For decades, defining the era we live in felt straightforward. I came of age during the “Cold War,” then spent my career navigating the “Post-Cold War” world dominated by American unipolar power. That clarity ended abruptly in the 2020s.
The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine shattered Europe’s post-Cold War security framework. Simultaneously, China ascended as a genuine economic and military rival to the United States, effectively marking the end of unipolarity. The era needed a new name – but what?
Simple labels like “Post-Post-Cold War” felt inadequate. This moment isn’t just about the fading echoes of bipolar superpower rivalry; it heralds something fundamentally new and intensely complex. We are witnessing the convergence of multiple powerful forces, demanding urgent adaptation from everyone.
Climate scientists christened our era the “Anthropocene,” highlighting humanity’s impact on the planet. Technologists point to the “Information Age” or, increasingly, the “Artificial Intelligence Age.” Strategists evoke “the Return of Geopolitics” or even a more visceral phrase like “the Jungle Grows Back,” coined by historian Robert Kagan.
Yet, these labels fall short. None encapsulate the explosive fusion occurring between accelerating climate change and rapid technological advancements across fields like biology, cognition, connectivity, material science, and more. We are experiencing a world where formerly distinct spheres collide – blurring once-clear boundaries. Artificial intelligence is hurtling towards “polymathic artificial general intelligence,” climate change cascades into “poly-crises,” geopolitics evolves into “polycentric” and fluid alliances, global trade fragments into dispersed “poly-economic” networks, and societies themselves become increasingly diverse “polymorphic” mosaics.
As a foreign affairs observer, the landscape now demands tracking not only the power plays of traditional superpowers but also the influence of super-intelligent machines, technologically empowered individuals wielding unprecedented reach, and colossal multinational corporations. The rise of “super-storms” and the collapse of states like Libya and Sudan add further complexity to this volatile new world.
We are undeniably living in a period of profound transformation – an era demanding a new vocabulary to capture its unique characteristics. Perhaps “the Age of Polymorphics” offers a starting point for understanding this complex, multi-faceted reality that continues to evolve at breakneck speed.
