Multi-polar world

Extracted Attributes

• Type

  Geopolitical concept

• Impact

  Influences defense spending, global security, stability, economy, institutions, and norms.

• Contrast

  Unipolar world, Bipolar world, Three Worlds Theory

• Definition

  An international system where significant power is distributed among multiple major global powers, rather than being concentrated in one or two states.

• Associated with

  Rise of middle powers (e.g., Turkey, Brazil, South Korea, Australia), expansion of BRICS, de-dollarization in South-South trade.

• Key characteristic

  Requires significant power to be concentrated in more than two poles.

• Current State (R&D)

  Oligopolar

• Current State (Economics)

  Multipolar

• Current State (Military Capabilities)

  Close to unipolar

Timeline

• The Three Worlds Theory posited an international system of three contradictory politico-economic worlds. (Source: Wikipedia)

  Cold War Era

• The post-1945 world order is coming to an end, with other powers vying for a multipolar future. (Source: Web Search Results)

  Post-1945

• EU foreign affairs supremo Josep Borrell stated, "We live indeed in a more and more multipolar world, but multilateralism is in retreat." (Source: Web Search Results)

  2023-07

• Foreign Policy magazine published an article titled 'Yes, the World Is Multipolar,' noting the term's resurgence in international affairs. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2023-10-05

• Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke about an 'equal and orderly multipolar world' at a conference marking the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2024-06-28

• The re-shaping of the new world order has translated into the expansion of BRICS and rising de-dollarization in South-South trade. (Source: Web Search Results)

  Ongoing

Three Worlds Theory

The Three Worlds Theory (simplified Chinese: 三个世界的理论; traditional Chinese: 三個世界的理論; pinyin: Sān gè Shìjiè de Lǐlùn), in the field of international relations, posits that the international system during the Cold War operated as three contradictory politico-economic worlds.

Web Search Results

• MSR 2025, Chapter 1 – Introduction: Multipolarization

  For another group of scholars, such rather restrictive criteria are misleading, obscuring the emergence of a multipolar world. They either accept a lower threshold for achieving great-power status or doubt that a state needs to be a great power in all dimensions to be considered a “pole.” From this point of view, a multipolar world does not mean that there have to be several powers with roughly equal capabilities, “it just requires that significant power is concentrated in more than two [...] Image 23 > An equal and orderly multipolar world means every country can find its place in a multipolar system and play its due role pursuant to international law, so that the process of multipolarization is stable and constructive on the whole.( "Zur Erläuterung") > > > Xi Jinping•Chinese President, conference marking the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, June 28, 2024 [...] This perceived implausibility of a two-bloc world is driving the rise of the narrative of an emerging multipolar order. In ideological terms, many argue, the future order may be much messier. We may be living in a world where multiple orders co-exist or compete and where little is left of near-universal rules, principles, and patterns of cooperation. In such a “multi-order”( "Zur Erläuterung") or “multiplex”( "Zur Erläuterung") world, the liberal order may not necessarily disappear. But its

• Prospects for a multipolar world order - GIS Reports

  ## Scenarios Presently, the world is close to unipolar in military capabilities, oligopolar in terms of R&D, and multipolar in economics; it is dispersed on transnational issues and generally still bears the imprint of European culture and values. [...] # Prospects for a multipolar world order Illustration of Adam Rudolf The post-1945 order as we know it is coming to an end. While the U.S. remains dominant, other powers are vying for a multipolar future. G7 leaders ## In a nutshell Multipolarity has been with us since the end of the Roman Empire. Multipolarity is like unipolarity, an apparent oxymoron. Poles come in pairs – opposed, but equivalent. [...] Internationally, there is today growing opposition but there is not much equivalence. The crucial question is not about multipolarity per se, but rather: Can a single international order be legally binding for every state? The alternative to world order is not multipolarity, but a Hobbesian system defined by the aggression of the strong and the ruthless subjugation of the weak. Multipolarity suggests that there are now multiple contenders capable of shaping the world order, fostering legitimacy

• Yes, the World Is Multipolar - Foreign Policy

  Much of what is wrong with the Biden administration’s approach to the global order is that it tries to do too much with too little. In a multipolar world, unlike the unipolar world of the last three decades, diminishing relative power suggests the U.S. government will be unable to enforce its will in every region of the world, particularly simultaneously. [...] An obscure academic term is suddenly back in vogue in international affairs. Multipolarity—the idea that there are many important global powers, not just a few superpowers—is being touted by leaders, CEOs, and pundits as the future. Headlines suggest the growing importance of middle powers, from Turkey and Brazil to South Korea and Australia. [...] An obscure academic term is suddenly back in vogue in international affairs. Multipolarity—the idea that there are many important global powers, not just a few superpowers—is being touted by leaders, CEOs, and pundits as the future. Headlines suggest the growing importance of middle powers, from Turkey and Brazil to South Korea and Australia.

• World: A new multipolar order in the making with a broad impact

  collective measures. In the emerging multipolar world order, big and middle powers will compete for a bigger share of the geopolitical and economic cake, or at least for preserving it, in the case of the West. They do not want to risk seeing their development eroded to the profit of other powers by an accelerated phasing out of fossil fuels, or by providing developing countries with immense climate financing due to their historically higher contribution to climate change. [...] It is a fact that the multipolar world order puts the informal and heterogenous Global South in repeated opposition to the West on a broad range of issues and in demands for more influence, which will have wide consequences for global security, stability, economy, institutions and norms. The re-shaping of the new world order has translated into the expansion of BRICS (from five to eleven members since January, with more to follow in the future) and rising de-dollarisation in South-South trade [...] #### A new world order that is multipolar and unstable by nature

• The Implications of Rising Multipolarity for Authoritarian Populist ...

  By Barrie Axford The end of multilateralism and the onset of a multipolar world is a compelling narrative today. Here is a flavor of that narrative as told by academics and players of different hue: [...] Second, EU foreign affairs supremo, Josep Borrell, who in July 2023 opined “(w)e live indeed in a more and more multipolar world, but multilateralism is in retreat. It is a paradox. Why? Because when the number of participants in a game increases, the natural response should be to strengthen the rules governing the game. However, we are facing the opposite trend: the rules governing the world are running out of steam. We must find ways to overcome this paradox.”