A New Era?

In the past two years we have seen the end of many political eras in various countries. This timing is not a coincidence.

The retirement of Tony Blair, the apparent (or pending) fall of Mugabe, Bertie Ahern's notice of resignation, the newly founded presidency of Medvedev and Sarkozy and the upcoming U.S. elections all coincide with each other in a relatively small time period. This pattern can tell us many things about current societal trends.

People are dissatisfied with their current leaders of government. Every culture is now influenced by the diversity prevalent in neighbouring areas. This range is expressed by societal contrasts and comparisons. Our more "open" age of information and technology has effectively changed the political focus of the world. Citizens seems to be looking for a political structure that can adequately address the issues of trade, identity, security and culture that are inherent in this development.

However, can these new regimes be confidently seen to encompass these issues? It is problematic to place all new political entities in one camp or the other. At best, one can say that some of these new leaders understand this diversity, while others do not. Crucially, the success of these administrations will depend on their acceptance of this more transnational doctrine.

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold" and the movement from the centre to an all encompassing political backdrop can only be beneficial.

-The English Student