Is the time for the liberal World Order slowly coming to a halt or can it survive without the US? The international liberal world order today is in retreat. The western countries are feeling the growth of populism. With the rise of the Trump administration, the United States has embarked on a journey of dismantling its carefully crafted liberal world order.
The liberal world order created by the United States came into being after the Second World War. The Post-World War liberal order was filled with idealism and aspirations with the goal of ensuring that another world war would not arise again. Governed under the hegemonic leadership of the United States, a network of international regimes like the United Nations, World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came into being.
All this and more was supported and created by the unmatched economic and military strength of the US. The adoption of the strategy of ‘non-colonial imperial expansion’ became the cornerstone of the American foreign policy that allowed the US to expand its sphere of influence. And with the collapse of Soviet Union, the United States emerged as the sole leader of the ‘New World Order’- as stated by President Bush.
But fast forward to the present date, with the withdrawal of the United States from UNESCO and then the Paris Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Iran nuclear deal and the mishandling of the G7 summit, resulting in the ideals the of liberal world order looking a little threadbare. Trump’s administration has actively encouraged the rise of populism across the West and has from time to time questioned the purpose of NATO.
It seems as if Mr. Trump has turned the 70-year-old American foreign policy on its head by attacking or destabilizing much of the global world order that the United States established after World War-II. The previous administrations viewed the intertwining network of alliances, partnerships, trade agreements and international bodies as beneficial to the United States, however, Mr Trump’s ‘America First’ rhetoric appears to be incompatible with these ideals.
The withdrawal of the United States from UNESCO and then the Paris Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Iran nuclear deal and the mishandling of the G7 summit, resulted in the ideals of the liberal world order looking a little threadbare
The recent withdrawal of the United States from the UN Human Rights Commission appears to be another indication of America adopting a more inward looking and isolationist approach. This move comes after the Trump administration faced strong criticism of separating children from their immigrant parents along the US-Mexico border.
Citing the commission to be a ‘hypocritical and self-serving organisation’ with a ‘biased’ anti-Israel narrative, the US who once used to claim to be the ‘champion of human rights’ has conveniently withdrawn from the UNHRC.
This move by the Trump administration brings us back to my original question; is the post Second World War liberal world order established by the United States and its Western allies on the verge of being dismantled? Can the liberal world order survive without its pioneer? Or are we entering into a new age of a multipolar world order, where the leadership of the United States is no longer required to uphold the world order structure?
With the US adopting isolationist policies under Trump’s reign, the international liberal order on which America’s hegemonic leadership has flourished for decades seems to be in the throes of a slow relative decline.
While at the same time, the great power rivalry with Russia and China is emerging and developing countries like Pakistan, one of the closest allies to the US, are now looking towards other emerging superpowers like China for leadership and support.
With these moves, Trump is on the path of dismantling the work done over a period of 70 years. As Trump’s anti-globalization rhetoric gains strength within the United States, the world seems to be entering into a new phase of a multipolar world order.
The writer is a research analyst who holds a Master’s in International Political Economy from the University of York, UK
Published in Daily Times, July 2nd 2018.