The universe is in a state of continuous flux, and the world undergoes periods of change at a pace that varies according to current events and developments. Hence there are states, powers, institutions, agencies, mentalities and theories that evolve quickly, undergo gradual change, or perhaps choose to remain static. This does not alter the reality of the change taking place around us, which is the main inspiration for presenting this vision of the current and future features of the new world order.

In this book I have sought to present an informed view that is comprehensive, objective and analytical—one that is based on statistics, data and information, rather than casual personal impressions, biases or opinions. Nevertheless, I recognize that readers are free to agree or disagree with the views adopted herein. Indeed, this is a natural process for any research effort that seeks to shed light on the structure, course and composition of power, sovereignty and influence in the world in the coming decades with a view to contributing to an understanding of global and regional developments and the ongoing need for clear strategic views of the future.

Some may consider research on the ‘new world order’ to be necessarily out of date, being a subject discussed by untold numbers of intellectuals, experts, researchers and scholars in the existing literature.

A number of recent theories refer to conspicuous changes in the fabric of the new world order in light of the rising roles of countries and blocs such as China and the EU. Such developments are expected to shape many of the new world order's features and lead to structural changes in the frameworks that govern both its leadership and the interaction of individuals, cross-border groups, states, and supranational groupings within it. These changes are likely to have substantial consequences for current means of maintaining alliances, managing conflicts, doing business, and overseeing production. Such changes are expected to affect mobility, social networking, and the identification of opinions and trends; moreover, they are likely to affect the considerations of individuals, civil society, the state, and international organizations in sovereign decision-making.

Three of these influential theories relate to the inability to control the course of local or international events—whether in the fields of politics, international relations, economics, business or even daily life. They are Moisés R. Naím's ‘end of power’ thesis, the ‘G-zero’ theory of Ian Bremmer, and the ‘Black Swan’ theory developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

The end of power theory, posited by Moisés R. Naím in his 2013 book of the same name, which was briefly reviewed in the Introduction to this volume, is based on the notion that power is shifting from West to East and North to South, from presidential palaces to public squares: “from large, stable armies to loose bands of insurgents, from formidable corporate behemoths to nimble agile start-ups,” and – slowly but surely – from men to women.

Whereas the new world order is a reflection of the distribution of power between its main actors, there are many other factors that influence – either directly or indirectly – the basic structure of that system. This has been dealt with extensively in the Introduction and Chapter I entitled “The New World Order: Features and Concepts.” It is attempted in this chapter to identify the most important of these factors and discuss their influence and manifestations in the global order. In doing so, it seeks to inform the intellectual understanding of the new world order, its dynamics and construction.

The Relationships between Civilizations

Some researchers, including Samuel Phillips Huntington, argue that the post-Cold War world consists of eight civilizations, namely: the Chinese, the Japanese, the Indian, the Islamic, the Western, the Latin American, the Orthodox and the African. Huntington posits that the development of international interests, animosities and alliances will be drawn in the future according to the relationships between these civilizations and the levels of mutual interest and/or hostility between them. He believes that civilizational interactions have played an influential role since the beginning of history in shaping the features of the world—for example, through invasion or subjugation. The result, according to Huntington, is that global politics has become multi-polar as well as multicivilizational.

When an expert attempts to understand a particular phenomenon related to the political and social sciences, he resorts to research in order to understand how that phenomenon may manifest itself now and in the future. This research sometimes unearths contradicting, and more often conflicting views, and perhaps much repetition and redundant material. These are all matters that require academic analysis in order to bring clarity to the matter in question.

The scholar always depends on logic in order to gather evidence and reach conclusions on a theoretical approach that can be used as a model for measurement. Therefore, why not subject the new world order to such thinking, in light of the research available today, in an attempt to predict its development? To achieve this, our academic ‘laboratory’ will conduct its work within the pages of this book, where facts and theory meet, dialogue is promoted between East and West, North and South, and the past, present and future are considered. For these reasons, the approach taken herein will not be traditional; the study of the new world order is characterized by an overlap between strategy, politics, economy, military affairs, technology, culture, science, ideology and geography, and by the development of concepts and networks of relationships—from the level of state citizens up to global citizens.

When the topic of the new world order is put forward for study, controversy and debate soon ensue regarding its nature – indeed, sometimes its very existence – and how it differs from the international system in terms of its concepts and general framework, and whether there are facts that testify to the validity of such characterizations. Therefore, there is a need to identify the key concepts and their dimensions, and arrange these in various theoretical frameworks which might engender both agreement and disagreement in the world of research. Yet this commendable debate does not alter the fact that it is the outcome of an academic pursuit, which at its heart does not rely on an absolute definition of concepts as rigid terms. In parallel to the above, they pose questions regarding the most salient features and manifestations of this order. It seems appropriate in this chapter to deal with this issue based on two themes: the first relates to concepts, in an attempt to discover and comprehend the realities of the new world order in its various guises. The second focuses on the most prominent features of this order, addressing, inter alia, global civil society, globalization, civilizational and ideological conflicts, the controversial relationship between globalization and state sovereignty, interactions between globalization, realism and liberalism, the debate on the notion of a clash between civilizations, the controversy of the relationship between Islam and the West, ethnic, factional and sectarian conflicts, and the growth of extremist trends and ideologies in the new world order, using the US far right as an example.