Whereas the new world order is a reflection of the distribution of power between its main actors, there are many other factors that influence – either directly or indirectly – the basic structure of that system. This has been dealt with extensively in the Introduction and Chapter I entitled “The New World Order: Features and Concepts.” It is attempted in this chapter to identify the most important of these factors and discuss their influence and manifestations in the global order. In doing so, it seeks to inform the intellectual understanding of the new world order, its dynamics and construction.

The Relationships between Civilizations

Some researchers, including Samuel Phillips Huntington, argue that the post-Cold War world consists of eight civilizations, namely: the Chinese, the Japanese, the Indian, the Islamic, the Western, the Latin American, the Orthodox and the African. Huntington posits that the development of international interests, animosities and alliances will be drawn in the future according to the relationships between these civilizations and the levels of mutual interest and/or hostility between them. He believes that civilizational interactions have played an influential role since the beginning of history in shaping the features of the world—for example, through invasion or subjugation. The result, according to Huntington, is that global politics has become multi-polar as well as multicivilizational.