The Future Of Global Affairs

This book has two aims: first, to examines the evolving role of the state, and non-state actors, coupled with trends – including globalization, populism, post-truth, enlightened capitalism, feminist foreign policy, energy disruption, climate change, emerging cyber and other technologies, and the crisis in UN-centered multilateralism, to offer a prescient assessment of global affairs in the near future; and, second, to solidify the transdisciplinary nature of Global Affairs as a field of study that transcends the traditional conceptual silos.

The Future of Global Affairs is an exciting and balanced contribution to the debate about the potential trajectory of a world in flux. Tinged more with concern than utopian optimism, this volume captures a panoramic view of our cacophonous and disorderly world that is on the verge of disequilibrium and potential destruction unless key political actors, institutions, and processes can find a way to adapt global affairs to an increasingly plurilateral and intermestic era. A must-read for serious IR scholars; written in a way that is understandable to the lay person. - W. Andy Knight, PhD, FRSC, University of Alberta Inspired by urgent questions, this simultaneously illuminating and profoundly unsettling book traces the contours of the ascendant geopolitics, illustrating how one class of events can have contrasting resonances and implications in Washington, Lima, Lagos, or Luang Prabang. Each chapter explores a different facet of global affairs, offering perspectives that, though not rosy, serious students of world politics will do well to take to heart. - Ebenezer Obadare, PhD, University of Kansas This book has two aims: first, to examines the evolving role of the state, and non-state actors, coupled with trends - including globalization, populism, post-truth, enlightened capitalism, feminist foreign policy, energy disruption, climate change, emerging cyber and other technologies, and the crisis in UN-centered multilateralism, to offer a prescient assessment of global affairs in the near future; and, second, to solidify the transdisciplinary nature of Global Affairs as a field of study that transcends the traditional conceptual silos. Christopher Ankersen is Clinical Associate Professor at the Center for Global Affairs, New York University School of Professional Studies. He is Senior Research Fellow at the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), Bangkok. Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu is Clinical Associate Professor and leads the UN Specialization at the Center for Global Affairs, New York University School of Professional Studies. He is also Associate Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and Guest Faculty at the NATO Defense College, Rome.

The Future of Power examines what it means to be forceful and effective in a world in which the traditional ideas of state power have been upended by technology, and rogue actors. Joseph S. Nye, Jr., a longtime analyst of power and a hands-on practitioner in government, delivers a new power narrative that considers the shifts, innovations, bold technologies, and new relationships that are defining the twenty-first century. He shows how power resources are adapting to the digital age and how smart power strategies must include more than a country's military strength. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, unsurpassed in military strength and ownership of world resources, the United States was indisputably the most powerful nation in the world. Today, China, Russia, India, and others are increasing their share of world power resources. Information once reserved for the government is now available for mass consumption. The Internet has literally put power at the fingertips of nonstate agents, allowing them to launch cyberattacks from their homes. The cyberage has created a new power frontier among states, ripe with opportunity for developing countries. To remain at the pinnacle of world power, the United States must adopt a strategy that designed for a global information age.

A leading thinker on Canada's place in the world contends that our country's greatest untapped resource may be the three million Canadians who don't live here. Entrepreneurs, educators, humanitarians: an entire province's worth of Canadian citizens live outside Canada. Some will return, others won't. But what they all share is the ability, and often the desire, to export Canadian values to a world sorely in need of them. And to act as ambassadors for Canada in industries and societies where diplomatic efforts find little traction. Surely a country with people as diverse as Canada's ought to plug itself into every corner of the globe. We don't, and sometimes not even when our expats are eager to help. Failing to put this desire to work, contends bestselling author and longtime foreign correspondent John Stackhouse, is a grave error for a small country whose voice is getting lost behind developing nations of rapidly increasing influence. The soft power we once boasted is getting softer, but we have an unparalleled resource, if we choose to use it. To ensure Canada's place in the world, Stackhouse argues in Planet Canada, we need this exceptional province of expats and their special claim on the twenty-first century.

