The only plausible alternative to multilateralism is not a restoration of an old bipolar, unipolar or multipolar order, but a global disorder with no agreed-upon rules, procedures and hierarches of power
The multilateralism of the second half of the 20
th
century has become outdated, and no viable alternative has been found. Instead of trying to go back to old principles, governments should reinvent a multilateralism that is viable under current conditions: a project-based multilateralism that...
... narrative has also rejected the idea that the world has been moving in the direction of a new bipolarity, insisting on a gradual transformation of the unipolar, U.S.-centered international system of early XXI century to a multipolar (or polycentric) world order.
Andrey Kortunov:
Between Polycentrism and Bipolarity
In spite of this, there are more and more discussions on the bipolarization of China and the United States in academic circles both in China and in Russia. Especially after the COVID-19 ...
The once-in-a-lifetime catastrophe of COVID-19 has shown that the trend of bipolarization between China and the U.S. is likely to continue and deepen in the post-pandemic period
For most of the time after the end of the cold war, the contradiction between a unipolar and multipolar world was the main focus of the world structure. But now this state of affairs has been broken. With the emergence of a bipolar theory, relations between multipolarity and unipolarity is no longer the only pattern of...
The recently published book China versus the US: Who Will Prevail? (New Jersey, World Scientific, 2020), aims at answering two set of questions. In the first place: Did China challenge the United States too hard and too soon and, by doing so, seriously affected the chance to attain its objectives? Can Washington still contain China’s ascendancy and retain its current leading status? In the second place: What are the options that can result from the clash of these two behemoths? Which of these options...
... military and political standoff between China and the United States is largely focused in the South China and East China seas, thousands of miles away from Russia. Russia does not have any interests in that region. Yet it is precisely here that China's most ... ... are still enticed by discussions of a new bipolarity, and there are many reasons why. Let us outline a few of them. First, the world order that existed during the Cold War was relatively simple. Second, people are motivated by anti-Chinese sentiments. That ...
... elucidated by Professor Graham Allison in his articles, talks and famous book
Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’ Trap
. So, what exactly is this Thucydides ’trap?
Igor Ivanov:
The Belt and Road Initiative: Towards a New World Order
The phrase originates from the ancient Greek historian Thucydides who had observed that the Peloponnesian war (431BC-404BC) was caused by the growth of Athens, the rising power, and the corresponding fear of Sparta, the ruling power. Currently,...
... Security Council that enjoy significant weight in many global and regional issues and have massive combined military containment potential. Russia and China command respect in the global community and therefore bear special responsibility for the future world order.
Andrey Kortunov:
American King Kong and the Law of the Jungle
The international community today—both at the level of public opinion and heads of state and international organisations—is listening with particular attention to the signals ...
... war should include unprecedented damage and devastation on American
soil
.
And yet, as we all know, the period of a bipolar world order was one of relative peace and enhanced development. The same goes for the current situation, as well as the Vietnam ... ... to the idea of strategic stability. Alexander Savelyev notes that this principle became the basis for the Treaty between the USA and the USSR on the elimination of their intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles of 1987, as well as the Strategic Arms ...
.... The documents stated that Washington should use its status as the recognized leader in order to strengthen the new liberal world order. In fact, the Clinton administration did not rule out the possibility of the USSR being brought back in one form or ... ... that can influence political processes in other countries.
Lost in translation
How should Russia respond to the constant accusations of revisionism? Before we answer this question, one needs to understand the causes of this revisionism. There are two,...
... viewpoint, the death of INF is very risky because it might lead us into a world without any arms control whatsoever, not just a world with no bilateral US-Russia arms control agreements.
GT: How would relations among China, the US, and Russia affect world order?
Kortunov:
They would have a very important impact because these countries define the rules of the game. For example, if Russia and the US do not want to disarm, nobody will be ready to disarm. If China and the US cannot agree on free trade,...
