The post-Cold War is fraught with complexity, especially when viewed against the relative stability of the period of bipolar confrontation. The authors of this work argue that realist and neorealist theories have been singularly deficient in attempting to explain current events, but that despite the lack of such a framework, it is possible to discern general patterns and trends. Using as indicators the salient features of the economies of the major powers - the USA, Japan, the European Union, Russia and China - the authors examine the concomitants of the new global system, dominated by economic rather than military considerations. In doing so, they affirm the contemporary relevance of the state in the face of continually advancing globalization.