The Big Read: The world waits — countdown on until Donald Trump inauguration

The fear of chaos erupting in the world once Donald Trump settles into the Oval Office, probably needs some historical perspective.

From a historian's point of view, we're doing all right.

BBC history presenter Dan Snow tweeted at the weekend: "World is absolutely not in chaos. Compared to the past it's unimaginably peaceful & prosperous. Pessimism fuels Trumps."

This is the problem. World is absolutely not in chaos. Compared to the past it's unimaginably peaceful & prosperous.
Pessimism fuels Trumps https://t.co/uDn9TKF9Ml

— Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) January 13, 2017

But for months or longer, there's been a sense of a mostly orderly and predictable period of time coming to an end and something new and dubious beginning.

Irritating political norms that were dull but provided stability now look paper thin. Can a policy or long-time understanding now get overturned in just 140 characters by Trump on Twitter?

Various institutions, traditions and assumptions that seemed to hold it all together have never looked so inadequate — eroded by the anger, apathy and complacency out there, everywhere.

These days Trump is able to shake political capitals in Europe and dent company profits (Lockheed Martin, BMW etc) with a few words in an interview or a tweet, such is the nervousness at what he intends and the loose style with which he tosses away opinions.

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