Strange New World

Where is the world heading? Towards a “new world disorder” marked by the resurgence of geopolitical conflicts and state-sponsored violence or towards an ineluctable economic convergence? Building on their expertise in economics, defense, and European affairs, former Director-General of the World Trade Organization Pascal Lamy and defense analyst Nicole Gnesotto do not share the same opinion about our world’s future, but they both hold this nexus between geopolitical and geoeconomic forces to be at the core of our understanding of global affairs. They offer in this book a stimulating dialogue in the making. It first opposes, then gradually weaves together two different but complementary perspectives on future strategic challenges. For Nicole Gnesotto, globalization has accentuated tensions and isolationism; but Pascal Lamy remains confident in the power of a regulated and harnessed globalization to pacify the world and make it a better place. This book offers strategic thinking and blends theory with vision and insight to provide us with an urgent examination of the great transformations that the world is facing and the possible solutions Europe could offer to overcome this tumultuous phase of global history. A must-read for anyone interested in getting a firmer grasp on global and European affairs. Pascal Lamy, Jacques Delors’s former chief of staff, was a European Trade Commissioner (1999-2004) before serving for two terms as Director General of the World Trade Organization (2005-2013). Nicole Gnesotto, professor at the CNAM (National Arts & Trades Centre), specializes in international relations issues, particularly European ones. She ran the Institut d’études de sécurité de l’Union européenne from 2002 to 2007.