Joseph F. Coates

In the following viewpoint, written prior to the demise of the Soviet Union, Joseph F. Coates argues that a variety of factors is contributing to economic, ethnic, and religious conflict worldwide, increasing the chances of violence or war in the decades ahead. Coates maintains that although the United Nations will expand its role to ensure peace, many types of “collective violence” among ethnic groups and nations will become more commonplace. Coates is the president of Coates and Jarratt, a future forecasting firm in Washington, D.C.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What have been the effects of decolonization in the Third World, in Coates’s opinion?
2. What two new forms of violence does the author identify?
3. In Coates’s opinion, what is the likelihood that economic prosperity will deter...