At the same time, governments are struggling under mounting pressures and tighter re- sources, and they are 昀椀nding it dif昀椀cult to meet the challenges of a globally interconnected, technologically advanced, and diverse world. The result is a growing disequilibrium between public demands and governments’ ability to deliver welfare and security, portending greater political volatility and increasing risks for democracy. Unmet needs and expectations are en- couraging a 昀氀ourishing mar- ketplace of additional actors SOCIETAL providing governance, secu- rity, and services, including nongovernmental organiza- STATE tions, churches, corporations, and even criminal organiza- tions. States that adapt to the mounting governance chal- INTERNATIONAL lenges probably will be better positioned to rebuild trust and legitimacy. During the next two decades, power in the international system will evolve to include a broader set of sources and features with expanding technological, network, and information power complementing more traditional military and economic power. The rivalry between the United States and China is likely to set the broad parameters for the geopolitical environment during the coming decades, forcing starker choices on other actors. States will leverage these diverse sources of power to jockey over global norms, rules, and institutions, with regional powers and nonstate actors exerting more in昀氀uence within individual regions and leading on issues left unattended by the major powers. The increased competition over internation- al rules and norms, together with untested technological military advancements, is likely to undermine global multilateralism, broaden the mismatch between transnational challenges and institutional arrangements to tackle them, and increase the risk of con昀氀ict. A MORE CONTESTED WORLD 67 Image / BigstockPhotos | Mauro Mora / Unsplash | Bigstock