The New World Order: Echoes of a new imperialism

Abstract

The massive shift in the global balance of power that followed the collapse of Eastern Europe has profound implications for global stability, prosperity and (Third World) development. Optimists see a 'New World Order' (NWO), in which a peace dividend can finance enhanced human welfare, reduced inequality and environmental protection. Pessimists fear increased social and economic polarisation and growing political instability as the logic of a deregulated global market is more aggressively imposed by a hegemonic power that has little need to compromise in the absence of a rival hegemonic power or a widely accepted rival ideology. This essay argues that the pessimists are more likely to be right; that this NWO is witnessing the re-emergence of a more open and explicit form of imperialism, in which national sovereignty is more readily overridden by a hegemonic power pursuing its own self-defined national interest; and that the neoliberal policy prescription of the 1980s will be even more single-mindedly imposed in this more monolithic world, with potentially serious consequences for large parts of the developing world. It then argues for a return to more pragmatic and holistic policies that seek to integrate the economic, social and political dimensions of development more explicitly and effectively. It concludes by considering evidence suggesting that such a view may be gaining some vitally important political support. The article is divided into four sections. The first examines the optimists' case; the second shows it to have weak theoretical and empirical foundations; the third argues that the main reason for pessimism lies in the fact that the policies currently being imposed on the developing world may be profoundly inhibiting their chances of achieving successful development; and the fourth and final section reflects on the fact that a major economic power has recently challenged those policies and lent support to a more plausible and more promising alternative approach.