Aspirant Academy

Polity, Governance and Current Affairs

Key Points at a Glance

Post-Cold War World Order: US Hegemony, Multipolarity and Global Terrorism

Paper III · Unit 1 Section 1 of 11 0 PYQs 26 min
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Key Points at a Glance

  1. Cold War End and Unipolar World

    • The Cold War ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union on 25 December 1991
    • Created a unipolar world dominated by the United States
    • Political scientist Charles Krauthammer called this the "unipolar moment" (1990)

  2. Fukuyama vs. Huntington

    • Francis Fukuyama's "End of History" thesis (1992) predicted liberal democracy as the final form of government
    • Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" (1993) predicted future conflicts along civilisational fault lines
    • Both theories proved partially correct

  3. 9/11 and the Global War on Terror

    • The 9/11 terrorist attacks (11 September 2001) by al-Qaeda killed 2,977 people in the United States
    • Triggered the Global War on Terror (GWOT)
    • Led to US-led invasions of Afghanistan (October 2001) and Iraq (March 2003)
    • Reshaped international security architecture permanently

  4. NATO Expansion

    • NATO was founded in 1949 with 12 original members
    • Expanded to 32 members by 2024 (including Sweden, which joined February 2024)
    • Invoked Article 5 (collective defence) for the first time after 9/11

  5. China's Rise

    • China's GDP grew from $1.2 trillion (2000) to over $17.8 trillion (2023), making it the world's second-largest economy
    • Its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, launched 2013) spans 140+ countries
    • Represents a direct challenge to US hegemony

  6. Russia-Ukraine War

    • The Russia-Ukraine War began on 24 February 2022 — the most significant armed conflict in Europe since World War II
    • Russia's invasion tested NATO unity and prompted a European rearmament drive
    • Redrew the architecture of global energy markets

  7. Key Terrorist Organisations

    • Al-Qaeda: founded 1988 by Osama bin Laden, responsible for 9/11
    • ISIS/ISIL: declared caliphate June 2014; territorial defeat in Syria-Iraq 2019 but ideology persists
    • Taliban: regained control of Afghanistan August 2021

  8. Multipolar World Order

    • Characterised by multiple power centres: US, China, EU, Russia, India, and regional powers
    • BRICS expanded in 2024 to 10 members
    • SCO enlargement signals the decline of Western hegemony

  9. Washington Consensus and Its Decline

    • The Washington Consensus (privatisation, deregulation, free trade) dominated post-Cold War development thinking
    • Faced serious challenges after the 2008 global financial crisis
    • Led to greater acceptance of state-led development models

  10. UNSC Reform

    • P5 (US, UK, France, Russia, China) hold veto power; reform remains unresolved
    • India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan (G4) campaign for permanent seats in an expanded UNSC
    • India has served 8 times as non-permanent member (most recently 2021–22)

  11. Cyber Warfare and Hybrid Threats

    • Cyber warfare has emerged as a defining feature of 21st-century conflicts
    • Examples: Russian interference in US elections (2016), Chinese state-sponsored hacking, Stuxnet worm (2010) targeting Iran's nuclear facilities
    • Critical infrastructure is now a primary battlefield

  12. India's Strategic Autonomy

    • India rejected Non-Alignment 2.0 in favour of Strategic Autonomy
    • Engages all major powers while avoiding binding alliance blocs
    • Simultaneously participates in QUAD and maintains relations with Russia, China, and the West