The Pax Americana of the last half-century is on life support, but liberalism and multilateralism are not dead yet. An inclusive and mutually beneficial global system can still be resuscitated, if we begin to think differently about where the centers of influence are located.
MADRID – As many analysts have observed, the Pax Americana of recent decades is on life support. After the first 150 days of Donald Trump’s “America First” – or, more accurately, “America Alone” – presidency, it seems that America’s traditional stabilizing role can no longer be viewed as a given. As the primacy of the US in the international arena – and, thus, America’s status as the world’s “indispensable nation” – erodes, other states and even non-state actors are gaining prominence. What does this mean for the so-called liberal international order?
MADRID – As many analysts have observed, the Pax Americana of recent decades is on life support. After the first 150 days of Donald Trump’s “America First” – or, more accurately, “America Alone” – presidency, it seems that America’s traditional stabilizing role can no longer be viewed as a given. As the primacy of the US in the international arena – and, thus, America’s status as the world’s “indispensable nation” – erodes, other states and even non-state actors are gaining prominence. What does this mean for the so-called liberal international order?