The new world order & climate change

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The new world order

Keith Kloor

The United States and European Union will face off against China and Russia as climate change starts to alter the geopolitical gameboard.

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Take the example of the low-lying islands in the Pacific threatened by rising seas: here China is throwing its economic weight around to gain access to natural resources and critical trade routes. This shrewd positioning, combined with China's financial deal-making in Africa and Asia, is cementing strategic alliances that have greatly expanded China's sphere of influence. In just about every corner of the world, Paskal sees the United States being outflanked by China, mainly because China's economic interests are integrated with its foreign policy — what Paskal refers to as 'nationalistic capitalism'. Market economies, by contrast, seek to maximize private profit, not to advance the state's agenda.

In the US, we have what some call 'crony capitalism', 'to big to fail syndrome', and a well known elite job rotation...

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It is unfortunate that Paskal's highly readable and perceptive book is marred by structural problems that keep the whole from cohering. For example, at the end of one chapter the reader is tantalized by a glimpse of decisions “that may dangerously undermine North American and European security”. But the next chapter begins with a tour of the Arctic permafrost by a local nature guide and is followed by chapters covering China's strategic use of nationalistic capitalism and Russia's re-emergence as a global power before Paskal returns, some 50 pages later, to some of those decisions that are undermining Western security.

But that shouldn't put readers off mining this very important book. It would be welcome, after all, if we could turn the public discussion back to the projected impacts of climate change and how they threaten to remake the global political order.