From the visionary bestselling author of The Second World and How to Run the World comes a bracing and authoritative guide to a future shaped less by national borders than by global supply chains, a world in which the most connected powers—and people—will win. Connectivity is the most revolutionary force of the twenty-first century. Mankind is reengineering the planet, investing up to ten trillion dollars per year in transportation, energy, and communications infrastructure linking the world’s burgeoning megacities together. This has profound consequences for geopolitics, economics, demographics, the environment, and social identity. Connectivity, not geography, is our destiny. In Connectography, visionary strategist Parag Khanna travels from Ukraine to Iran, Mongolia to North Korea, Pakistan to Nigeria, and across the Arctic Circle and the South China Sea to explain the rapid and unprecedented changes affecting every part of the planet. He shows how militaries are deployed to protect supply chains as much as borders, and how nations are less at war over territory than engaged in tugs-of-war over pipelines, railways, shipping lanes, and Internet cables. The new arms race is to connect to the most markets—a race China is now winning, having launched a wave of infrastructure investments to unite Eurasia around its new Silk Roads. The United States can only regain ground by fusing with its neighbors into a super-continental North American Union of shared resources and prosperity. Connectography offers a unique and hopeful vision for the future. Khanna argues that new energy discoveries and technologies have eliminated the need for resource wars; ambitious transport corridors and power grids are unscrambling Africa’s fraught colonial borders; even the Arab world is evolving a more peaceful map as it builds resource and trade routes across its war-torn landscape. At the same time, thriving hubs such as Singapore and Dubai are injecting dynamism into young and heavily populated regions, cyber-communities empower commerce across vast distances, and the world’s ballooning financial assets are being wisely invested into building an inclusive global society. Beneath the chaos of a world that appears to be falling apart is a new foundation of connectivity pulling it together. Praise for Connectography “Incredible . . . With the world rapidly changing and urbanizing, [Khanna’s] proposals might be the best way to confront a radically different future.”—The Washington Post “Clear and coherent . . . a well-researched account of how companies are weaving ever more complicated supply chains that pull the world together even as they squeeze out inefficiencies. . . . [He] has succeeded in demonstrating that the forces of globalization are winning.”—Adrian Woolridge, The Wall Street Journal “Bold . . . With an eye for vivid details, Khanna has . . . produced an engaging geopolitical travelogue.”—Foreign Affairs “For those who fear that the world is becoming too inward-looking, Connectography is a refreshing, optimistic vision.”—The Economist “Connectivity has become a basic human right, and gives everyone on the planet the opportunity to provide for their family and contribute to our shared future. Connectography charts the future of this connected world.”—Marc Andreessen, general partner, Andreessen Horowitz “Khanna’s scholarship and foresight are world-class. A must-read for the next president.”—Chuck Hagel, former U.S. secretary of defense This title has complex layouts that may take longer to download.

In light of new global challenges for international cooperation and coordination, such as the revival of protectionism, surge of populism, or energy-related issues, this volume highlights possible scenarios for the future of Global Economic Governance (GEG). The contributing authors analyze the substance of GEG as a normative framework for resolving collective action issues and promoting cross-border co-ordination and co-operation in the provision or exchange of goods, money, services and technical expertise in the world economy. Furthermore, the book examines drivers of fundamental shifts in global economic steering and covers topics such as power and authority shifts in the global governance architecture, technological and energy-related challenges, and the role of the G20 and BRICS in shaping global economic governance. “This book provides a very timely and nuanced account of the challenges facing the established global order.” Andrew F. Cooper (Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo) “This valuable collection from a new generation of innovative scholars of global economic governance offers insights from a broad range of theoretical approaches to the central policy issues of the day” John Kirton (Director of the Global Governance Program, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto)

This book argues that Canada and its international policies are at a crossroads as US hegemony is increasingly challenged and a new international order is emerging. The contributors look at how Canada has been adjusting to this new environment and resetting priorities to meet its international policy objectives in a number of different fields: from the alignment of domestic politics along new foreign policies, to reshaping its international identity in a post-Anglo order, its relationship with international organizations such as the UN and NATO, place among middle powers, management of peace operations and defense, role in G7 and G20, climate change and Arctic policy, development, and relations with the Global South. Embracing multilateralism has been and will continue to be key to Canada’s repositioning and its ability to maintain its position in this new world order. This book takes a comprehensive look at Canada’s role in the world and the various political and policy variables that will impact Canada’s foreign policy decisions into the future. Chapter 22 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

With the United States' superpower status rivalled by a rising China and emerging powers like India and Brazil playing a growing role in international affairs, the global balance of power is shifting. But what does this mean for the future of the international order? Will China dominate the 21st Century? Will the so-called BRICS prove to be a disruptive force in global affairs? Are we headed towards a world marked by frequent strife, or will the end of Western dominance make the world more peaceful? In this provocative new book, Oliver Stuenkel argues that our understanding of global order and predictions about its future are limited because we seek to imagine the post-Western world from a parochial Western-centric perspective. Such a view is increasingly inadequate in a world where a billions of people regard Western rule as a temporary aberration, and the rise of Asia as a return to normalcy. In reality, China and other rising powers that elude the simplistic extremes of either confronting or joining existing order are quietly building a "parallel order" which complements today's international institutions and increases rising powers' autonomy. Combining accessibility with expert sensitivity to the complexities of the global shift of power, Stuenkel's vision of a post-Western world will be core reading for students and scholars of contemporary international affairs, as well as anyone interested in the future of global politics. "A fascinating interpretation of our understanding of politics and global affairs, which demonstrates the evolving nature of power today. Oliver Stuenkel presents a compelling argument - not just about the "Rise of the Rest", but also the overlooked power and influence of the non-Western world. Highly engaging and instructive." Dr Shashi Tharoor, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs (2009-10) "Oliver Stuenkel is one of the best new voices in the field of international politics. In Post-Western World, he explores the primary challenges of the global order and critiques the parochial, Eurocentric vision which conforms to international power structures. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand what a multipolar world order would look like and how it might be effectively realized." Celso Amorim, Brazil’s Minister of External Relations (1993-5, 2003-11) and Minister of Defence (2011-15)