This is an article that I read before, but it came back to my mind as I was looking at our last class in the syllabus for the semester: Whither the International Security Order in the 21st century? It is interesting to see that when the U.S. and its allies established the liberal world order, they wanted a world based on the rule of law and respect for countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity. They also wanted human rights to be protected. Unfortunately, more than 70 years later, people are raising questions and concerns as whether the liberal world order is still viable.
The article highlights that what constituted the basis of the liberal world order, that is, liberalism, universality, and the preservation of order itself are under attack. In fact, it points out that liberalism is fading away, populism is gaining weight, countries are now chanting nationalism as never before. There is disorder in the Middle East, wars and rumors of wars are ripping Syria and Yemen, and elsewhere, while North Korea is expanding its nuclear capabilities. Attempts to form global frameworks have failed, and we often hear of trade wars.
According to the CFR, the U.S. for the most part, is responsible for the weakening of the liberal world order. In fact, President Trump by deciding against the TPP, withdrawing from the PCA, and threatening NAFTA and other alliance relationships proves that we have come to a turning point. The U.S. has failed to play its major role given that it was the principal architect of the liberal world order, and its principal backer. The CFR says that,the liberal world order cannot survive on its own, because others lack either the interest or the means to sustain it. They suggest that our world will be less free, less prosperous, and less peaceful, for Americans and others alike. I may not agree with all their speculations, but it seems to me that everything is falling apart. Perhaps it is time for us to see the New World Order that Presidents Bush and Obama used to claim.
https://www.cfr.org/article/liberal-world-order-rip