Why Pessimism Marks Current World Politics

There is an abiding sense of pessimism in world politics today.

- Happymon Jacob

Whether in Asia, Africa, Europe, or North America, a deep and pervasive sense of anxiety about our collective future is unmistakably evident. And there aren't any compelling ideas that can help humanity navigate this moment of uncertainty and anxiety, nor are there any visionary leaders or global public intellectuals to offer us a common global vision. The world seems precariously adrift, like a ship without a rudder on a stormy night.

To attribute this merely to Trump's return to the White House or Russia's invasion of Ukraine would be overly simplistic and a tad ahistorical. This geopolitical depression has been in the making for some time. A desire for exclusive spheres of influence, a belief in one's inherent superiority, the desire to moralize, the inability to rise above feel-good rhetoric, and a fundamental unwillingness to acknowledge diverse global viewpoints have all contributed to getting us where we are today—with broken promises, lost trust and growing suspicions.

But why should we be concerned about world politics and global order at all if all that matters are the interests of States? For one, because world politics, or our international life, is not merely a sum of relations among individual States but is made up of common global goals, leadership, visions, and outcomes that go beyond the narrow frames of individual State interests. World orders allow individual States to pursue their legitimate interests with more ease, and pursue common goals beyond the confines of States.