The New Geopolitics of Global Power: Exploring the Transformation of International Order in an Era of Strategic Competition

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War, the liberal international order has faced increasing challenges. Major powers, particularly the United States and China, are engaged in strategic competition that is reshaping trade, technology, security, alliances, and the institutions of global governance. The prevailing discussion, however, tends to center narrowly on military rivalry or great-power competition. This limited perspective overlooks the broader transformation of the international order through economic statecraft, technological rivalry, institutional contestation, regional alignments, sanctions, supply-chain restructuring, and diplomatic competition. Hence, this study investigates how strategic competition is transforming the distribution of power, patterns of alignment, and the functioning of the international order. It uses a qualitative, interpretive, and comparative documentary research design. Data sources include peer-reviewed academic publications, official policy documents, strategic doctrines, communiqués, reports of international institutions, and credible think-tank publications. Sources were selected through purposive sampling based on their credibility, diversity of perspectives, and direct relevance to the research questions. The data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis. The analysis identified five themes: power transition, strategic competition, and the erosion of uncontested unipolarity; economic statecraft, technological rivalry, and the securitization of interdependence; institutional contestation, selective multilateralism, and parallel institutions; regional realignment, security dilemmas, and the hedging strategies of middle powers; and normative competition and the formation of a fragmented and negotiated order. Together, these themes indicate that the international order is becoming more plural, fragmented, negotiated, and competitive, and that it cannot be adequately described as simply unipolar, bipolar, or multipolar. The study contributes to debates on global governance, international order, strategic autonomy, and the future of multilateral cooperation. It also provides a broader framework for understanding how major-power competition is changing the structures and practices of international politics.