However, it is increasingly being recognised that this period has come to an end. A more multipolar world is not inherently a worse one, but history shows that it is typically more conflict-prone. As power becomes more diffuse, it becomes increasingly difficult to enforce a rules-based order, and there are growing incentives to test the boundaries.
The world today feels more uncertain than it has for decades. This is not just a matter of sentiment; it reflects a genuine shift in the global order.
In the post-Cold War period, the world followed a broadly unipolar system — a rules-based framework anchored by the US — that delivered a prolonged “peace dividend” and supported the steady deepening of global trade and capital flows.
