US economic and political power is set to decline over the next two decades and the world will grow more dangerous as the battle for scarce resources intensifies, a report by US intelligence agencies has predicted.
The current global financial crisis is the beginning of a weakening of the US dollar to the point where it becomes "first among equals", said the National Intelligence Council's (NIC) Global Trends 2025 report published on Thursday.
One of the main conclusions of the report is that "the unipolar world is over, [or] certainly will be by 2025", said Thomas Fingar, the NIC's deputy director, at a press conference in Washington DC.
China and India were likely to join the US at the top of a multipolar world and compete for influence, the report added.
Global Trends 2025
'Western' economic liberalism, democracy and secularism will become less appealing.
US global influence will decline as developing powers like China and India join as world leaders.
Greater access to technology will increase the possibility of nuclear conflict.
Some states in Africa and South Asia will disappear after failing to provide security for their people.
Others in Eastern or Central Europe could be taken over by organised crime.
Read the full report here
Sunday, November 23, 2008
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