The Crisis of Economic Globalization as a Factor of a Multipolar World

Abstract

The global crisis of 2008-2009 put an end to the upward trend of globalization, while accelerating the transition to a multipolar world. The purpose of the article is to clarify and detail the current manifestations of the globalization crisis and to show their impact on the US foreign policy course and the transformation of the international order. A convincing expression of the crisis under consideration was the rivalry between the United States and China, initiated by President Barack Obama in 2011 in 2018. It has escalated into an open trade war between the world's leading economies. Although US President Donald Trump declared war on China, it continued under the next president Joe Biden (2021-2024). After returning to the White House, Trump brought the trade standoff with China to a logical conclusion in just a few months, as his tariff initiatives effectively halted economic cooperation between the two countries by the end of April 2025. It seems that these seemingly ill-considered actions by the US administration concealed an attempt to ease the burden of the 37 trillion national debt, which poses a mortal danger to the country. In the same vein, cuts in funding for specialized UN agencies and other organizations, including NATO, as well as government policy measures leading to a reduction of the dollar's global mission, should be considered. At the same time, it is important to emphasize that Trump's weakening of support for the global financial system inevitably leads to the “nationalization” of the dollar and the transformation of the United States into an ordinary state, albeit with all the hallmarks of a great power. In other words, deglobalization occurs not only in the economy, but also manifests itself at the political level. Before our eyes, the United States is abandoning its imperial status, abandoning support for a liberal rules-based order, and becoming one of the influential participants in a multipolar world. Beijing and Moscow welcome the ongoing changes in American and world politics and declare their readiness to cooperate with Washington based on the principles of peaceful existence, mutual trust and respect, as well as mutually beneficial trade.