The most significant development in global politics following the end of the bi-polar Cold War era has been the rise of a multi-polar state system. This has led to the emergence of major potential super-powers, global rivalry, international terrorism and the gradual weakening of the one remaining hegemonic, uni-polar state after the Cold War – the US. The idealistic hopes following the collapse of communism have evaporated and Cold War competition between liberal capitalism and communism has been replaced by multi-polar global rivalry that can only be resolved by a balance of power buttressed by international law. In this ambitious and thought-provoking book, Professor Rein Müllerson outlines the challenges associated with the new geopolitics of the twenty-first century. Based on in-depth research over several decades it is an essential tool for understanding the new world order and the ensuing crises in global politics.
Rein Müllerson is Research Professor at the University of Tallinn. He was formerly Professor of International Law at King’s College London, UN Regional Advisor for Central Asia and a Visiting Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is the author of 12 books on international law and politics.