Summary. The article examines the changing nature of global governance in the context of the emerging multipolar international order. It analyzes the historical evolution of diplomacy and international organizations, with particular attention to the successes and limitations of the League of Nations and the United Nations. The study explores the impact of cultural, religious, and civilizational factors on international politics and assesses the effectiveness of diplomacy in resolving contemporary conflicts. Drawing upon realist approaches, the concept of Realpolitik, and selected case studies, including the Arab Spring, the Russia–Ukraine war, and the experience of Azerbaijan, the article argues that existing international institutions face growing difficulties in responding to contemporary global challenges. Particular attention is devoted to the need for structural reform of the United Nations system, especially the Security Council, through broader representation of different civilizational and regional actors. The article concludes that the future effectiveness of global governance will depend on the ability of international institutions to adapt to the realities of multipolarity, cultural diversity, and shifting geopolitical balances.
Keywords: global governance, diplomacy, international organizations, United Nations, Security Council reform, multipolarity, regional integration, Global South, Realpolitik, clash of civilizations.
 
Introduction. The twenty-first century includes major shocks to the global order: economic crises, shifts toward multiple power centers, the retreat of globalization, and demands for institutional reform. These events encourage a renewed look at International Relations (IR) theories and governance frameworks, especially those shaped by the Global South. This essay addresses four related themes from influential readings: criticisms and conceptual models from the Global South (Class 5), the emergence of regional blocs and a possible end to globalization (Class 6), the rise of multipolarity and its impact on global order (Class 7), and efforts to reform the United Nations (Class 9). In this exploration, I identify crucial objections to Western dominance, propose alternative ideas for cooperation and development, and consider the tensions among power, justice, and worldwide representation..
Critiques and Conceptual Frameworks from the South. International Relations often reflects Eurocentric ideas that sideline voices from the Global South. In “Core, Periphery, and (Neo)imperialist International Relations” (2013), Arlene Tickner argues that IR theory mainly focuses on the interests of dominant states and treats peripheral ones as mere data sources. According to Tickner, this approach positions the Global South as an object of analysis and a target of policy but rarely as a generator of its own theoretical insights. This creates a dynamic where the Global South is simultaneously a subject of study and a recipient of policy, but rarely a producer of conceptual frameworks [5, p. 149].
This epistemological dominance is echoed in Patrick Bond’s Extreme Uneven Development (2023), which discusses how financial volatility and capitalist crises disproportionately affect the Global South. Bond’s analysis of South Africa highlights how global capitalism perpetuates “super-exploitation,” maintaining economic dependency through debt, extractivism, and labor exploitation. Both authors expose how imperialist and neo-imperialist structures continue to shape the global political economy, despite the rhetoric of development and partnership [10, p. 271].
Pros and Cons. The strength of these critiques lies in their call for epistemic justice—a recognition that the Global South can and must contribute to theory-making. They also urge scholars to deconstruct the asymmetries of knowledge and power. However, one limitation is the relative lack of concrete institutional pathways offered for integrating Southern frameworks into global academic and policy circles. While the critique is powerful, the solutions are more diffuse.
The End of Globalization? The Importance of Regionalism. The second thematic concern—the supposed decline of globalization—emerges from the fracturing of global supply chains, rising protectionism, and the fragmentation of international cooperation. Shannon K. O’Neil’s The Globalization Myth (2023) argues that globalization, contrary to conventional wisdom, has always been regional. The rise of regional supply chains in North America and Asia is not a retreat from globalization, but a reorganization of it into regional hubs. Similarly, David Adler and Guillaume Long advocate for deeper Latin American regional integration, positioning regionalism as a counterweight to both U.S. hegemony and Chinese economic expansion (2023).
Other sources reflect this shift. Kristalina Georgieva warns of economic fragmentation and the global system’s inability to withstand future shocks (2023), while the World Politics Review documents how backlash against global trade is accelerating realignments (2023). Together, these readings suggest that regionalism is no longer a secondary phenomenon but a core feature of global politics [13, p. 631].
Pros and Cons. Regionalism offers political autonomy, cultural proximity, and shared economic interests. It may also buffer developing nations from the volatility of global markets. However, regionalism is not a panacea. As Adler and Long caution, regional integration in Latin America faces historical challenges of inequality, political instability, and weak institutions. Moreover, regionalism can become exclusionary, replicating inequalities within regions even as it resists global ones.
