From Unipolarity to Multipolarity : The Al-Aqsa Flood and the Acceleration of Structural Changein International Politics

This thesis examines how the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation (October 2023)accelerated an already precarious shift from U.S.-led unipolarity to adisputed multipolar order. Based on a comprehensive model of StructuralRealism, Constructivism, Complex Interdependence and Power TransitionTheory, it studies a time horizon of 23 points through to January 2026. Theconflict became a systemic catalyst: It underscored the decline of hegemonictools used to manage power, military strength, political dominance,diplomatic power and legal choices and allowed alternate actors to exercisebargaining power. Key indicators include the failure of overwhelming forceto meet political aims in Gaza; successful legal challenges at the ICJ/ICC;overwhelming UN support for Palestinian statehood; and a tangibleconsequence of transnational movements such as BDS. Findings confirm thatthe operation intensified long-standing multipolar trends, visibly erodingWestern normative hegemony and empowering a coordinated coalition ofuncooperative Global South states and non-state networks. Their conclusionsare that such inflection points serve to remind the world of the fact thatcontemporary power transitions bring about simultaneous relocations ofmaterial, normative and institutional authority. This poses deep difficultiesfor global governance and conflict resolution in a time of strategicuncertainty and institutional fragmentation.