Polarity and International System Consequences

Abstract

The collapse of the Soviet Union has produced the biggest change in the balance of power since World War II, thus transforming the bipolar system of the Cold War into a unipolar international system dominated by American power. Restructuring the system of international relations, led many scholars to declare the creation of a new world order. Since 1989, one of their central concerns has been the analyzing of the system and how it would function in the absence of the old style bipolar balance of power. That is the reason the studies on the polarity of the international system and comparative analyzes between unipolarity, bipolarity or multi-polarity, constitute the central debate in international relations theories. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how structures, dynamics or characteristics of different types of polar systems affect the sustainability of international relations. At the same time, this paper aims to highlight the essential components which define the status of a polar power in the structure of the international relations, by defining primarily the notion of “polarity” and analyzing the unipolar, bipolar and multi-polar systems. Secondly, this article scrutinizes the structure of the new international order established after the Cold War, which is clearly a unipolar system, unlike previous historical epochs, where the distribution of power among the major states attempted to create a bipolar or multi-polar system. Through the study of literature and documents, as well as being based on two classical theories of international relations, the theory of hegemonic stability and the balance of power, we conclude that unipolarity brings about a more stable and peaceful system.