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A multipolar world in the making

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The emergence of new powers fundamentally questions the traditional views on international relations, multilateralism or security as a range of countries now competes for regional and global leadership – economically, politically, technologically and militarily. As the focus of international attention shifts from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the European states in particular are seen to lose influence relative to the emerging economic powerhouses of China, Russia, India and Brazil. European nations find themselves too small to engage meaningfully with these continent-sized powers and, in an increasingly multipolar world are concerned their influence can only continue to decline.

in T. Renard and S. Biscop (eds), The European Union and Emerging Powers in the 21st Century: How Europe Can Shape a New Global Order, May 2012.
(Photo credit: rockcohen, Flickr)