Stratfor - The Rise of a Not-So-New World Order

The Brief   The Rise of a Not-So-New World Order

For decades the United States has sat atop a unipolar world, unrivaled in its influence over the rest of the globe. But now that may be changing as a new, informal alliance takes shape between China and Russia. The two great powers have a mutual interest in overturning an international order that has long advantaged the West at their own expense. And as the Earth's sole superpower turns inward, they will seek to carve out bigger backyards for themselves. Will their marriage of convenience once more give rise to the bipolarity that characterized the Cold War, or will it unravel in the face of a natural rivalry rooted in geopolitics?   Essential Reading The Calm After Zimbabwe's Coup Mugabe's departure could happen in a number of ways, but most likely, he will soon step aside or be pushed out. In a less likely scenario, he could stay on as a figurehead while the ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), looks for a consensus candidate. Regardless of exactly which path is chosen, the only leader Zimbabwe has known since 1980 will eventually leave power. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that the country's leadership has planned for the aging Mugabe's eventual demise.   Saudi Arabia's New City Doesn't Have What It Takes With all the news coming out of Saudi Arabia over the past few weeks, it would be easy to overlook the announcement of the country's latest proposal for a new megacity. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently revealed his plan for a $500 billion project to build a brand-new, robot-powered metropolis that, according to a promotional video, "will change the way we live and work, forever." Neom, as the city is to be named, is in many respects like several other so-called new cities proposed or underway in Saudi Arabia and around the world. China unveiled a similar plan this year to turn land 100 kilometers (about 60 miles) south of the capital into a megacity, the Xiongan New Area, that is intended to serve as the new site of Beijing's nongovernmental functions.  Stratfor Horizons: Hollywood Heads East China is now the world's second-largest film market, which means you don't need to follow geopolitics to know that Hollywood's future is CGI spectacles and sci-fi sequels, but it helps. Space aliens, superheroes and giant monsters fighting giant robots for unclear reasons will stick around for one reason: You can understand and appreciate what is happening on screen even if you don't speak English. And an increasing share of the market doesn't.    Watch and Listen Podcast: Global Risk and Anticipating Black Swan Events Can you predict transformative world events? In this episode of the podcast we explore the past, present and future of black swan events and how geopolitically engaged individuals, investors or organizations can anticipate, or at least mitigate their exposure to, the next major geopolitical inflection point.  Oman's Geographic Challenge In this short geographic primer, Stratfor explains how Oman's geography has fostered three core regions and maintaining unity of these regions poses the countries primary geographic challenge.

Stratfor Store Reports The North Korean Nuclear Challenge With the North Korean government seemingly intent on developing deliverable nuclear weapons, many observers resort to calling Pyongyang deranged. This report goes beyond name-calling to understand what really motivates North Korea, and what options the United States has to eliminate the North's nuclear threat.  A Russian Troika After a decade of post-Soviet decline, the Russian bear came roaring back under Vladimir Putin. This collection explores what underpins Kremlin power and major fault lines with the West.

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