Editor's Introduction

Abstract

Anatolii Utkin, whose writings have graced these pages more than once before, introduces this issue of Russian Politics and Law with an incisive and balanced tour of the global horizon ("Vectors of Global Change"). From a perspective that combines realpolitik and a concern for "emerging global issues" with an appreciation for the forces of ethnic nationalism and civilizational conflict, Utkin worries about the phenomenon of a world in which the United States is the dominant power. But unlike many others concerned by unipolarity, Utkin also demonstrates an understanding of the limits of American power as he catalogues the rather long list of outstanding international problems that the United States has sought, and failed, to resolve to its satisfaction. In fact, U.S. hegemony in the world will be thwarted, he believes, by the absence of either linguistic convergence or religious compatibility. Thus, despite the fact that English is the international language, 92 percent of the world's inhabitants do not speak English. Moreover, the proportion of Christians in the world continues to diminish with time (and with the surge in Islamic rates of reproduction).