World Order summary

In the aftermath of World War II, the capitalist-run West, particularly the United States, and the communist Soviet Union began vying for control of global politics. This marked the birth of the conflict known as the Cold War, an ideological battle that would span decades, keeping the world’s citizens in constant suspense.

But during all those fraught and intense years, no actual war broke out between the United States and the Soviet Union. Why didn’t the conflict go further?

While there has never been a completely global world order – that is, one that spanned the entire planet – one in particular came very close. It first took shape in Europe when the Peace of Westphalia laid the foundation for a new way of conducting politics.

Here’s what happened:

So, balancing powers can stabilize world order. But in the case of Europe, another essential component came into play: flexibility.

During the Thirty Years’ War, any nation in Europe could ally with any other, which functioned as a defence against one nation becoming too powerful. After the war, Europe’s system of alliances had become very flexible – coalitions formed easily as long as they seemed strategically beneficial, even across religious lines.

You might be surprised to learn that Europe’s world order was made especially possible by a country that most people don’t associate with the historical stability of Europe: Germany.

Until 1871, Germany was not a unified state, but rather a collection of small states and principalities all united by the German language. This was essential to the prevailing order of Europe, because this collection of small states was not considered a threat; in contrast, a united Germany would have been too large and powerful. Such a big and populous nation would have surely disrupted the delicate balance of power between the European nations of the time.

Why should we care about the roots and upbringings of leaders like US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel?

People and their political actions are of course deeply influenced by how they are raised and the context in which they come of age. Take Klemens von Metternich and Otto von Bismarck, two of the greatest strategic diplomats of their time:

It might seem obvious, but when many nations meet, the risk of conflict increases: different world orders tend to be incompatible.

This could have something to do with the fact that, by definition, every world order purports to apply universally. As such, each world order fails to acknowledge the existence of alternative, highly divergent world orders, and therefore is not designed to be applied alongside them.

As we now know, world orders tend to contain far-reaching concepts with many applications. As a result, it’s often difficult to resolve discrepancies between them. While the idea that certain world orders are entirely incompatible with all others may seem extreme, such world orders do exist.

Specifically, world orders that are based on strict adherence to the Quran leave no room for others.

Now that you’ve seen how world order works, let’s take a look at a clear and tangible implementation of a world order: that of the United States.

First off, the United States often used the concepts detailed in the European world order to its advantage. For a long time, the three greatest rivals of the United States were Russia, China and Japan. Using a method typical of the Westphalian world order, American leaders worked to pit their enemies against one another.