The end of the Cold War brought the expectation that the world would cease teetering on the brink of
existential annihilation, and the optimistic hope of a better world was cautiously balanced by precarious
uncertainty. However, the emerging world proved to be a combination of international rivalries, non-state
actors leveraging power asymmetrically, and challenges to traditional politics. In addition, advances in
science and technology impacted the shifting political landscape in significant ways.