Vectors of Global Change

Abstract

On the threshold of the twenty-first century six powerful forces have been identified, which together should lead to a new world order. The first is the growing geopolitical might of the sovereign states that won the cold war, coupled with the extension of this strength throughout the rest of the world. The second is the vigorous economic growth enjoyed by North America, Western Europe, and East Asia. The third is the weakening of nation-states against the background of the rise of transnational corporations and nongovernmental organizations, on one hand, and unfolding processes that elude regulation and threaten to plunge the world into chaos, on the other. The fourth is states' attempts to acquire a new identity after the "century of ideologies." The fifth is the uprising of the poor majority of the planet against the affluent minority, and the sixth is the population explosion.