The future of politics

Humankind is undergoing subtle but vast transformations, from the impact of globalization to the pull of local comforts, from the movement toward regional organizations to the demands of transnational groups, from the ever more powerful consequences of microelectronic technologies to the ever deepening bonds of interdependence. These changes can fairly be described as the emergence of a new epoch marked by altered global structures and driven by a skill revolution, an organizational explosion, and a continuous flow of ideas, money, goods, and people that is rendering long-standing territorial boundaries increasingly obsolete and fostering an extensive decentralization of authority. The future of politics is thus conceived to be pervaded by contradictions, ambiguities, and uncertainties.