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Clingendael Monitor 2013: An Uncertain World

02 Dec 2013 - 09:45
Source: Clingendael

The world is constantly changing and major events and developments follow each other in rapid succession.

We live in an uncertain world. That is the main conclusion of the Clingendael Monitor 2013, which was originally published in Dutch in May 2013 and is now available in English as well.

Shifting power relations

The Clingendael Monitor 2013 sketches a global system in which power relations are shifting rapidly – the well-known ‘rise of the rest’ in which next to states, non-states actors play an important role. A global system moreover which is confronted with a great variety of security issues, ranging from cyber security to more traditional threats concerning the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

A final observation is that the global governance architecture is not adequately equipped to deal with today’s challenges.

US and China

The overall conclusion of the Monitor 2013 is that the global system is moving more and more in the direction of a multipolar configuration of power, within which cooperation becomes more difficult and will in particular depend upon the relations between the main powers, foremost the US and China.

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Demonstration on Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt.