THE EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL POWER DISTRIBUTION IN THE CONTEXT OF MULTIPOLATORY DEBATES: A SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE POST-2000 LITERATURE

Abstract: Academic debates on the structure of the post -Cold War International System, especially since the 2000s, show that global power distribution has been reshaped on the axis of one polarity, two polarity and multipolarity. This study aims to systematically examine the theoretical and empirical literature that develops around the concept of multipolarity. This analysis, which was created by literature screening method, has been shaped on the basic axes such as the theories of power balance, the rise of large powers and the transformation of the international order. China's economic and military rise, Russia's strategic moves and the process of integration of the European Union, such as the integration process of the existing system evolved into very polarity or still exacerbated the discussions of a US -based order. In addition to mainstream theories such as realism, neoliberal institutionalism and British school, this study, which is evaluated with the contribution of critical approaches, comparatively analyzes different academic positions of multiple polarity. Thus, it aims to shed light on the gaps and contradictions in the existing literature of the structure of the international system.