ABSTRACT
The victory of the United States and its allies in the war against Iraq led to a spate of popular commentary in the United States about a “new world order” under the aegis of American military hegemony. What distinguishes the present period from previous periods of detente, as in the early 1970s, is the revelation of Soviet economic, political, and military weakness, the withdrawal of Soviet power from Eastern and Central Europe, and the reunification of Germany. The diffusion of power has two major dimensions: the expansion and globalization of interdependence and the decline in the economic preponderance of the United States. European influence was important in shaping a framework of economic interdependence and political alliance. Throughout the 1980s, political scientists argued about the changing configuration of world power. Multilateral institutions help governments to deal with fragmented relations of interdependence. But they may also enhance the wisdom of policymaking.
