[ Rezensionen | Reviews ]

In his review, Jeppe Juul Petersen takes a look at Robert Cooper’s latest book entitled The Breaking of Nations – Order and Chaos in the Twenty-First Century. The fall of communism brought great expectations for change in the geopolitical situation. There has been many changes, but they have fallen far short of what was hoped for. The situation in the world has become more chaotic and complex. Petersen’s review looks at one explanation for how we have reached this point.

The review examines the three separate sections which make up the book. It begins with a classification of states – the pre-modern, the modern and the post-modern. Cooper places his faith in the post-modern state; it is less chaotic than the pre-modern state, and more adaptable than the modern state. The EU, it would belong to the post-modern world. The position of the US is less certain, somewhere between modernity and post-modernity. It seems that someone must take charge and put the affairs of the world in order, but questions remain about who should do it, who has the capacity, and who has the will. Petersen’s review is available in the Book Review section of Kakanien revisited or by cliking here.