This article focuses on the phenomenon of global rivalry between China and the United States in terms of power transition theory, which is scientifically new and relevant due to the increased attention to the so-called Thucydides trap, in which, as some experts claim, both states have fallen. This paper presents a different vision of the global rivalry for leadership in the shaping of a new world order, which has already taken the form of overt non-violent confrontation and manifests itself in technological and trade wars as well as scientific and cultural rivalries. Nevertheless, despite the non-violent nature of the rivalry, this process is followed by an increase in the military capabilities of states, mainly projected in the basins of the Pacific and Indian Oceans (Indo-Pacific region). The methodological basis of the paper is power transition theory, which has been developed over the past 60 years by A.F. Organsky, J. Kugler, D. Lemke, R. Tammen and other researchers, united in the TransResearch Consortium. The authors argue that the analytical prism of this theory is more relevant to the analysis of current global rivalry than the classical neorealist balance of power approach. Through the prism of the theory the issues of rebalancing the global system of economic governance are analyzed. Also, a comparative analysis of the US-Japanese and US-Chinese trade and technological wars is carried out. Both the military and aggregate capabilities of two countries on a global scale and in the Indo-Pacific region are examined. The conclusion contains findings and comments on the impact of U.S. - China rivalry on the system of international relations.

“Свободный и открытый Индо-Тихоокеанский регион” (ИТР) – это внешнеполитическая концепция США, реализация которой началась с приходом администрации Д. Трампа и активно форсируется в настоящее время. В американском исполнении концепт имеет ярко выраженную геостратегическую направленность с опорой на крупнейшие региональные державы – Японию, Австралию и Индию, которые одновременно выступают партнерами США. Несмотря на имеющиеся различия в оценке приоритетных векторов формирования новой региональной структуры безопасности, “четверка” (Quad, “Квад”) обеспокоена растущим экономическим влиянием и потенциальным военным доминированием КНР не только в АТР, но и в Индийском океане. В этой логике фактор сдерживания китайского мощи и поддержание регионального баланса сил является первоосновой нового четырехстороннего диалогового формата по вопросам безопасности в ИТР. На данный момент концепт ИТР только получает свое институциональное оформление. При этом устоявшийся тренд на укрепление экономической и военно-политической взаимосвязи между участниками диалога, вне зависимости от их видения формата и темпов реализации ИТР, поступательно развивается. В подобных условиях проблематика развития ИТР и перспективы дальнейшего формирования “Бриллианта безопасности” будут оставаться в центре приоритетной повестки, тем более что спада американо-китайской напряженности ожидать не приходится. В статье анализируется становление ИТР в качестве нового геополитического региона, рассматриваются изменения в доктринальных документах и динамика двусторонних связей между членами “Квад”, а также предлагается прогноз по оформлению новой региональной системы безопасности.

From the perspective of power transition theory, international relations system is gradually entering the phase of "power transition" where the United States, as a global hegemon, seeks to maintain the existing world order, and China establishes alternative international formats to reorganize the system of international relations and strengthen its structural power. Cyberspace and technological sphere are becoming the field of non-violent competition between states, which makes the study of global governance of cyberspace critical for the understanding of the outlines of the "new bipolarity". The analysis in the paper is focused on U.S. & China approaches to global governance of cyberspace through the prism of Manuel Castells' theory of "network society". The authors aimed to determine the directions of the U.S. and China policy in the course of four types of "power" in cyberspace: networking power, network power, networked power and network-making power. Present analysis concludes that the United States play crucial role in the course of all four types of "power" at the expense of decentralized model of Internet governance which is based on the idea of "multistakeholderism". NGO and other entities play a decisive role in such a model. Nonetheless, China has already developed necessary tools for reforming the present system of global governance of cyberspace based on centralized model with the leading role of United Nations as an international governance organization and state as a basic actor. The main beneficiaries of the centralized model are developing countries, which are unable to influence the global governance of cyberspace under the dominance of private companies from developed countries.

This article examines the transformation of the US approaches to the implementation of foreign policy in Indo-Pacific region. It is noteworthy that with the change in the approaches of the US leadership to the structuring of the regional subsystem through the creation and maintenance of allied relations with a number of states in the region, the goal remains unchanged — ensuring security in the region while maintaining US leadership. At the present stage, the implementation of this goal is hindered by the growing influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region. The authors of the article focused on identifying criteria that allow assessing the current situation in the region and the effectiveness of existing cooperation between the United States and the countries of the Indo-Pacific region within the framework of organizations and agreements. The research was conducted on the basis of an analysis of the behaviour of some regional players who have agreements with the United States and position themselves as their allies. The criteria for the study were the following aspects: participation in military exercises, the deployment of military bases, signed defence agreements, the availability of information exchange in the field of military technology, the presence of nuclear weapons, the absence of territorial claims at sea and participation in shipping operations. The authors analysed national documents, according to them it was possible to characterize the attitude of countries to the United States, China, as well as to identify the point of view of regional players on the security architecture in Indo-Pacific region and threats significant for the stability of this structure. The study proposed by the authors makes it possible to study the problems of ensuring security in the region, to identify the peculiarities of US policy in the studied space, to determine the tools of the United States to maintain its positions in Indo-Pacific region, as well as to assess the readiness of the allied countries to confront China together with the United States. In conclusion, the authors assess the effectiveness of the transformation of the US-centered regional security system in Indo-Pacific region.

With the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs), the Internet has become increasingly important in terms of national security, economic development, and global leadership. Apparently, conflicts and contentious issues in cyberspace requires creating rules and development of regulation. The authors examine the process of making up rules in cyberspace from the perspective of M. Castells’ network society theory and B. Buzan’ securitization theory. According to M. Castells, key challenges have gradually altered in the network society and power relations and social management are based on the control of communication and information which embraces a network society. Furthermore, the authors investigate the development of the Internet in the context of securitization theory. It is stressed that cyberspace has become a full-fledged political space with the central position of digital sovereignty and information security. The article for the first time proposes a comprehensive periodization of international relations’ transformation in cyberspace. Afterwards, the authors consider the appearance of tensions between actors in cyber space, which include political and economic threats. It encourages state actors to establish a preliminary regulation and to agree on norms regulating state behavior in cyberspace. These mechanisms have become a venue for promoting different concepts of cyber law and establishing legal regimes. In conclusion the authors analyze the hierarchy of actors in global Internet governance to assess the actors’ influence on the establishment of legal regimes in cyberspace. The main assessment criteria are as follows: ability to influence global production chains of high-tech goods, ability to conduct offensive and defensive cyber operations, and influence on the formation of international legal regimes. The authors divide actors into two major groups - rule-markers capable of influencing the global information space and constructing legal regimes, and rule-takers that are an object of great powers competition in cyberspace.