Is the world entering a new age of global disorder? Signs point to yes: we see simultaneously the biggest armed conflict in Europe since World War II, a war in the Levant, and a short, sharp war in the Caucasian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. These seemingly separate conflicts are in fact connected not just by a coincidental moment in time, but by the actors involved. From Russia to Iran to a veritable smorgasbord of terrorist groups, bad actors have unleashed turmoil in a swath of territory stretching from Ukraine to Azerbaijan to Yemen.

Behind them all stands the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Beijing has sought to give the appearance of being an independent peacemaker. But the veil it has erected is transparent in nature. It is less interested in peace, stability, and justice for the victims of aggression than it is in fostering a global state of affairs in which China can more easily pursue its own ends. For now, disorder suits Xi Jinping (習近平) just fine.

Defining Disorder

Is this burgeoning period of global history truly different from what preceded it? After all, there is no period in living memory in which the world can truly be said to have been at peace. Since the close of World War II, the United States has fought wars or engaged in military interventions in East Asia, Southeast Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Insurgencies and civil wars have been regular features across much of the developing world. Terrorism has been an ever-present concern since the 1970s. The Rwandan Genocide occurred during what might be considered the high-water mark of global order in the 1990s, with the genocide in Darfur following just a decade later.

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