World disorder in an age of globalisation: Global instability in the early twenty-first century

Abstract

The prospects of the emergence of a stable and tranquil international system became high in the early 1990s following a drastic reduction in East-West rivalry in an increasingly globalizing world. The forces of change were potent and a new world order markedly different from what existed in the previous four decades during which the Cold War took place seemed to have been established. However, in the course of the 1990s into the opening years of the 21st century signs of the return of the old order of contest for power by the great powers and the experience of violent conflict became manifest. The reality is that the international system needs peace and harmony for the sustenance of stability and development. However, conflicts between states seem inevitable as long as the behaviour of states remains unchanged characterized as it were by contest for power, imperialist tendencies and the pursuit of national interest in an anarchic international system. This paper assesses the prospects of the establishment of a peaceful and stable international system with globalisation as a catalyst.