This is an excellent piece that does a good job of defining some of forces in play in the post cold war world.
I pulled some quotes but decided to just let you read the whole thing in order. It is rather long, but the second half which is more interesting draws on the first so I would recommend reading it start to finish.
Article by John Van Oudenaren
OK i couldn't get it to link straight to the story but the top article is what you are looking for.