Abstract. The main systemic challenge for the emerging world order is the formation of the new configuration and balance of forces at the global and regional levels and the center-periphery relations. The competition for a place at the core of international political system intensifies. Hierarchy within the system becomes more multifaceted and variative. Comparative weight of the main centers of influence is changing. New dividing lines emerge. Intra-state problems increasingly affect and become a subject of international relations. While the system of international cooperation mechanisms largely persists, it also becomes more heavily focused on particular national interests thus weakening the drivers for cooperation.