Changes in the balance of power in international relations: analysis of potential with a perspective until 2025−2030

Abstract

This article focuses on the political effects of ongoing shifts in the world economy. Using various indicators, including shares in the global Gross Domestic Product, expenditures on research and development, external balance on goods and services, and military expenditures, the authors present how the positions of major powers in international relations (the United States, the European Union and its countries, Japan, China, and Russia) have changed over the last few decades. Current data and the extrapolation of trends reveal that we are witnessing significant changes in economic power across the world. This has undoubtedly exacerbated existing tensions in international politics. The text tests the hypothesis that a weakening of the major economies of the global North (the US, EU, and Japan), and related shift in the balance of power, are driving the world towards the existence of a multi-polar international system.