Assumptions and institutions that we have taken for granted for fifty
years are proving inadequate for the world now emerging. Moreover,
mono-casual explanations of rapid global change do not work. Religious
as well as economic dynamics, cultural as well as political forces,
environmental as well as military constraints, are frequently working at
cross-purposes in shaping a globe we cannot yet fathom. The essays in
this volume reach beyond the mere description of phenomena to explore
deeper currents of institutional breakdown and competing cultural drives
that are radically reshaping our world. Covering topics ranging from the
New Silk Road to changes in school governance around the world, the
authors offer a critical, historically-informed assessment of the
diverse dynamics that are undermining or nullifying current paradigms of
thought and action. Drawing on their diverse backgrounds in economics,
international affairs, ethics, history, education, and religion, the
authors share the conviction that long-standing assumptions about a
state-centered, secular-tending, economically converging world are in
large measure mistaken. A paradigm shift is required if we are to
understand and constructively shape the twenty-first century world.