DOI: https://doi.org/10.36719/2663-4619/124/142-145
Samir Jafarov
Shaki Branch of Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6841-7863
samir.ceferov.2026@mail.ru
A New Phase of Global Power Struggle after the
Cold War (1991–2025)
Abstract
The Cold War, which ended with the collapse of the USSR in 1991, led to profound structural changes in the international system and shaped a new phase of the global power struggle. Although the unipolar order characterized by the hegemony of the United States formed the main framework of the international security architecture for a short time, starting from the 2000s, the rapid economic rise of China, Russia’s regional revanchist ambitions, and the European Union’s search for geopolitical identity led to a shift in the balance of power toward a multipolar direction. During this period, competition in the global system expanded not only in the military field but also in the economic, technological, ideological, and informational spheres, acquiring a complex character.
The 2008 global financial crisis led to the relative weakening of the economic dominance of the United States and the West, and in parallel, China launched large-scale geoeconomic projects such as “One Belt, One Road.” Russia, on the other hand, intensified the power struggle in the Euro-Atlantic space with the 2014 Ukrainian crisis and the 2022 military escalation. At the same time, regional power centers in the Middle East—Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia—increased their ability to influence global dynamics.
Keywords: cold war, global struggle, unipolar system, United States, China, Russia, competition, geoeconomics