American political commentator Thomas Friedman says that the world has entered a phase of ‘post-post-Cold War.’ This phase is witnessing a contest between what he calls an ad hoc “coalition of inclusion” and a “coalition of resistance”. The former is dominated by democratic countries while the latter is led by Russia, Iran and North Korea. Interestingly, Friedman believes China is straddling between the two given its economic interests. Not everyone agrees with Friedman’s formulation.

British Russian historian Sergei Radchenko argues that “the assumption that the United States can drive a wedge between China and Russia is flawed.” If history has taught Russia and China anything, Radchenko explains, it is that “it’s much better to be good neighbours than to be at each other’s throats.” One of the biggest challenges today is how to define the present world disorder which is only growing.

American writer Robert D Kaplan describes the present age as “comparative anarchy”. What the world is facing is a much higher level of anarchy compared to that of the Cold War and post Cold War periods. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterrez too maintains that we are now living in an increasingly chaotic world order. If we are to believe former UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, we are moving “from a post-war to pre-war world”. The Economist magazine goes a step further suggesting that the liberal international order is slowly coming apart and that “its collapse could be sudden and irreversible.” Undoubtedly, the international order is fraying.

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