A World-System Perspective on the Transformation of World Order

The article examines the transformation of world order through the lens of I. Wallerstein's world-system analysis. Polycentricity in microsystem logic appears as an intermediate configuration between the collapse of the old and the formation of a new world-system. From the perspective of world-system analysis, the key features of a polycentric order include the uneven development of centers of power, a combination of competition and partnership between them, and the redistribution of global resources. The author characterizes the current process of world-system transformation as contradictory and nonlinear, increasing the risks of growing geopolitical tensions, inequality, the danger of «bloc thinking» and a new Cold War. From the perspective of world-system analysis, a polycentric order represents a transitional stage with multiple development alternatives.