US' strategy threatened by turmoil

The escalating upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa have aroused great global concern. Local authorities' poor governance contributed to the clashes, but external forces have played a role in fanning the flames and have attempted to influence the development of local affairs in accordance with their own desires.

With the increasing interdependence among countries and the extreme imbalance between small and big countries and developed and developing countries, there are few nations that can keep the initiative in their own hands and be immune from the influence of outside powers and act independently.

Even in an era of globalization, the bargaining and competition among major powers determine the overall landscape of world affairs, and those powerful countries and the nature of their diplomacy are still the major force in shaping the international framework.