Where are we now?
From Samuel Huntington’s prognosis of a ‘clash of civilizations’ to Francis Fukuyama’s foreboding of an ‘end of history’, the world stands somewhere in between and more multi-polar than any time since the World War II (WWII). The policies of Trump administration, conflagrations in the Middle East, Russian aggression in Crimea, tensions in South China Sea, and global threat of Islamic terrorism pose a challenge to the peace and stability of the world.
The fall of the Soviet Union ended the cold war making the United States of America as the only Superpower in the world. However, within a decade, the specter of Islamic terrorism challenged the American supremacy by striking a serious blow on 9/11. The ensuing ‘war on terror’- exhausting the American might- , coupled with the economic resurgence of China and India, has chipped away at the American power. The ‘war on terror’ was not only fiscally punitive, but also politically untenable. Further, the ‘Great recession’ of 2007-09 has changed the dynamics of geopolitical power projection. America, weighed down by its debt overhang, is struggling to keep up with its global commitments that are necessary to maintain its geo-strategic influence. The emerging powers- China and India have shed pretensions of communist and socialist influences and have embarked on a course to embrace free market capitalism. However, even after multiplying the size of their economies, they lack the potency to decisively challenge American primacy.
Further, the refugee exodus from the Middle East, and the subsequent mismanagement of the same has led to a humanitarian crises. The unwillingness of the western nations in admitting refugees has called into question the moral credibility of the global order. Also the political rise of right wing movements in America, Netherlands, Austria and France looms large over the legitimacy of free trade, multiculturalism- ideas that form the bedrock of the post WWII world order.
To navigate the aforementioned, treacherous and muddling, issues plaguing the world, ‘The Global Politics’ promises its readers to bring quality opinion and news that shape the world. We will maintain high editorial standards in publishing our content so that our reader isn’t a victim of ‘the fake news’.
