World Prisms‪.‬

Abstract: As the century closes, the contradictory organizational energies associated with globalization and fragmentation are mounting concerted attacks on the primacy of the sovereign, territorial state as the sole building block of world order. Transnational social forces seem on the verge of forming some kind of global civil society over the course of the next several decades, providing a foundation for the project of global democracy. Also significant is the resurgence of religion, and closely linked, the rise of civilizational consciousness. However, the resilience of the state and its twin, the ideology of nationalism, suggests that the waning of the state system is yet to be experienced. Whether the UN can retrieve its reputation as relevant to peace and security while continuing to engineer a myriad of useful activities beyond the gaze of the media is also discussed.