MEGATRENDS AND MEDIA

TRANSCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA ART
other actor collapsed at the end of the last international system, namely,
the bipolar system. Others think that the system currently in place is a
mult-polar one. They explain the reason by tracing to the fact that there
are several power centers across the globe. This paper, however, takes the
view that combines both approaches. It claims that the system currently
on the ground is arguably a combination of both uni-polar and multipolar
systems, thus it is safe to refer to it as a uni-multi-polar system.
The emergent order 1 in which this system was incepted can be called the
world society order. Currently, the emergent order and its new system
provide the environment in which all actors interact. The paper tends
to elaborate on this emergent order and its initial system in a nutshell.
2 The Concept of order and system
An order may be simply understood as a prevailing course of societal
history; long-listing framework or regime that encompasses various
components referred to as systems. Order displays various norms,
values, customs, cultures and civilizations; however, it is named after the
entity or entities dominant within it. As the order is geared to function
in their favor, the dominant entities strive to perpetuate that order.
They do this, mainly, by innovating norms, or by conquest. Systems are
1 Here, order refers to a long-lasting societal framework in which harmonious
and coherent or violent and disharmonious societal relations are possible.
An order has a life span, its systems, too. Orders are loose frames in
which dominant customs, norms, values, cultures and civilizations enjoy
favorable environment to lourish, and hold together the whole human
polity through the actors across constituent systems. Orders encompass
successive international or world systems. Orders often emerge after a
worldwide war, when actors constellate on the triumphant empire, great or
super power that led and ultimately won the war. Then the lead power thus
becomes innovator of norms for the alignment in the newly emergent order.
Therefore, the threat of war and becoming triumphant seem the means
of organizing a new order. Nevertheless, one cannot rule out the peaceful
methods of creating alignments to establish an equitable order. Each order
of the human polity relects speciic features that likens or differ it from
the other order(s). Why do societies cohere within a certain social order,
is among the central concerns of sociology, and it still preoccupies various
social scientists of the current time. Orders change due to various reasons
including large wars from within the order, economic crisis, when the last
component of the order gets fatigue. A new order replaces the predecessor
order.
309