The end of the Cold War marked not only the end of communism, but the emergence of a globalized world order and a crisis in national and ideological meaning. In this provocative and incisive book, Zaki Laidi argues that no power in our globalized world can any longer claim to provide meaning. As people look to old models like nationalism, religion and ethnicity to help them forge an identity, Laidi questions their effectiveness and certainty in a globalized world in a permanent state of flux. Our current inability to make sense of the world reveals an end to a way of thought dating back to the Enlightenment.