Uncertainty is the notion that can be a one-word description of the state of global affairs. Tensions in the world order architecture are symptoms of its ongoing transformation. The purpose of the article is to explore the reasons, manifestations and direction of this change. The prime assumption of the analysis is the regress of the West. NATO as a strategic bridge between two centers of the West – Europe and the United States – is subjected to scientific investigation to examine its possible role in reestablishment of the relative power of the West and regaining its defining capabilities in the world order in statu nascendi. The analysis is supplemented by two scenarios of possible trajectories of world order transformation.

Russia is believed to be back on the world stage. President Vladimir Putin’s policy based on the idea of conservatism, an assertiveness towards the West and the desperation to become an important global player has successfully lifted Russia’s significance in the international scene. To regain the status of a superpower Russia has developed a strategy of counterweighing politically the West and particularly the United States.

What are the primary drivers of the relationship between Xi’s China and Lukashenko’s Belarus? The present research paper uses the historical process-tracing method to provide an answer to this question. Furthermore, it uses quantitative data analysis regarding the economic intercourse between Belarus and China. It examines whether China’s opposition regarding the unipolar American-led world order and Belarus’s security concerns are the primary drivers of the relationship between Minsk and Beijing. The present article concludes that the congruence of beliefs and Minsk’s desire to ensure survival are drawing the two countries closer together. China’s new strategy encompasses Beijing’s increasing participation in world affairs. China opposes the world order led by a single hegemon, the United States of America. In the interim, Belarus, a relatively weak state insignificant in the global balance of power, shares Beijing’s beliefs about the desired nature of the contemporary world order. However, the Belarusian economy’s condition, which relies heavily on external funding, does not allow the economic cooperation between Minsk and Beijing to thrive. China gradually increases its engagement with Belarus, yet it obscures its ambitions, for Minsk lies in Moscow’s sphere of influence.