Multipolarity: Redefining the Global Order. The transition from a unipolar to a multipolar world—marked by the rise of China, India, Russia, and coalitions like BRICS—has reignited debates about the nature of global power. Juan Tokatlian’s lecture “North and South in a Multi-Polar World” (2023) frames this transition as an opportunity for the Global South to assert more agency. However, Patrick Bond is far more skeptical. In his 2022 article, Bond critiques BRICS as a “sub-imperial” force that often collaborates with Western capital rather than challenging it. The BRICS nations, he argues, frequently reproduce internal inequalities and external dependencies.
Patrick Bond (2023), in Extreme Uneven Development, the effects of financial instability and capitalist crises on regions of Global South are all too harsh. Research on South Africa reveals how global capitalism deepens “super-exploitation” and subservience to a particular form of “economic dependency” through debt, resource exploitation and labor injustice. These points indicate the existence of imperialist and neo-imperialist structures that do not stand because of promises of development and partnership.
According to Bond et al. (2023), some middle powers are often used for the sake of Western interests. As suggested by Hippolyte Fofack (2023), BRICS can thereby contribute to a de-colonial multipolar future. Daron Acemoglu (2023) describes the BRICS’s expansion as politically motivated and without a unified economic program that may limit its impact over the long term [3, p. 286].
Pros and Cons. Strategic opening in a multipolar environment is an option of strategic opening for developing nations, weakening Western hegemony. Where emerging powers are attempting to build the system back or to retain their monopoly, it is unclear. For example, no BRICS alliance has a single ideology, and its members have different attitudes towards the global justice. The advent of this situation doesn’t just give way to debates over which style strengthens democracy while the other destabilizes the power hierarchies; rather, those debates have already been raised this century.
Reform of the United Nations: Representation and Legitimacy. The focus of wider investigations about global governance is institutional modifications. Cristina Petcu (2020) believes that a UN Parliamentary Network is needed in order to correct democratic deficiency at the UN and to expand organizational participation. It would enhance transparency and accountability levels, if this network is established, in that together with regional representatives and marginalized groups, civil society would have an increased visibility. It is presented in the course of a crucial historical period. However, there are multiple critiques available against the UN for the unsuccess of managing both natural disasters and military battles as well as its inside Security Council structure. The Global South strongly supports transformation because states have great economic and population power but inadequate parliamentary authority [4, p. 57].
Pros and Cons. This is a realistic step of establishing a parliamentary network, as an expansion of UN inclusivity that does not require changes to its Charter framework. This network could be less potent than it could be because of its advisory role. The network has to struggle to become such a meaningful force for change, since it lacks substantive power and the dependable financial support. This would probably cause powerful member states who benefit from imbalances in system present to resist the ongoing challenge to the status quo.
Conclusion. And these four elements of global transformation have emerged with the characteristics of global South critiques, re-emergence of regional partners, multipolar benefits and challenge, and necessary UN institutional reforms. However the Global South’s role in the international field has shifted from accepting foreign international norms to being an important force that creates new concepts and organization frameworks while participating in the political sphere. A multipolar structure and a concatenation of new regional partnerships render several ways to unite, without losing traditional power structures under different names. We need fundamental changes in the United Nations in institutional terms, but they must be based on dismantling of power disparities and accepting other knowledge systems. This leads in the diverse points of view towards creation of a global system founded on pluralism, which comprise plurality of the centers of the power, different legitimacies, and different philosophical conceptions of the world. For students to take up international practice roles, they have to study the current system and devise innovative approaches to each international area the world over.
 
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Резюме. В статье рассматривается трансформация системы глобального управления в условиях формирования многополярного мирового порядка. Анализируется историческая эволюция дипломатии и международных организаций, особое внимание уделяется достижениям и ограничениям Лиги Наций и Организации Объединённых Наций. Исследуется влияние культурных, религиозных и цивилизационных факторов на международную политику, а также оценивается эффективность дипломатии в урегулировании современных конфликтов. На основе реалистического подхода, концепции Realpolitik и анализа ряда кейсов, включая события «арабской весны», российско-украинский конфликт и опыт Азербайджана, обосновывается тезис о том, что существующие международные институты сталкиваются с возрастающими трудностями в реагировании на современные вызовы. Особое внимание уделяется необходимости структурного реформирования системы ООН, прежде всего Совета Безопасности, посредством расширения представительства различных цивилизационных и региональных центров силы. Делается вывод о том, что эффективность глобального управления в будущем будет зависеть от способности международных институтов адаптироваться к реалиям многополярности, культурного многообразия и меняющегося баланса сил в мировой политике.
Ключевые слова: глобальное управление, дипломатия, международные организации, Организация Объединённых Наций, реформа Совета Безопасности, многополярность, региональная интеграция, Глобальный Юг, Realpolitik, столкновение цивилизаций.