Edouard Multipolarity
Edouard Husson, France
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Professor of Contemporary History & International affairs at CY Cergy-Paris University
I come from a country, France, whose most beloved political figures over the past four centuries (Cardinal Richelieu, Jean Jaurès, Charles de Gaulle) have each, in their own time, been passionate about building a concert of nations. From the 17th to the 20th century, great French jurists contributed to the establishment of international law. From this heritage, I have retained a point that is often overlooked: an international order cannot be founded simply on the observation of a balance of power. It requires civilisational roots. The periods of great French diplomacy have always been times when the arts, architecture and culture flourished in France – and this is no mere coincidence.
What I say about my country could be said about many nations. And it is essential to bear this in mind as we ask ourselves how to build the new world.
The end of the unipolar era dominated by the West after the Cold War provides an opportunity that must not be missed. When we talk about the advent of a multipolar world, it would indeed be a shame to stop at the observation that economic and political power is spreading to several influential centres. Power is always shaped by history and culture. More than just a multipolar world, we must work towards the advent of a multi-civilisational world.
This new paradigm of a multi-civilisational world is the prerequisite for a peaceful world, where cooperation transcends rivalries in order to tackle shared global challenges, such as ethnic conflicts within states, economic inequalities, demographic asymmetries, the unequal distribution of resources and threats to biodiversity.
I believe that we cannot underestimate the risk that the world currently faces. Many people sense this but are unable to identify where the problem lies. Of course, the sometimes extreme tension in international relations is worrying, but the “mutually assured destruction” provided by nuclear weapons prevents the worst from happening. More likely , a major economic, financial and monetary crisis could shake our planet. It would not be the first time. No, I believe there is a deeper danger: cultural decline and the end of attachment to civilisational roots could render efforts to organise a multipolar world futile.