ABSTRACT
During the past few years many of our previous certainties have disappeared. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when this process began, although it is noticeable that particularly since the 1980s the rate of change in many different spheres has increased dramatically and continues to move apace. Since that time the Berlin Wall has gone, the Soviet Union collapsed, the Cold War ended and some previous world views and assumptions now appear tired or irrelevant. New opportunities have appeared: globalization and increases in economic growth in many countries, the eastward expansion of the EU and the growth and widespread use of the internet. With the end of the Cold War old fears have been replaced with new ones which have become much more real since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US.
