In the aftermath of the Soviet fall, major players like China started to emerge. China was incorporated into the Americanized world order under the assumption that it would become increasingly Western as its wealth continued to grow. However, it turned into a genuine great power in its own right, thereby leading to even more distribution of soft and hard power across the globe.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the globalization that occurred around the turn of the millennium also left many citizens of wealthy democracies feeling like they were not getting what they are owed. This led to a feeling that the governments of the world lacked the right amount of legitimacy.
Political scientist Ian Bremmer claims that these three factors led to the world being leaderless as of right now. He asks the question, what will happen when global leaders finally start to emerge in the next decade or so?
Contrary to the assumption that another bipolar world will arise, Bremmer asserted that three overlapping world orders will emerge. The US continues to hold enormous sway in the so called digital order, especially with China increasing its military presence in Asia which is forcing American allies to become more dependent on the superpower. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also led to this happening faster than might have been the case otherwise.
The unipolar order may stay right where it is for a few more years, but the US is slipping behind in terms of the global economic order. The dominance of the American military is unable to influence economics to any extent at all, and that has given China the chance it needed to topple its economic hegemony.
By 2030, China is predicted to be the largest consumer market in the world. This makes a Cold War between the US and China far less likely, since few if any countries would want to take any side in such a conflict.
With the global economic order clearly becoming multipolar, the US may use its considerable national security infrastructure to entice economic growth within its own borders. We have already seen this with the semiconductor ban as well as the potential TikTok ban. China, meanwhile, is trying to dominate with its superior economic might.
Other major nations such as India will try to prevent any hegemony from coming into being. The digital order (including cyber security) is taking power away from governments and into the hands of tech corporations, and this is becoming a massive factor for military and economic factors as well.
The Ukrainian defense against Russia relied heavily on tech companies and CEOs. This just goes to show that tech companies are growing their influence, and the rise of Donald Trump is yet another indication of this. Social media is connecting people, but it is also boosting access to fake information and news, and many consider this to be directly responsible for the attack on the US capitol.
Hence, it is fairly likely that the digital order will be where any potential Cold War takes place. Tech companies tend to think globally, leading to something called digital globalization, and this is becoming the third sphere of influence that goes beyond nation states.
Bremmer even said that tech companies will become dominant because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up benefiting all sides. The decisions they make will be hugely influential for the direction of the world in the future.
Read next: Here Are the Biggest Philosophical Questions People Ask Google
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World
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