The killing of Russia's ambassador to Turkey on Dec. 19 might have prompted knee-jerk comparisons to the 1914 assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, but it almost certainly won't spark a World War I-type conflict. The lethal truck attack that killed 12 in Berlin a few hours later, however, could ratchet up the prospect of yet another political shock in Europe.
The year now concluding looks set to keep throwing out unexpected, often brutal surprises right to its end. If 1989 — the year the Berlin wall fell — was the point at which globalization, liberal democracy and the Western view of modernity was seen to triumph, 2016 might yet be seen as when the wheels came off.
That may be a dramatic overstatement. However, the electoral surprises of the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump — as well as dozens of other examples across the globe — are stark reminders of just how much consensus has unraveled. The next year could see a step back toward moderation. But it could equally see things spiral further out of control.