India, Nov. 8 -- Most international relations students will be hunting around to find a theory to understand and predict the present course of events. All accepted rules of the post-Cold War order have been overturned, including the most basic tenet of the State system, which rests on sovereignty. That is no longer absolute, challenged by multinational corporations, the internet, and space-based surveillance, all of which care little for borders. When matched with malign intent, it comes together in a continuous war being waged between almost all and sundry, with the distinction between enemy and friend incredibly fuzzy. But look harder, and there is a pattern, quite like the earlier one. In chaos, the challenge is to find that pattern. Mos...