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II. Selected Essays from "New World Order?"
We have selected four essays from the SSRC collection
on "New World Order?" which we believe are particularly
accessible and thought-provoking for advanced high school
students and undergraduates.
Click here for index to SSRC essays on New World Order.
"Theorizing Islam"
by Richard W. Bulliet
Synopsis: Richard Bulliet considers that the
theoretical assumptions guiding US policy in the Middle East
have ignored the central role that Islam has played in
shaping political outcomes throughout the region in the past
half decade. By dismissing the role of Islam in these modern
societies and pursuing only national interest in the Middle
East, policymakers have sewn the seeds of the current crisis.
He argues that only once this fact is recognized that the
dangerous situation in the Middle East can be addressed.
"The
End of the Unipolar World Moment:
September 11th and the Future of World Order"
by Steve Smith
Synopsis: Writing soon after September 11, Steve Smith
argues that the events of September 11 brought to an end the
"uni-polar moment" during which the US was the sole
superpower. He predicts that US policy will be more
multilateral in approach and more international in focus, and
that it will be able to impose its leadership on its allies
under the theme of war on terrorism. He cautions the United
States not to act unilaterally to eradicate the terrorist
threat, or characterize this conflict as a war against Islam,
which would only further inflame the situation.
"Beyond Conflicting Powers' Politics"
by Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira
Synopsis: According to Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira,
the events of September 11 changed the way the world is seen.
World powers no longer consider possible military attack by
other nation-states as the major threats to security. Instead
terrorism, the drug trade, financial instability, etc. pose
the greatest danger to nation-states. He argues that in order
to eradicate these universal threats, world powers will seek
to cooperate with one another. At the same time, rules of
international trade, finance and immigration will come to
define international relations. He foresees that, in coming
centuries, institutions for world governance will evolve from
this new form of international politics.
"Living with the Hegemon"
by William Wallace
Synopsis: William Wallace evaluates American hegemony
(i.e., the predominant influence of a state over another or
others) and the European response to it in terms of military
and economic dominance, as well as "soft power" (i.e.,
acceptance of the US's dominance as legitimate by those who
are dominated, namely the rest of the world). He considers
that American hegemony will continue in world affairs, but
warns that current levels of European political and economic
support for American-led initiatives is unlikely to continue
if Europeans do not feel that they have a say in formulating
so-called "multilateral" policies.
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