Dr. Michael A. Weinstein says America is making previously rejected concessions to the UN and North Korea, because of problems in Iraq.
"The two American concessions reported on June 24 mark steps along the path to a loosening of American power to successful external pressure to return the United States to a player that must make compromises in international institutions. They are likely to be followed by many other efforts along the same lines. Any new stable configuration of world politics is a long way off, but readjustment of the balance of power is underway. At present, that readjustment is being driven by powers around the world that believe that their interest is to craft policies tailored solely to their own particular aims -- apart from American interest -- and perceive that they have the opportunity to do so. They can be expected to use international institutions when it is to their advantage to do so and to abandon them when it is not.
"The other powers do not have a shared model of world politics to replace American dominance; they have similar and sometimes competing interests in filling the vacuum that has appeared with the erosion of American power. The prospects are high for general global instability."
Link tip from Eurasianet.