Will the failure of the global system to create lasting peace result in a revival of superpower competition? Why or why not?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary but correct responses should include: At the end of the twentieth century, several theories abound on how the global landscape with look in the future. There will be a return either to a world of competition among individual states or to a continuation, with some realignment, of superpower confrontation. The end of the Cold War was part of a more general climax that devoured authoritarian systems and spread democracy and capitalism in their wake. Yet efforts to establish a peaceful world order failed. By the end of the century, the world depended on the only remaining superpower, the United States, to act as a global policeman. No one—especially the American taxpayer, who had to pay the check—would find this satisfactory for long. The chances are that rivals will again contest superpower status, as the European Union begins to function and as China recovers momentum after a long period of unfulfilled potential.