Abstract
The last five years or so had to convince even the most experienced observers that we have not been living in normal political times. Indeed, modern history is full of surprising moments, be it crises, unforeseen events-most recently the Covid-19 pandemic-living through unintended consequences of political actions, escalations of various types and intensity, or even all-out wars.
Yet, in the post-2014 years, we witnessed a number of shifts that, on the whole, have systematically challenged the international political order. As the harmful effects of the financial crisis were finally ebbing, a number of concurrent processes threw the international order into a flux not experienced since the end of the Cold War.