The rise of strongman rule as liberal internationalism retreats
The world might very well be faced with the prospect of an authoritarian China, in lockstep with an authoritarian Russia, substituting the US as principal custodian of world order
Contrary to expectations after the Cold War, the world has become a more dangerous and unpredictable place. What seems certain is that the decline of the West and the rise of China and Russia as revisionist powers have introduced a new global power equation which could yet spill over into increased confusion and untoward behaviour. Although their strategies reveal different dimensions, China’s and Russia’s common objective is to replace the prevailing West-centric liberal rules-based paradigm, which directed peaceful international relations since World War 2. Of course, demands for change in the ruling system are totally legitimate. They come at a time when the “monocivilisational” paradigm on which international society was based for many decades, is losing legitimacy. Many non-Western countries strongly favour a more equitable and legitimate global system, although not the same as Russia and China stand for. At the 1916 World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Chinese President Xi Jin...
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