ABSTRACT
The political geography of the world order has, until very recently, been dominated by the actions of the two superpowers. The USA and USSR have dominated the world-indeed, to all intents and purposes they were the world order. They provided the context in which other nations adopted foreign policies and pursued economic objectives. In recent years, however, this bipolar structure has begun to change. The global dichotomy with its attendant allies and satellites has begun to break up. At times the change has been almost imperceptible, at other times events have moved very quickly. The general picture is of the absolute decline of the USSR, the
relative decline of the USA and the emergence of new centres of power. We will examine these new centres in this chapter. First, however, let us consider the retreat from empire of the two old superpowers.
