Comment: Changing alliances and the still emerging new order – Gulf Digital News

Comment: Changing alliances and the still emerging new order – Gulf Digital News

Significant realignments are taking place across the globe. Old alliances appear to be experiencing stress or outright fractures, while new ones are emerging.

Media commentary on these developments too often takes a microscopic view, focusing on individual conflicts or shifting alliances without historical context.

Taking a step back, we see that the last century has been characterised by dizzying twists and turns of nations and power blocs from the end of the First World War to the present day.

Today’s realignment is just another reordering of nations based on evolving priorities and changing realities.

A look at the last century is instructive.

The First World War concluded with Western Europe as an ascendant power bloc. At the 1920 San Remo Conference, these nations arrogantly divided up amongst themselves the “spoils” of that war, consolidating their control over much of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

While dubbed “the war to end all wars”, three factors contributed to unravelling the post WWI order: The punishing hardships imposed on Germany fuelled a backlash leading to an aggressive, racist regime bent on revenge; the Communist revolution beginning in Russia; and the rapid growth of industrial Japan which sought greater influence in the Pacific.

The end of the Second World War