Context:
The global order is undergoing a structural transition from a U.S.-led unipolar system to a fluid multipolar world, increasingly shaped by great power competition. An editorial analysis highlights how U.S. foreign policy recalibration, China’s rise, and Russia’s strategic behavior are together imparting bipolar characteristics to an otherwise multipolar system.
Key Highlights:
Shift in U.S. Foreign Policy Orientation
-
The U.S. undertook its largest troop mobilization in the Caribbean in decades, deploying advanced military assets to pressure Venezuela.
-
The National Security Strategy (NSS) identifies Latin America as a strategic priority, reflecting a revival of the Monroe Doctrine.
-
Reduced willingness to underwrite European security, signaling strategic retrenchment.
China’s Rise as a Systemic Challenger
-
China’s economy is rapidly nearing parity with the U.S., translating economic strength into military power.
-
Development of the world’s largest navy challenges U.S. dominance in the Indo-Pacific.
Russia as a Strategic Disruptor
-
Russia seeks to rewrite the post-Soviet European security order.
-
Despite economic limitations, Russia’s nuclear arsenal, geography, energy resources, and coercive diplomacy sustain its great power status.
-
The Ukraine conflict and Western sanctions have pushed Russia closer to China.
Nature of the Emerging World Order
-
The system is multipolar but unstable, lacking fixed alliances.
-
Russia acts as a ‘swing great power’, aligning tactically with China while retaining autonomy—giving the order a bipolar character.
-
Middle powers such as India, Japan, and Germany are hedging rather than bandwagoning.
Relevant Prelims Points:
-
Issue: Transition from unipolarity to multipolarity with bipolar traits.
-
Causes:
-
Relative decline of U.S. dominance
-
Rapid rise of China
-
Strategic assertiveness of Russia
-
-
Key Doctrines & Concepts:
-
Monroe Doctrine – U.S. primacy in the Western Hemisphere
-
Offshore Balancing – selective intervention to prevent regional dominance
-
-
Impact:
-
Erosion of the Western-led “rules-based order”
-
Greater uncertainty in global governance
-
Relevant Mains Points:
-
Key Definitions:
-
Multipolarity: Multiple power centers influencing global outcomes.
-
Bipolarity: Two dominant powers shaping international relations.
-
-
Historical Perspective:
-
Contrast with Cold War bipolarity and post-Cold War unipolarity.
-
-
Strategic Assessment:
-
U.S. aims to reassert primacy in its neighborhood, reset ties with Russia, and focus on long-term competition with China.
-
Emergence of offshore balancing as a preferred U.S. strategy.
-
-
Implications for Global Stability:
-
Increased regional conflicts
-
Weakening of multilateral institutions
-
-
Way Forward (for India):
-
Strategic autonomy and issue-based alignments
-
Leveraging multipolarity for national interest
-
Strengthening multilateralism and regional partnerships
-
UPSC Relevance (GS-wise):
-
GS 2: International Relations, Global Power Shifts
-
GS 1: World History – Post–Cold War Order