internal crises related to social divisions, weakening institutions and the erosion of shared values. Numerous Western studies have examined these dynamics, constructing narratives that suggest profound transformations that may signal the West’s decline and growing internal fragility. These developments intersect with the rise of competing international powers, making Western decline a cumulative and complex process rather than a temporary phase. Demographic and economic shifts also indicate a diminishing capacity of the West to impose globally dominant narratives as it once did, alongside a gradual loss of its symbolic and political monopoly. Recent geopolitical shocks—such as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the intensifying US– China rivalry—have further exposed the fragility of traditional patterns of hegemony and revived debates on emerging multipolarity. At the same time, the rise of the Global South and regional alliances is becoming an important factor in the redistribution of power at the international level. This suggests that the decline of the West does not necessarily imply a complete collapse, but rather reflects a repositioning of hegemony within a more complex and plural international order, opening the way for the analysis of narratives of Western decline and their implications for the future of the international system and the rise of new powers. Keywords: Western decline, multipolarity, redistribution of power, hegemonic crisis, international order.
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