This book seeks to help shape the debate surrounding power and polarity in the twenty-first century, both by assessing the likelihood of US decline and by analysing what each of the so-called 'rising powers' can do. As the twenty-first century moves out of its first decade, American supremacy continues to generate intense debate about the nature, quality and sustainability of US power. At the same time, significant developments in four rising powers - China, Russia, India and the European Union – have provoked analysts to ask whether multipolarity is a realistic prospect. Multipolarity in the 21st Century assesses the likelihood of a multipolar world developing, either by a marked US decline and or by the ability of these putative ‘rivals’ to continue to rise to the level necessary to be credibly considered a superpower. Written by a combination of emerging scholars and recognised experts, this volume will provide a timely and authoritative analysis of one of the most controversial and compelling security debates of the twenty-first century. This book will be of much interest to students of Security Studies, Foreign Policy and International Relations in general.

Wir leben in einer Übergangszeit: Die unipolare Weltordnung unter hegemonialer Durchsetzungskraft der USA weicht einer multipolaren Ordnung. Diese neue Ordnung verfügt weder über einen umfassenden gesellschaftspolitischen Konsens noch basiert sie auf gefestigten Institutionen. Sie ist weitestgehend durch partikulare Interessen bestimmt. Deshalb müssen wir annehmen, dass sie kaum in der Lage sein wird, territoriale Sicherheit und friedliche Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten zu gewährleisten. In diesem Prozess scheint die Europäische Union, aber - mit Einschränkungen - auch Russland, zwischen China und die USA zu geraten.

Wir leben in einer Übergangszeit: Die unipolare Weltordnung unter hegemonialer Durchsetzungskraft der USA weicht einer multipolaren Ordnung. Diese neue Ordnung verfügt weder über einen umfassenden gesellschaftspolitischen Konsens noch basiert sie auf gefestigten Institutionen. Sie ist weitestgehend durch partikulare Interessen bestimmt. Deshalb müssen wir annehmen, dass sie kaum in der Lage sein wird, territoriale Sicherheit und friedliche Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten zu gewährleisten. In diesem Prozess scheint die Europäische Union, aber - mit Einschränkungen - auch Russland, zwischen China und die USA zu geraten.

This book explores how the concept of a multipolar order is being used for different purposes in different national contexts. It examines the ways that debates about power and order in the world are shaping the policies of rising and established powers alike.

American corporations have to beg for capital from the cash-rich Sovereign Wealth Funds in the Persian Gulf. By invading Iraq, President George W. Bush grossly undermined American credibility in the international arena and irrevocably weakened Washington's diplomatic clout. Together, these historic shifts have provided an opportunity for the world to move from the tutelage of the sole superpower, America, to a multi-polar global order, one where America's moral, economic, and military leadership will be profoundly challenged. What form will this world resemble? What are the perils and promises of this new power order? In After Empire, Dilip Hiro provides a realistic, challenging, and nuanced look at the emerging power politics of the coming century and considers how they are going to turn our world upside-down.

The international system is undergoing a fundamental change from unipolarity to multipolarity and is facing a growing importance of Asia in world politics. In order to build Global Governance for the 21st century the multipolar state-system must be complemented and linked with structures of multilateral cooperation.

The contributors to Constructing the Pluriverse critique the hegemony of the postcolonial Western tradition and its claims to universality by offering a set of “pluriversal” approaches to understanding the coexisting epistemologies and practices of the different worlds and problems we inhabit and encounter. Moving beyond critiques of colonialism, the contributors rethink the relationship between knowledge and power, offering new perspectives on development, democracy, and ideology while providing diverse methodologies for non-Western thought and practice that range from feminist approaches to scientific research to ways of knowing expressed through West African oral traditions. In combination, these wide-ranging approaches and understandings form a new analytical toolbox for those seeking creative solutions for dismantling Westernization throughout the world. Contributors. Zaid Ahmad, Manuela Boatcă, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt, Raewyn Connell, Arturo Escobar, Sandra Harding, Ehsan Kashfi, Venu Mehta, Walter D. Mignolo, Ulrich Oslender, Issiaka Ouattara, Bernd Reiter, Manu Samnotra, Catherine E. Walsh, Aram Ziai