- Himalayan Politics Journal, Vol # 2, Issue # 1
- Transition in World Order after the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System
Transition in World Order after the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System
- Hira Khalid Awan/
- June 10, 2026
Keywords
The international political system has been in continuous transformation since its inception. History records a shift in world order from multipolarity to bipolarity, onward to unipolarity, and again toward emerging multipolarity. This article revisits a research study that investigates the causes and consequences of these transitions and analyses the instability and uncertainty of polarity structures that generate insecurities in the anarchic international order. Using an explanatory approach and drawing on power transition theory, world‑systems analysis, neo‑realism and interdependence theory, the article defines world order and its types and traces how changes in the distribution of power trigger systemic transformation. Historical episodes from the World Wars and the Cold War to the post‑9/11 era and the COVID‑19 pandemic demonstrate that major transitions have been driven by conflicts and perceived exploitation in the distribution of power, thereby dissatisfying rising states. The article argues that the contemporary movement toward a complex form of multipolarity, shaped by the rivalry between the United States & China, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and growing regional coalitions in the Indo‑Pacific, intensifies systemic uncertainty, complicates collective security, and magnifies non‑traditional threats such as pandemics, cyberwarfare, and climate change.
How to cite
Awan, H. K. (2026). Transition in World Order after the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System. Himalayan Politics Journal, 2(1). https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a29a2b801b06/page
Retrieved from https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a29a2b801b06/page
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- ACM SIG Proceedings
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[1]Awan, H.K. 2026. Transition in World Order after the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System. Himalayan Politics Journal. 2, 1 (June 2026).
- ACS Nano
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(1)Awan, H. K. Transition in World Order After the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System. Himalayan Politics Journal 2026, 2 (1).
- ABNT
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AWAN, Hira Khalid. Transition in World Order after the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System. Himalayan Politics Journal, v. 2, n. 1, 10 June2026.
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Awan, H.K. (2026) “Transition in World Order after the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System”, Himalayan Politics Journal, 2(1). Available at: https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a29a2b801b06/page (Accessed: 19 June 2026).
- IEEE
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[1]H. K. Awan, “Transition in World Order after the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System”, Himalayan Politics Journal, vol. 2, no. 1, June 2026, Accessed: June 19, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a29a2b801b06/page
- MLA
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Awan, Hira Khalid. “Transition in World Order After the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System”. Himalayan Politics Journal, vols. 2, no. 1, June 2026, https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a29a2b801b06/page.
- Turabian (full note bibliography)
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Awan, Hira Khalid. “Transition in World Order After the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System”. Himalayan Politics Journal 2, no. 1 (June 10, 2026). Accessed June 19, 2026. https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a29a2b801b06/page.
- Vancouver
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1.Awan HK. Transition in World Order after the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System. Himalayan Politics Journal [Internet]. 2026 June 10 [cited 2026 June 19];2(1). Available from: https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a29a2b801b06/page
- AMA
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1.Awan HK. Transition in World Order after the Cold War: Instability and Insecurity in the Anarchic International System. Himalayan Politics Journal. 2026;2(1). Accessed June 19, 2026. https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a29a2b801b06/page
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Author(s):
Hira Khalid Awan
AuthorLecturer, Department of International Relations, Bahuddin Zakriya University Multan, Punjab
Pakistan
Details:
| Type: | Article |
| Volume: | 2 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Language: | English |
| Id: | 6a29a2b801b06 |
| Published | June 10, 2026 |
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