The years from perhaps 1948 to the turn of the century marked a brief moment in human history when one could speak of an incipient global world order composed of an amalgam of American idealism and traditional European concepts of statehood and balance of power. But vast regions of the world have never shared and only acquiesced in the Western concept of order. These reservations are now becoming explicit, for example, in the Ukraine crisis and the South China Sea. The order established and proclaimed by the West stands at a turning point.
He looks at the pressures faced by the nation-state as an entity for societal organization, the role of an increasingly globalized economy, and the lack of a body to actually do what the UN is ostensibly for.
When Henry speaks, as he often does, especially in writing, many people still listen. Can you think of a more treasured elder statesman living here today? Of course he screwed up a lot, a whole lot.
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