JOE BIDEN'S trip to Europe this week, during which he met with members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Group of Seven industrialised nations, and the European Union (EU), underlined the shifting parameters of the global political order.

NATO's somewhat surprising ability to close ranks and that bloc's position on the frontline of the global response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine suggests it has supplanted the UN as the most relevant international grouping. For the moment.

Mr Biden's visit also underlined the difficulties facing NATO and the EU, the human costs of the ongoing conflict and the highly unpredictable parameters of the Russia-Ukraine war.

On Friday, shortly before touching down in Poland and meeting with soldiers on the Ukrainian border, the US president promised to help the EU wean itself off Russian gas, a necessary move if sanctions are to be escalated.

That escalation might occur, given that Russia could deploy chemical or biological weapons. The US has already assessed Russia as having committed war crimes and the International Criminal Court is investigating whether crimes against humanity have occurred.

What the global political order will look like when the dust settles is uncertain.

At the moment, countries are undoing decades of globalisation as trade and distribution linkages become unstable. Nations must paradoxically turn closer to home, while at the same time seeking to extend the arm of diplomacy to forge strategic alliances.

The unpredictability extends to the Kremlin too. Vladimir Putin's state of mind as well as his hold on power have come under scrutiny. Though there are many questions about his ultimate goals, if he was expecting the Ukrainian people to simply roll over and let his forces run roughshod over them, they have not done so.

Instead, the conflict in Ukraine has extended for over a month.

Meanwhile, in yet another sign of shifts in the global balance of power, previously unimaginable events have materialised, such as Germany's decision to end its decades-long ban on arming combatants in wars.

Mr Biden has also issued unprecedented warnings to China, whose status, like that of all western powers, hangs in the balance.

The US's and the UK's 'special relationship,' once seemingly eternal, appears to have taken a back seat. Certainly, the UK's global position has been weakened by Brexit and a controversial premier.

Also touring this week, in this region, were Prince William, second in line to the British throne, and the Duchess of Cambridge. They too united nations and leaders, but on a far different theme: the need for Britain to address, in substantial, tangible ways, its role in the slave trade and transatlantic slavery.

Coincidentally, the strong protests against the royal couple's visit mirrored the universal yearning of all people, whether in the Caribbean or in Europe, to be free of the yoke of empire.

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