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Author : L. Klepatsky
Professor, Diplomatic Academy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
THE PRESENT transitory post-bipolar world system manifests
several trends: globalization, transformation of international re-
lations, gradual shift toward a multipolar world and the emer-
gence of new centers of a future world order.
The Cold War ended twenty-five years ago, a very short time in
the terms of history, yet this quarter of a century brimmed with
a huge amount of world, regional and national events that, under
different conditions, could have filled several centuries. The
course of history has accelerated; time has become compressed.
The stormy events in the still bipolar world gave rise to another
structure of the world system which can be described as the Western community, a direct product
of the Cold War and the efforts of the United States.
America's ambition to stem the process of further evolution of the non-Euro-Atlantic subsystem
by consolidating the Western community might fan tension in the Asian part of the world and
beyond and threaten the future of the international community.
Globalization has introduced new coordinates into the development of the world system and
international relations; each of the world phenomena has objective and subjective sides.
The type of globalization suggested and planted by the Western community was intended not
so much to develop (economically and politically) vast geographic spaces as to draw new coun-
tries, on Western conditions, into its orbit. Globalization of an expansionist type was pursued
with clear political aims in view. The Western community established its control over the political
and economic processes in the post-socialist European countries.
The U.S. foreign policy strategy leads to a split along new lines. Many of the Asian countries are
facing a dilemma: either the American initiative or China's invitation to set up an Asian-Pacific
free trade zone.
The global problems that are steadily piling up should be addressed and resolved by consolidated
efforts of the international community relying on all resources at the national, regional and world
levels in the interests of all mankind rather than the egotistical interests of one group of states.
De-globalization should restore equal cooperation, respect for national interests and the right
of states to choose their own development model based on national traditions, customs and
mores. Interdependence of states adds to their weight in regulating international processes in
different spheres based on respect for national interests as a principle of international commu-
nication.
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The Deglobalization of the World System