The birth of a new century
Journal: Foreign Policy
Year: 2014

The article discusses notable events during 2014 that the author believes serve as a point of departure from the 20th century into the 21st. He says Russia's annexation of Crimea disturbed European beliefs about peace and inviolable borders. In the Middle East the terrorist group Islamic State under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi seized territory and beheaded civilians. An outbreak of Ebola in West Africa served to illustrate how fragile countries can be. In the author's view the ineffec