Multipolarity

Multipolarity (from Latin multus, many and polarity, poles) is a term that describes, in politics, a situation where there are more than three so-called world powers existing concurrently.

A multipolar world has existed has various times in history, but after the Second World War, the United States of America cemented its position as the sole power of the world (sometimes in concurrence with the USSR). Starting in the late 2010s however, that position has been challenged by China, which is why the concept of multipolarity has entered the discourse recently.

Polarity should not be limited solely to economical powers but generally as influence. Japan, for example, was the second global economy in terms of GDP after the fall of the Soviet Union, but as they were in the sphere of influence of the United States, they did not form a bloc against their influence and thus were not competing, but working alongside them.

The polarity of global politics can be understood dialectically, but is not solely a marxist concept and does not necessarily refer to an imperialist world order.

History

While multipolarism has existed at various times in history and even in close geographical regions (for example, in the 17th century, European colonial powers such as France, Spain or Great-Britain were competing as regional powers in the Americas), a multipolar world has not existed since the 20th century, where global trade and information make unipolar hegemony all the more impactful.

After the Second World War, the United States of America came about as the unipolar hegemon, sometimes contested by the USSR in a bipolar world.

This position the USA created for themselves was helped by being mostly untouched during the war, as well as the Marshall Plan and the creation of the petrodollar, a term describing a process by which oil producers sell their product in US Dollars (even if the buyer is not the USA), which ultimately find themselves circulated back to the US bourgeoisie.

The Soviet Union was able to compete in some ways with the hegemony of the United States, but stretched their resources thin trying to combat the bigger power everywhere, which left them open for colour revolutions in their later years, ultimately leading to a coup to overthrow the Soviet government and install a pro-West capitalist puppet in their place.

Unipolar world

After the overthrow of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent humanitarian crisis, the USA came about as the world's hegemon -- they essentially enjoyed being above international law, dictating law and government to other countries, circulating trade back to their own economy, etc.

This situation lasted until the 2010s or so, when China, under the Belt and Road Initiative and helped by their massive economy (they were the second country with the highest GDP since 2010) took up a bigger share of the world's trade, eating into the USA's share and aligning countries towards their own policies, as they offer better deals than the imperialist bloc.

Coupled with the end of the US Empire that is happening at this moment, we are seeing the end of a unipolar world and are already in the beginnings of a multipolar world where both China and the USA form competing hegemonies.

Response from the imperialist hegemon

Imperialism being the highest stage of capitalism, the USA is of course its fiercest proponent and example. Losing its status as the prime imperial power would mean the end of the American way of life for its bourgeoisie, and as such they try everything they can, often with disastrous results, to maintain a unipolar world.

In January 2020, the United States illegally killed Iranian General Quasem Soleimani in a drone strike, after which Iran retorted with a missile strike on two US airbases in Iraq.

In 2021, the US Congress voted the Strategic Competition Act of 2021 that would give 300 million dollars a year to, notably, "develop and implement a plan for increasing the U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific region" and "authorize various foreign military financing and diplomatic activities in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region" a clear admission of regime change operations to come.

Around the same time, it was revealed by The Herald that the United States was offering 1000 dollars per article in African newspapers that disparaged and lied about China and their investments on the continent.

In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States was the first to propose sanctions on Russia which were quickly adopted by their lapdogs in Europe. As the world still relies on oil (whether Russian or not), this quickly led to price inflation and the United States is now asking for Venezuelan oil despite having tried to coup Nicolás Maduro in favour of Juan Guaidó.

Moreover, due to the sanctions on the SWIFT system (essentially banning Russia from global trade), Russia traded oil in Yuan for the first time, and was shortly followed by Saudi Arabia. Essentially, countries in the same situation as Russia (powerful but on the periphery of the imperialist hegemon) have received a signal that going against NATO's wishes would get their economy crippled and their government possibly toppled, and thus they are moving closer to China (joining the CIPS system for example, an alternative to SWIFT) for their own security.