NEW YORK - The post-Western, multipolar international order is coming to pass, and the West must grapple with the reality that it can no longer impose its "leadership" on the world as it once did, reported The National Interest in early June.

"As the world grapples with the implications of this shift in power, the foundations of a great reckoning are taking shape," said the report. "This reckoning will challenge the long-held beliefs and structures that have sustained Western dominance of the world for the past few hundred years, exposing along the way the nature of the West's perceived entitlement to lead the global pecking order."

This great reckoning will be driven by some major trends, which are compelling Western nations to "confront and adapt to a future where power must be shared with the rest in a multipolar world," it said, noting that "a failure to recognize, or attempting to strongly resist, these trends could pose significant risks not only to the West itself but also to global stability."

Future conflicts can be avoided if this period of change is viewed as an opportunity to build a more equitable world, rather than as a crisis that threatens preferred and entrenched privileges, it added.