The world faces a 1940s-style “turning point in the history of humanity”, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned today.
The Cabinet Minister said war in Ukraine, runaway advances in technology and science, climate change and mass migration meant the planet was being reshaped.
Mr Cleverly urged an overhaul of international bodies to cope with changes to the world order.
He said: "Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine is a calculated assault on the UN Charter and on the central principles of an international order that was designed, above all, to bring an end to all attempts at conquest and annexation.
“But war is not our only challenge.
“In the 2020s, just as in the 1940s, we are living through a turning point in the history of humanity - a period of dizzying and rapid economic, demographic, technological and social change."
Power will drain away from the West and into Africa, Asia and Latin America, he told foreign policy experts at Chatham House’s London Conference.
“The world’s economic centre of gravity is shifting away from the Euroatlantic and towards the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
“Africa’s share of world population is forecast to double from 18% to 37% by 2100 whilst Europe’s shrinks from 10% to just 5% - adding to already significant migratory pressures.
“Global, political and military powers are also rebalancing in quick succession.”
The Cabinet Minister added: “Together, they will decide whether the international order will endure.”
He recommended a shake-up of international bodies to recognise their growing might and influence, including on the UN Security Council.
He called for India, Brazil, Germany and Japan to become permanent members of the New York-based body.
Currently, just five nations - the US, UK, France, China and Russia - hold permanent status.
“We want to see permanent African representation and membership extended to India, Brazil, Germany and Japan,” he said.
“I know this is a bold reform but it will usher the Security Council into the 2020s.”
Questioned about the plan for Africa to have a voice on the Council, Mr Cleverly admitted it “might feel like a plan half-formed”, but insisted the Continent should “have a stronger and more permanent voice on multilateral institutions - the G20, the UN Security Council”.
The senior Conservative pressed for greater cooperation with other countries to resolve disputes, saying the world “will find solutions to global challenges problems either together or not at all”.
“It’s also about listening to what others want - tolerance and, from time to time, agreeing to disagree,” he said.
“We need to be thoughtful about how we engage in multilateral institutions with countries that have different social, cultural or indeed religious approaches to sensitive moral issues.
“Yes, by advocating - but not hectoring because we have an obligation to future generations to find the areas where we agree.”
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