Impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution on the World Order

• Main Author: Florin Bonciu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: European Institute of Romania 2019-12-01
• Series: Romanian Journal of European Affairs
• Subjects: 4th industrial revolution; world order; determinants of power; artificial intelligence
• Online Access: http://rjea.ier.gov.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Art.-3-Florin-Bonciu.pdf

The paper starts from two realities of the contemporary world (the unfolding of the 4th industrial revolution and the change of the world order) and attempts to evaluate to which extent the latter influences the former. After reviewing the possible impact of the 4th industrial revolution on the main factors that influence the perceived power of a state the conclusion is that while the 4th industrial revolution will bring with it numerous and complex changes, the influence on the world order will relate mostly to the nature of institutions and interactions among the key players, while the key players themselves will remain to a large extent the existing ones (USA, China, Russia, potentially India), followed at a significant distance by some European states, Japan and maybe some others. This conclusion may assist especially smaller states in defining their foreign affairs policy for the decades to come.