World Order After 2025
Term
World Order After 2025
Idea level
☐ Others / Analytic Observation (Geopolitics)
Scope: Names historical period following the expiration of the post-1945 global order
Definition
The World Order After 2025, as articulated by Yuen Yuen Ang (2025), refers to the period after the expiration of the post-1945 global order, understood not as an inevitable slide into doom (polycrisis) or great-power dominance, but as a generational opening for deep transformation of global institutions and thought within a multipolar context—polytunity.
Sources
Ang, Yuen Yuen. “The World Order After 2025.” Project Syndicate (31 December 2025). → First formal articulation.
Ang, Yuen Yuen. “Polytunity: A Constructive Alternative to the Polycrisis.” SSRN Note (2025).
Alternative Expressions of “World Order After 2025”
☐ Post-1945 world / global order
☐ Emerging world order
☐ End of the liberal international order
☐ Multipolar world
☐ Global order after the Cold War
Genealogy
[Paradigm-Shift] Polytunity—reframing global disruption as a generational opening for deep institutional and intellectual transformation
→ [Application to Historical & Global Trends] Marks expiration of the post-1945 global order and interprets post-2025 period as a polytunity rather than polycrisis
[Related Paradigm] AIM Political Economy (intellectual foundation for the polytunity)
Takeaways from “World Order After 2025”
2025 marks a historical inflection point: Yuen Yuen Ang identifies 2025 as the expiration of the post-1945 world order and the imminent birth of a new one. From unipolarity to multipolarity; globalization to shorter global chains and South-South trade; machines for mass production of goods to artificial intelligence.
Polytunity, not polycrisis: The world order after 2025 should not be seen simply as doom (polycrisis), but as an opening for deep transformation—polytunity.
A world without a single hegemon: Rather than speculate on whether the US or China dominates—as neither will be a single hegemon—Ang argues we should focus on redesigning systems for a multipolar world.
Post-2025 order calls for a paradigm shift: Shaping the world order after 2025 requires a paradigm shift toward Adaptive, Inclusive, and Moral (AIM) Political Economy.
Earlier (1600) and current (2025) “perfect square” year: The Enlightenment laid the foundation for modernization but also domination. Humanity has a chance to build a more pluralistic and ecologically grounded world in 2025.
Quotes
“2025 marks the year the postwar global order expired, and a new one was about to be born.”
“Rather than simply naming the death of the old, we must ask what might replace it. After all, while profound disruption carries acute risks, it also provides a rare opening for deep transformation. That is why we should view this moment not as a polycrisis, but as a “polytunity” – a generational opening for global transformation from the margins.”
“But the future that emerges after 2025 depends crucially on the worldview we choose. Lamenting the polycrisis reinforces paralysis, whereas embracing the polytunity encourages change.”
– Ang, The World Order After 2025
Multilingual Translations
Chinese (simplified): 洪源远：2025年后的世界秩序 (Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore)
Slovak: Čo mali spoločné roky 1600 a 2025? Boli perfektné štvorce a priniesli zmeny (Denník N, Slovakia)
Spanish: El orden mundial después de 2025 (La Presna, Nicaragua)
Reprints in English: [Asia] Bangkok Post, Free Malaysia Today, Taipei Times, The Bhutanese / [Carribean] Jamaica Gleaner / [North America] Polycrisis.org