The modern world is in a transitional period from the monopolar system established after the defeat of the USSR in the Cold War to the bipolar system. It has become quite real thanks to the constant increase in the influence of the Russian Federation in the world.
Description and Features
The bipolar international system is an option for dividing our entire world into two huge groupings of countries that are seriously different from each other in their economic, ideological and cultural factors. From the point of view of the development of civilization, this is a much more profitable option, in which the leader of each “pole” is obliged to create conditions favorable to states and ordinary people in his zone of influence. Simply put, this is a standard market competition. The more enterprises compete with each other, the higher will be the quality of products, lower cost, more promotions, bonuses and so on.
The history of polarity before the formation of the USSR
Until the United States entered the world stage and the USSR was formed, our planet practically did not know what a bipolar system was. Due to the weak development of technology and continuous wars, there was such a situation that in each individual region there were several powers at once that could compete with each other in all respects. For example, in Europe these could include Germany, England, France and Spain. Among Russia's neighbors, Turkey and Sweden can be noted (which in Europe was far from last). And similar can be said about any part of the world. Only one thing was common: no one could lay claim to world domination, although England, with its huge fleet, made every possible effort for this. But everything changed with the formation of two superpowers, the USA and the USSR.
Bipolar world until the end of the Cold War
World War II became the main cause of bipolarity. On the one hand, the Soviet Union, which suffered huge losses, but managed to restore industry and economy in the shortest possible time, owning most of the world and an incredible amount of resources. On the other hand, the United States, which throughout the war successfully traded with both parties and actively developed their own state. Moreover, when the result of the confrontation became obvious, they quickly orientated themselves and even managed to fight a little with their landing units. The remaining countries suffered such serious losses that all their efforts were aimed at restoration, and not at world domination. As a result, the two great powers began to “butt” with each other, not listening too much to the opinions of others. And so it continued until the end of the 80s, beginning of the 90s, when the USSR lost the Cold War, which was the beginning of the collapse of the bipolar system.
Monopolar world
From then until about 2014, the United States occupied the leading role in the world. They intervened in all conflicts and took everything they wanted (land, resources, people, technology and much more). No one really could oppose the power of this country, because in addition to a really strong army, it also had serious information support that could even convince that black was white. As a result - the current tension in the world, the development of drug trafficking, the formation of numerous terrorist groups and so on.
Current situation
The second stage in the formation of the bipolar system of the world began around 2014 and continues to this day. The Russian Federation is still far enough to the point where they will begin to reckon with it in the same way as with the United States, but all the actions now being taken are confidently leading precisely to this outcome. In addition, China is quite active, but, unlike the same States or the Russian Federation, China’s world domination has never been the main goal. The population of this country is quite large and is constantly growing, so that in the end it will still become the leading power in the world.
Features of monopolarity
Monopolarity, unlike the bipolar system of the world, does not imply the need to take into account the opinions of other countries. It has only one option for further development: the unification of all states under one flag, the creation of a global structure, and, in fact, a single country on the entire planet. Any other actions, aimed primarily at increasing the power of their country (in our case, the USA), gradually lead to the fact that monopolarity ceases to attract people and they are looking for any alternative.
With the proper use of their own influence, it would be possible to change the situation in the other direction and create allied countries instead of satellite countries. This would be much more profitable, but would not give the growth of power that the United States has demonstrated all this time. At this stage, it’s too late to try to do something, but the United States will hold on to the elusive title of world gentleman to the last.
Possible future
The current development of human civilization can lead only to three main options. Perhaps this will be a global conflict between several factions, well described in Orwell’s 1984 book. It will be needed simply to unite citizens in the image of a vicious enemy. At the same time, all contacts between the countries will be broken, and ultimately, as natural resources are depleted, the conflict will either go into a decisive phase using weapons of mass destruction, or it will gradually come to naught simply because of the lack of what is needed to continue the war.
The second development option is a gradual decrease in the influence of countries on each other and relatively peaceful coexistence. This can be the beginning of a long peaceful era, or lead to the closure of borders and the complete breakdown of all contacts with neighbors. The option is almost unrealistic, which in the realities of the modern world is even difficult to imagine.
The last option that the formation of the current bipolar system of relations can lead to is the formation of a single state after the defeat of one of the conflicting superpowers. In the most improbable case, the opponents can agree, and together, influencing other states, form a common government for all, within which countries will exist more like certain corporations. There are many other versions as to what all this can lead to, but they are either too fantastic or require some very global shocks that are now difficult to predict. Examples include contact with an alien race, diseases that destroy more than half the world, a global nuclear war, the discovery of new energy sources, and so on.
Interesting Facts
The rate of development of civilization after the establishment of a monopolar world has slowed significantly. Numerous theoretical studies have been curtailed that do not bring benefits in the near future, the space program has practically closed, industry growth has stopped and grandiose construction sites have disappeared.
It is human nature to constantly seek the enemy. If it’s not really there, you need to create it. This is the basis for the bipolar system of international relations. This is not good, but not bad either. Just such a fact is forcing our race to develop not in the most effective way. The problem would be solved by a certain enemy common to the whole species, such as the same “evil aliens,” but so far no such is expected in the near future, like other potential applicants for a similar role. So, humanity can only look for enemies in its ranks, preferably among other countries.
An important role in monopolar and bipolar systems is played by the presence of nuclear weapons in a fairly large number of countries. The very fact of mutual annihilation makes even the hottest heads think and try to find a way out of the crisis by other, non-military methods. If this factor disappears for some reason, another global military conflict and redistribution of spheres of influence is very likely, similar to that that occurred in the First and Second World Wars, although it is believed that such survivals of the past in the modern world are impossible.
Conclusion
Both a monopolar and a bipolar system are not the final stage in the development of relations between countries, but it is precisely the two poles of power that can give the necessary impetus, because within the confrontation the need arises to make a bigger and better opponent, which gives a serious impetus to science, the economy, industry and others areas of activity. The main thing is that the conflict remains in the passive phase, since hostilities between superpowers with a high degree of probability can lead to the complete destruction of humanity.