SBY Says World Should Be Multipolar but US Wants to Be Unipolar

Indonesia’s sixth President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) delivered a public lecture at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) on the state of global geopolitics. During the session, SBY addressed the United States’ desire to become a unipolar power — the world’s sole dominant force.

SBY began by outlining the global situation during the Cold War era, noting that the world was then in a bipolar state between two major blocs.

“Subsequently, when it comes to economic cooperation and international trade, there has indeed been a shift. During the Cold War it was bipolar — the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc,” SBY said at the Lemhannas building in Central Jakarta on Monday (23/2/2026).

SBY noted that after the Cold War, the US sought to become a “lone ranger” — a nation acting unilaterally to achieve its objectives. He also observed that the US was predicted to represent “The Triumph of Liberalism” and “The Death of Communism and Authoritarianism.”

SBY argued that change has occurred over time. At present, he said, the world should have become multipolar.

“What does this mean? It has happened, and now we should be returning to a multipolar order — at the very least comprising the United States, China, Russia, the European Union, and several BRICS nations. We must recognise that we live in a multipolar order,” he said.

However, SBY contended that the US does not want this. The US, he continued, wants to be unipolar — the sole power in the world.

“America wants to return to a unipolar system, America alone as the global leader, global force, as a lone ranger,” he said.

It is for this reason, SBY argued, that it is now crucial for Indonesia to position itself appropriately. “But our way of thinking must be that we need to be able to navigate and position ourselves — our steps within the current global order, polarisation, and polarity as it stands today,” he added.