MANILA -- More than a decade ago, the global confrontation between the West and the East ended with a convincing victory for the liberal paradigm. The ideological triumph of the Western political and economic concept was so pervasive that some argued that mankind had reached the "end of history."
By now, we know this was a rash assumption, as new clashes have replaced the old lines of conflict. I am not referring to the confrontation between the coalition of the willing and the various rogues assembled in the "axis of evil," but rather to the widening row between the foes and supporters of globalization.
While technological and economic developments make it unlikely that globalization can be halted, political interventions by governments and other actors may curtail the speed and the extent to which the economies of the world merge.