Book excerpt: In 2020, the world is in the throes of the COVID-19 global pandemic—an epidemic the likes of which humankind has not experienced for decades. This book speaks to common and fundamental underlying issues that national communities face from a humanitarian and planetary systems perspective. From the globalization initiatives of the last decades, a dynamic and interconnected new planetary system order is emerging. This book underscores the need for decent, ethical, healthy, and just societies that enable individuals to reach full human potential. It explores the future directions of 12 Key Strategic Influencer (KSI) nations through 18 systemic factors that will shape the contours of future planetary governance this century. Finally, it proposes a nonconventional systems paradigm to humanitarian challenges.