GREAT POWER STRATEGIC COMPETITION IN THE CONTEMPORARY SECURITY ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The difference in attitudes, interests and influences of the great powers contributed
to greater uncertainty and fear for the future of nations and states. In the past
decade, revisionist and autocratic countries such as Russia and China have sought to
shift the focus from the West to the East and build a “post-Western world order” that
will reshape the world against American values and interests. In this new period of transition,
which resembles the time of the Cold War, the traditional security-military issues
of the balance of power, the arms race, the struggle for territories and the strengthening
of alliances are being emphasized again. A possible confrontation between the great
powers, where the United States of America is still the leading power in the world, while
the PRC is the second economic and military power, and Russia is one of the two most
powerful nuclear powers, could threaten global and regional security and stability.
The sharpened geopolitical rivalry between the “big three” will increase tensions
in their spheres of interest, that is, in the regions and countries that are located
on the strategic lines of separation. The focus of attention is on Eastern Europe and the
Indo-Pacific region, which are of great geostrategic importance for the great powers and
their alliances. Due to the historical connection with these “exclusive zones of interest”,
there is a possibility that the previous “competitive coexistence” will escalate into an
intense security rivalry.