摘要：The present paper will briefly review several turning points in the evolution of the Post-Cold War global order. During the Cold War, the bipolar international order was defined by an opposition between two superpowers whose positions were carefully balanced across the world. By contrast, due to the fact that the global security architecture was, and continues to be, in flux, the past three decades have witnessed a gradual transition from a unipolar world characterized by weak and inconsistent American leadership, to unmitigated efforts on the part of Russia and China to establish a multipolar equilibrium of power. At the same time, the New World Order was breaking with the long-held tradition of placing the military component at the center of the global security system and proclaimed the so-called “Comprehensive Security Doctrine” in which supremacy of law, democratic values, global economic prosperity, social justice, human rights, environmental protection, education and other elements played an equally important role. The idea of undiminished and equal security for all states, big or small, although very attractive in theory, turned out difficult to attain in practice. An emphasis is placed on different models of democracy determined by cultural and traditional peculiarities of states, using the rules of democracy and elections to maintain power.
