New world order: opportunities and challenges for Lusophony

Abstract

In this work, the emerging new world order is first approached from a historical perspective, taking into account the two World Wars, the consequent multilateralism, the emergence of the bipolar world after World War II and the Rise and decline of the Unipolar World under US Hegemony. Next, the political and economic strength of China and Russia, the new global players that will dominate the structuring of the new world order together with the USA, is described. In this context, the possible influence of China and Russia in Portuguese-speaking countries, especially those located in Africa and Brazil, is focused. In the end, it is discussed to what extent Lusophony can and should become a global power, and the CPLP (Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries) as an expression of this power, must fit into the new world order. The assumptions of this framework are discussed and require, in addition to a very strong unity of Portuguese-speaking countries, a foreign policy strategy to articulate and translate the Portuguese-speaking force into an integrated approach and make its economic and institutional force flow into a new world policy.