THE POST-HEGEMONIC WORLD ORDER: THE CASE FOR PERPETUAL PEACE

Tensions and rivalries are proliferating in the contemporary world at an unprecedented rate. There are many signs that human civilization faces a real possibility of a new global conflict. Some observers even claim that the Third World War has already began. There are few other times in human history when the need to bring order and peace to the troubled world has been more urgent than it is today. The creation of the new world order is the main subject of this article. The article examines four major perspectives on world order: Western, Chinese, Russia, and Islamic. The analysis shows that none of these perspectives offer a possibility to create an enduring global order. The creation of such order requires a solution of the problem of difference. This problem is a result of the clashes of differences that appear to be intrinsic to reality. The study shows that clashes among differences are not inevitable, and that the problem of differences is resolvable. The article outlines the approach that makes possible to solve the problem of difference and attain perpetual peace.