On the Issue of Global Governance in the 21st Century: Approaches of Russia, China and the U. S

Abstract

The international system, like any other, needs to be regulated. Obviously, a purposeful and thoughtful direction of the international development dynamics is preferable to a spontaneous and fragmented alignment in the spirit of the Hobbesian idea of «a war of all against all». In this context, the idea of global governance proves viable, despite the declining recognition and relative marginalization of the concept, on par with the number of mentions. International life in the 21st century did not turn out to be as well-adjusted as it was seen by the proponents of liberal globalization and neoliberal ideology immediately after the end of the Cold War. Not surprisingly, that today pessimism about the possibilities for real action in global governance far exceeds the optimism of the first post-bipolar decade. In addition to different interpretations and theoretical basis of global governance, the article reveals the role of the leading world powers - Russia, China and the United States in the multilevel GG architecture through great-power triangular interaction. The author proves that not a single leading world power or group of states can maintain order-forming processes alone. The U.S., China and Russia, in one way or another, pin their hopes on preserving and/or restoring and/or acquiring global leadership. Each of the powers pursues its own strategy of global governance against the backdrop of promoting its own ideas about the world order.