The world's most dangerous stealth trend

It's hiding in plain sight: No one's foreign policy is working

World montage
(Image credit: (Richard Morrell/Corbis))

There's at least one echo from our geopolitical past that we really ought to pay attention to today. It's highly unusual. It has received little attention. But it could well be the world's most dangerous trend.

To make sense of it, a quick primer in international relations theory is helpful. (Sorry.) Among the rival schools of thought dominating "IR theory," one key controversy involves which structure of nation-states is the most inherently stable. Not good or peaceful, mind you; just stable. One camp claims it's a so-called "unipolar" structure — a world dominated by a single superpower or "hegemon." Another group says, no, it's a "bipolar" world that builds in the most predictability, resiliency, and control — think the Cold War.

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James Poulos

James Poulos is a contributing editor at National Affairs and the author of The Art of Being Free, out January 17 from St. Martin's Press. He has written on freedom and the politics of the future for publications ranging from The Federalist to Foreign Policy and from Good to Vice. He fronts the band Night Years in Los Angeles, where he lives with his son.