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Norbert Csizmadia
20/09/2024 06:00
A multipolar world order
In his book World Order, Henry Kissinger draws attention to the most important trend in international relations: multipolarisation. This is changing the dominant, hegemonic world order of the USA. In Kissinger's view, the world order is a multipolar international system based on cooperation between the major powers, replacing the international order based on the dominant role of the United States. According to Richard Haass, the traditional structure of the world is called World Order 1.0, based on the protection and privilege of states. In today's globalised world, however, this is increasingly losing its validity. What happens in one country today is no longer the preserve of that one country, and so, in today's circumstances, we have a world order 2.0.
The term 'superpower' refers to states that have the economic, military and soft power capabilities to assert their interests throughout the world and thus have a significant impact on world events. And the term regional superpower is used to describe states that have the economic, military and soft power capabilities to assert their interests in their geographical region and have a significant impact on the life of their region. In a multipolar international order, the role of several states is crucial.
The spatial structure of our world - superpowers, regional powers, gateways and global cities
Today, our world can be divided into 36 regional space units. Two global, or large-scale, geopolitical powers have emerged: the Americas and Eurasia, with China and the United States of America as the two main superpower geopolitical leaders. The 16 regional powers are: Russia, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Israel, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, and South Africa.
Of the geopolitical regions, the gateway regions are of particular importance for the future. There are six important gateway regions on our planet today: Southeast Asia, i.e. the ASEAN countries, the countries of Central Asia, the Persian Gulf countries, Southern Europe, East-Central Europe and Central America. Gateway regions are also of particular importance because they are home to existing and potential regional financial centres.
And finally, the 64 global urban power centres, or global HUBs, which are located in the territory of a nation state and are important parts of geopolitical power centres. Of the 64 global urban hubs, 5 are in Latin America, 3 in Africa, 3 in Australia, 12 in North America and 41 in Eurasia, of which 20 are in Asia and 21 in Europe.
In a multi-centred world order, it is not only countries that matter, but also the areas of regional cooperation, economic and geostrategic power centres, global hubs and global cities that take on new meaning through interconnectedness.
The future is Eurasian
While in the 19th century the world became Europeanised, in the 20th century it became Americanised and now, in the 21st century, it is irreversibly becoming Asianised. It is, in fact, a multicultural order, linking five billion people through trade, finance and infrastructure networks that together account for 40 per cent of global GDP. And the rise of Asia is transforming business and culture in North America and Europe, South America and Africa. And if we add that in this new multi-centric world order, the two most powerful global trading areas are Europe and Asia, we can say that we are talking about a century of connectivity not just for Asia but for Eurasia.
A complex spatial structure is emerging. The global economy can thus be seen as a much more multipolar system. The role of international integrations and sub-national spatial levels (regional and local economies) is becoming increasingly important in the redefinition of space, alongside nation-state levels.
The author is a geographer and chairman of the board of trustees of the Pallas Athéné Domus Meriti Foundation and the John von Neumann University Foundation