TEHRAN - Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, a London-based professor, says that the world order is changing and moving “towards an apolar order”.

“The world order has radically changed. The shifts are historic. Essentially we are moving towards an apolar order, where no power can dominate any region on their own,” Adib Moghaddam tells the Tehran Times.

 “It is not even multipolarity where you have several superpowers determining world politics. Today, no one can,” Adib Moghaddam adds.

The professor is also of the opinion that now the focus should be on the existential threats to human existence rather than questions of power.

 “We are losing the planet to nefarious ideas, wars, and the destruction of the environment. Every journalist, intellectual, citizen, and individual needs to be attentive of this potential fatality for humankind,” he argues.

Following is the text of the interview:  

Q:  Biden's critics question Biden’s mental health. To what extent this can affect the results of upcoming elections? What about Trump's emotional and psychological health?

A: I have studied psychology, both as medical science and political instrument. I think the narrative about the mental health of both candidates is a psychological mirage. It is meant to garner votes. It is certainly not based on any sound psychological research or profiling, which is difficult to rely on in any case as the discipline has been rightly indicted for inventing pathologies and syndromes. 

Q: What are the main differences between Biden and Trump in foreign policy, especially when it comes to the Ukraine crisis?

A:  Trump doesn’t have the mental capability to strategize. Therefore, he is impulsive and erratic. This explains sudden decisions such as killing General Soleimani or meeting Kim Jong-un in North Korea. I have written about this in “What is Iran” published last year. Exactly because of his inability to think complex issues through, I thought him to be the most dangerous man on earth when he became President. With reference to the Ukraine situation, he even suggested that the United States should paint Chinese flags on its F-22 planes and then use those planes to bomb Russia in order to provoke a war between Russia and China. I was very disappointed that Noam Chomsky recently said that Trump would be the right man to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia. Biden isn’t the answer to this conflict either, as he is using the war to rally Europe behind the United States, once again, and to buttress the importance of NATO. The poor people of Ukraine are suffering because there is no strategy for peace that requires a diplomatic opening that Europe and the U.S. seem incapable to provide. 

Q: Don’t you think that a new wave of ultra-right movements will emerge in Europe and the world at large if Trump returns to the White House?

A: It would be a disaster for humanity. We are battling existential crises, including the environmental catastrophe that is unfolding around us. Trump would be bad news to everyone who seeks solutions to our global problems. 

Q: Don’t you predict the European states would adopt more independent policies after the U.S. weakness both domestically and internationally?

A: This has already happened and is irreversible. That said, the Russian invasion of Ukraine reinvigorated NATO, and gave it a mission. Putin was foolish to assume otherwise. In the current international order, wars may deliver a pyrrhic victory. But they don’t translate into strategic success exactly because they are pyrrhic. 

Q: How do you see the future of the U.S. and its position in the world in comparison to China and Russia? What are the main challenges that threaten America's global hegemony?

A: The world order has radically changed. The shifts are historic. Essentially we are moving towards an apolar order, where no power can dominate any region on its own. It is not even multipolarity where you have several superpowers determining world politics. Today, no one can. The shift of focus needs to be on the existential threats to our human existence and not questions of power. We are losing the planet to nefarious ideas, wars, and the destruction of the environment. Every journalist, intellectual, citizen, and individual needs to be attentive to this potential fatality for humankind.