World Confronts a Choice Between Chaos and Order

US President-elect Barack Obama will enter office in January with a host of priorities that require immediate action, as well as concern that US influence is on the wane with new multilateralism unfolding. “More likely, the trend will be towards fragmentation and instability as the new powers take what they want from the existing order while preserving a freedom of manoeuvre outside it,” writes Philip Stephens in his column for the Financial Times. Global systems that reflect the world order of the mid-20th century will fail to gather the widespread support required to resolve global problems of the 21st century. “The extent to which coherence prevails over chaos in a changing system” depends on decisions by political leaders, Stephens concludes. “To do nothing is to invite disorder. Doing something demands the imagination to create a new and inclusive architecture.” – YaleGlobal