CONCEPTUAL PRINCIPLES OF GLOBAL LEADERSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Abstract
The article provides a comprehensive theoretical and methodological analysis of the transformation of the conceptual foundations of global leadership in the architecture of modern international relations. The purpose of the study is to theoretically rethink the nature of leadership potential in the context of the transition to a polycentric world order, identify innovative determinants of power, and substantiate the author’s classifi- cation of leadership models in the modern world. The methodological basis of the work is a systemic approach that allows us to consider leadership as a function of the structure of international relations, as well as a comparative-historical method used to study the evolution of concepts from the classical realism of G. Morgenthau and K. Waltz to the latest network and cognitive models. The author focuses on the distinction between the categories of leadership, hegemony, and domination, justifying the transition from the static status of a superpower to the dynamic process of managing global processes. Based on the analysis of current reports of the World Economic Forum and IISS for 2025, it is proven that traditional military-political indicators are losing their monopoly on maintaining the status of a leader, giving way to the parameters of digital sovereignty, strategic thinking and ethical responsibility of actors. The scientific result is specified, which consists in identifying mechanisms of normative leadership using the example of the European Union strategy, which is based on the Brussels effect and the ability to set global standards for regulating artificial intelligence. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the development and theoretical substantiation of the author’s classification of leadership models by scale and functional orientation, which allows us to distinguish between universal leadership as an all-encompassing influence and sectoral leadership as dominance in strategic niches, in particular in the space, semiconductor and energy sectors. It is summarized that the modern hegemon is an entity that combines the stra- tegic depth of resource potential with flexibility and the ability to form legitimate rules of the game in the conditions of digital transformation of world processes.
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