Models of a New World: towards a Synthesis

Three alternative world orders can be imagined in the post-World War II international relations. During most of the Cold War a bipolar order, centered on the possession of nuclear weapons, existed. This world order was incomplete, however. The United States and the Soviet Union faced each other with...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: R. Väyrynen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ассоциация независимых экспертов «Центр изучения кризисного общества» (in English: Association for independent experts “Center for Crisis Society Studies”) 2019-11-01
Series:Контуры глобальных трансформаций: политика, экономика, право
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.ogt-journal.com/jour/article/view/496
_version_ 1797646966544400384
author R. Väyrynen
author_facet R. Väyrynen
author_sort R. Väyrynen
collection DOAJ
description Three alternative world orders can be imagined in the post-World War II international relations. During most of the Cold War a bipolar order, centered on the possession of nuclear weapons, existed. This world order was incomplete, however. The United States and the Soviet Union faced each other with equal capacity to destroy each other, but in terms of economic and global influence the United States was superior. The strengthening of economic and technological dynamics increased further the U.S. influence, but also sparked the power of non-states actors, including transnational corporations and banks, independent of states. Simultaneously with the globalization of the world, one could witness the rise of non-state actors in the military and political fields. The emergence of the world order of the third type has sometimes been called the neomedieval world in which some central tenets of feudalism has re-emerged. None of these world order models can be said to dominate in today’s world and none of them is likely to emerge victorious any time soon. In recent times., globalization has suffered from various setbacks and state-centric relations have reemerged. Their focus is not, however, any more on the military competition between the United States and Russia, although some of its elements remain in the arms competition between them. Globalization has brought in new ingredients in the rivalries between states and it has appeared most visibly in the U.S.-Chinese rivalry for economic and technological dominance of the globalized world economy. In other words, a new type of economic bipolarity is winning ground and is only secondarily manifesting itself in military relations. Patterns of warfare has in recent decades been colored by fighting of non-state military forces and the rise of new feudal patterns of behavior, but they have not been pronounced enough to justify the labeling of the entire world order by the name.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T15:10:28Z
format Article
id doaj.art-15cc181eb2f3410fb4bb355b1496ebcf
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2542-0240
2587-9324
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T15:10:28Z
publishDate 2019-11-01
publisher Ассоциация независимых экспертов «Центр изучения кризисного общества» (in English: Association for independent experts “Center for Crisis Society Studies”)
record_format Article
series Контуры глобальных трансформаций: политика, экономика, право
spelling doaj.art-15cc181eb2f3410fb4bb355b1496ebcf2023-10-29T15:55:27ZengАссоциация независимых экспертов «Центр изучения кризисного общества» (in English: Association for independent experts “Center for Crisis Society Studies”)Контуры глобальных трансформаций: политика, экономика, право2542-02402587-93242019-11-0112318920610.23932/2542-0240-2019-12-3-189-206407Models of a New World: towards a SynthesisR. Väyrynen0International Relations University of Helsinki and the University of Notre Dame (USA), Academy of Finland, Finnish Institutes of International AffairsThree alternative world orders can be imagined in the post-World War II international relations. During most of the Cold War a bipolar order, centered on the possession of nuclear weapons, existed. This world order was incomplete, however. The United States and the Soviet Union faced each other with equal capacity to destroy each other, but in terms of economic and global influence the United States was superior. The strengthening of economic and technological dynamics increased further the U.S. influence, but also sparked the power of non-states actors, including transnational corporations and banks, independent of states. Simultaneously with the globalization of the world, one could witness the rise of non-state actors in the military and political fields. The emergence of the world order of the third type has sometimes been called the neomedieval world in which some central tenets of feudalism has re-emerged. None of these world order models can be said to dominate in today’s world and none of them is likely to emerge victorious any time soon. In recent times., globalization has suffered from various setbacks and state-centric relations have reemerged. Their focus is not, however, any more on the military competition between the United States and Russia, although some of its elements remain in the arms competition between them. Globalization has brought in new ingredients in the rivalries between states and it has appeared most visibly in the U.S.-Chinese rivalry for economic and technological dominance of the globalized world economy. In other words, a new type of economic bipolarity is winning ground and is only secondarily manifesting itself in military relations. Patterns of warfare has in recent decades been colored by fighting of non-state military forces and the rise of new feudal patterns of behavior, but they have not been pronounced enough to justify the labeling of the entire world order by the name.https://www.ogt-journal.com/jour/article/view/496world orderbipolarity, economic globalizationpatterns of warfarestate structuresforeign policystrategydiplomacy
spellingShingle R. Väyrynen
Models of a New World: towards a Synthesis
Контуры глобальных трансформаций: политика, экономика, право
world order
bipolarity, economic globalization
patterns of warfare
state structures
foreign policy
strategy
diplomacy
title Models of a New World: towards a Synthesis
title_full Models of a New World: towards a Synthesis
title_fullStr Models of a New World: towards a Synthesis
title_full_unstemmed Models of a New World: towards a Synthesis
title_short Models of a New World: towards a Synthesis
title_sort models of a new world towards a synthesis
topic world order
bipolarity, economic globalization
patterns of warfare
state structures
foreign policy
strategy
diplomacy
url https://www.ogt-journal.com/jour/article/view/496
work_keys_str_mv AT rvayrynen modelsofanewworldtowardsasynthesis