ABSTRACT
As Amitai Etzioni looks at the current international landscape, he is not confident that current trends, if left unaddressed, will lead the world to greater peace and stability. A series of what he defines as "hot spots" are emerging to challenge the status quo; these could imperil the global economic system upon which the prosperity and security of so many nations now depends. At the same time, China's rise is presenting more robust challenges to a Western-defined international order and its rules. Much of the assessment of the coming global disorder is based on predictions that the European Union is faltering. The Chinese approach is to concentrate on a different sort of pragmatic politics. A wait-and-see approach to coping with possible contingencies arising from a major shock in the Middle East may be understandable, but leaving the infrastructure of the global commons vulnerable to disruption seems to be needlessly inviting a major risk.
