Friedman’s Sunday column in the NYT’s makes a key point that many academics, pundits, and politicians seem to be missing: the fact that we have entered into a specific new era in world affairs that is as profound as the Cold War Era (although we still have no nifty name for it, as the “Era of Terror” sounds too much like a Don King-hyped boxing match). All levity aside, the newest “new world order” is currently being shaped by the behavior of key state actors, and the actions within multilateral organizations, many of whom seem oblivious to the consequences of their actions.
To quote Friedman:
Friends, with every great world war has come a new security system. World War I gave birth to the League of Nations and an attempt to recreate a balance of power in Europe, which proved unstable. World War II gave birth to the U.N., NATO, the I.M.F. and the bipolar American-Soviet power structure, which proved to be quite stable until the end of the cold war. Now, 9/11 has set off World War III, and it, too, is defining a new international order.
Indeed, his argument about a bipolar World of Order v. a World of Disorder has been an underlying theme in many recent columns, and is an accurate assessment of current circumstances.
His admonitions of the Chinese (the main point of his column) are well taken also.
