Pakistan, July 30 -- The war in Ukraine against Russia, which is often portrayed as a local dispute over borders and historical animosities, is far more significant than that. It has exposed serious tensions within the international system and accelerated the world's transition toward a multipolar future. Although many policymakers once hoped that globalisation and interdependence had tamed great-power rivalries in the 21st century, the war in Ukraine demonstrates how old geopolitical instincts can re-emerge-now cloaked in the language of modern diplomacy.

This conflict is not only about NATO's expansion or Russia's imperial nostalgia. It is a manifestation of the power transition processes predicted by scholars of international relation...