The political concept of the Authoritarian International is connected to the notion of the unipolar system. In a unipolar system, one group or one state commands the influence in international politics (Mingst, 2001). In the Authoritarian International, this influential state is China, which seeks to spread its dictatorship values across the world and, thus, undermine the democratic values advocated by the West. From my point of view, the Authoritarian International is designed to make dictatorships an appropriate and even preferable form of government for many countries. This way, China may become the leading power in the world, whereas the position of the democratic European countries and the US are likely to weaken. So far, the Authoritarian International has not succeeded yet as the US remains a key player in the international political system. However, since the economic and political position of China has strengthened, the Authoritarian International can become the new normal in the future. Americans should care about it because it poses a threat to the democratic values that the US has been striving to advocate and proliferate for a long time.
I believe that the Authoritarian International has a chance to succeed, meaning that China can take over as the world’s unipolar power. According to Mingst (2001), international systems can change because of changes in the actors and the distribution of power, changes in norms, and exogenous changes. Some of these changes are happening now, allowing China to take the leading place. For example, Singh (2020) notes that China has become an established power with the capability to replace the US as the sole superpower. One reason for China’s rise is its economic development, which has enabled China to become the center of the East Asian economic block (Singh, 2020). Furthermore, the recent pandemic is an exogenous factor contributing to the international system change. Healthcare systems operated by democratic countries failed to respond to the pandemic as effectively as authoritarian China did (Singh, 2020). China’s success in dealing with the pandemic not only strengthened the country’s position but also could have sent a message to other countries that the authoritarian system can be effective. All factors being considered, the Authoritarian International can succeed, and China may become a unipolar power.
References
Mingst, K. A. (2001). Essentials of international relations (2nd ed.). W. W. Norton & Company.
Singh, P. (2020). Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Gauging neoliberal capitalism and the unipolar world order. International Critical Thought, 10(4), 635-654. Web.