THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING THE POLYCENTRIC WORLD ORDER

Abstract

This article examines the main theoretical approaches to understanding the polycentric world order in the context of the growing prevalence of unilateral actions and power politics pursued by leading global actors. Drawing on a comparative analysis of realist, liberal, and constructivist theories, as well as the concept of a multiplex world order, the article demonstrates that contemporary interventions by great powers in the domestic affairs of other states do not negate the polycentric nature of the international system. Rather, they reflect a crisis-driven and transitional stage in its ongoing transformation.

The article argues that polycentricity cannot be reduced solely to the redistribution of material power among states. Instead, it reflects a more complex transformation of global politics, encompassing institutional fragmentation, the rise of regional centers of influence, and multi-level interdependence. It is further substantiated that, under contemporary conditions, polycentricity takes on a conflictual character, accompanied by the weakening of universal rules and the intensification of regional dynamics. Particular attention is paid to the conceptual distinction between multipolarity and polycentricity. The contemporary world is characterized by the simultaneous coexistence of different models of international behavior and competing interpretations of what constitutes legitimacy. Under such conditions, polycentricity does not imply automatic stability or universal cooperation; on the contrary, it creates an environment in which states are compelled to continuously adapt and search for new strategies of behavior.

This article contributes to the theoretical debate on the nature of the contemporary world order and provides a conceptual foundation for subsequent applied analyses of states’ foreign policy strategies within a polycentric environment.