The new 'Great Game': What awaits us?

New players who were on the sidelines of the Cold War's bipolar global order have now rejoined the fray. Despite the global financial crisis, the "Middle Kingdom" has conquered a place on almost all of the world's playing fields. Beijing has positioned itself to challenge the dollar as the global reserve currency and extend its position of power throughout the world. This has led to the prediction of a new bipolarity, in the words of the late former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, a "G-2 World."