacy as the police of the world under the unipolar world order, and though it still holds that influence over the world but in recent times it has become more challenging to do so.

China and Russia, the main competitors of the United States, have remained in a race with it, following the interests of power maximization and fulfillment of other self-interests, and today, both of these states have been creating hurdles in the sustainability of the unipolar world order.

On one hand, China is making advancements in the fields of technology, economy, and security. It has been utilizing soft power policies and has been increasing its influence continuously by taking every step further towards extending its relationship with other states of the world in order to strengthen its alliance. The significant project, which is the doorway towards its interests, is the CPEC, which is not benefiting only China but also the countries that are becoming part of the project, are also benefiting because of their participation in the global market.

China has been able to stand the trade war with the United States, thus proving its capability to compete in the economic field. On the other hand Russia, which has remained the competitor of United States in the cold war-has still not given up its power seeking behavior and is on its way of revivalist strategies of making Russia grand and the superpower of the world and the intentions of the Russia are visible from its capabilities of waging the Ukraine war that even with the backing of the western countries.

“The role of international organizations, which are foundations of the unipolar world, has been challenged.”

Russia has not given up on its ambitions of making Russia great and not letting go of the states which it considers its own part under its belief of near abroad policies. It has been able to stand by the sanctions of the West by adopting alternative paths as a part of its strategy.

The role of International organizations, which are one of the major foundations of the unipolar world order, has been challenged in today’s world. One of the significant examples is the withdrawal of the United States from various significant International Organizations under the leadership of Donald Trump, who has been seen as a nationalist leader, prioritizing the interests of the United States over global cooperation.

It is to be noted that the role NATO, the significant security organization which always seems to be supported by  United States has been questioned by United States for its overdepnedency on United States and the ongoing Russia Ukraine war may further expose the rift between the interests of NATO and United States over the crisis of Ukraine as the recent meeting of United States and Putin in Alaska are not much appreciated by the allies of United States.

The rise of the various states has been seen as a challenge by many because of the following of the self interests and regional priority over the International cooperation such as the talking about middle eastern states which has always shaped the foreign policy of United States, Iran has been remained a security threat to the United States and talking about other states such as Afghanistan has been on its way to strengthen its relations with China under CPEC under the regime of Taleban.

“The rise of regional powers reflects prioritization of self-interest over international cooperation.”

It is speculated that the unipolar world is a danger because of the realist postures of the United States under the Trump administration and because of the above-mentioned trends. It is soon to predict that the role of the United States is being overshadowed by the various states, as it is the role of the United States.

This became significant in resolving the regional disputes, as the most significant among them were the Pakistan – Indian dispute and the Iran-Israel dispute. It was seen that the ceasefires became possible only because of the significant role played by the United States.

It seems that though the policies of Trump are different from his predecessors but the interest is the same, and that is to maintain the unipolar world under the leadership of the United States, but with different strategies. Only further advancements in the global trends can tell whether these strategies remained effective in the maintenance of the unipolar world order or paved the way for a multipolar world order.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.