The Reactionary, Non-Liberal Global Order is With Us
It was once common to speak of the “liberal international order.” Even if the accompanying institutional arrangements were not entirely liberal, international, or organized, this designation had its uses. Ultimately, the purpose of any ideal is not to describe reality but to guide behavior. For decades, most nations aspired to be part of the liberal order and contribute to its development—even if some people preferred to ride for free or manipulate the system.
Clearly, those days have passed. We have entered a new era of global chaos. It is also evident that the steady rise of China and other emerging economies has always posed a challenge to the arrangements established by Western powers after World War II. However, the decisive factor in the decline of the liberal international order is that its chief architect, the United States, has abandoned it. American leaders no longer echo John F. Kennedy’s commitment “to pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.”
It is true that the United States has not always been consistent in upholding international law or supporting the United Nations and its multilateral networks. However, no one doubts that this edifice would collapse entirely without American support, as seems to be happening now. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the U.S. was explicit in condemning the old liberal order, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio claiming it is “not only obsolete; it has now become a weapon used against us.”
By definition, the international order requires some common rules. Yet, Trump’s administration is openly hostile to such constraints. It pursues a policy that elevates its self-defined interests above all else, demonstrating a willingness—even eagerness—to harm friends and allies in the process.
Trump’s punitive definitions are only part of the story. He has trampled on the rules, including by imposing tariffs on imports for reasons unrelated to trade. While this is still in its early stages, there is no doubt that the global economy will pay a heavy price for Trump’s destructive era—and perhaps the American economy will suffer the most in the long term.
In fact, the very concept of international law has been expunged from American foreign and economic policymaking. The long-standing view of geopolitics as a competition between democratic and autocratic regimes now seems completely misplaced. Trump and his associates speak about human rights only selectively, as seen during the false claims regarding genocide against white farmers in South Africa (while Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are barely mentioned).
There has been a palpable backlash in the United States against the “forever wars” in Afghanistan and Iraq, coupled with a belated recognition that foreign states cannot simply be reordered at America’s command. The “unipolar moment,” in which the U.S. stood unrivaled between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of China as a technological powerhouse, has paved the way for American arrogance.
Now, however, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. From Greenland to the Panama Canal, the United States has become a driver of international chaos, joining the likes of Russia with its aggressive war against Ukraine and its escalating shadow war on the European Union. Meanwhile, vast regions, from the Horn of Africa to Sudan along the Sahel, are sliding into conflict and disorder with seemingly no one paying attention. The United States is busy with its small, “chosen” war against Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela.
Despite its industrial might and growing maritime resources, it is unlikely that China will fill the void left by the United States. So far, the Chinese have stepped cautiously, fiercely resisting what they see as bullying by the U.S., but refraining from intervening in numerous conflicts around the world. China is explicitly seeking a new global order and does not wish to uphold the U.S.-led liberal order that has prevailed for eight decades post-World War II.
Yet, there is no new order in sight. We have entered a period of global chaos where non-liberal regimes gain increasing momentum while old international structures crumble. These trends could be dangerous enough separately; they are far more perilous in the face of climate change, pandemic risks, and destabilizing technologies like artificial intelligence.
The cooperation needed to manage these threats is not readily available. If this age of global chaos offers any hope, that hope lies in multilateral alliances focused on specific issues—trade rules, global health, energy transitions, among others. Countries aware of the risks we face must find new ways to bond together on their own.
