Asymmetric Paradigm of International Relations

The article analyses the asymmetric paradigm of international relations. It is noted that the theory of asymmetry is a practical structural approach to the theory of international relations based on the fundamental reality of asymmetric power between nation-states seeking to build strong and stable relations. The aim of the study is to analyse the asymmetric paradigm of international relations developed by the American political scientist B. Womack. In order to achieve this goal, a systematic approach was adopted, which contributed to a comprehensive consideration of the emergence of asymmetry. In the course of the study, the most widely used general scientific research methods (analysis, specification, comparison) were applied. The article is based on historical, axiological, and comparative methods, which allow the theoretical aspects of asymmetry to be outlined. The scientific novelty of the study lies in analysing the asymmetry theory developed by the American scholar B. Womack as a new paradigm for the study of international relations. Given the challenges to international security and the growing confrontation in the international arena, it is essential to broaden this topic’s theoretical and practical foundations. Against the backdrop of growing scholarly interest in asymmetry theory, B. Womack seeks to offer a new vision of various aspects of the asymmetry of international relations that go against the established views. The researcher considers asymmetry as an objective and stable condition of international politics, which is supported by the paradoxical inability of great powers not only to annex weaker neighbouring states physically but, in many cases, to obtain certain concessions from them.