Liberal World Order

In the 20^th century, three stories dominated the world-communism, fascism, and liberalism. Fascism was defeated in 1945. While communism also faced defeat in 1989. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, It appeared that from now onwards only the liberal story would dominate the planet. But liberalism also got undermined after 2008 global financial crisis. It faced another onslaught in 2016-thanks largely to Brexit and Trump’s rise to power. Now, the Trump moment is confronting the liberal order. China is also becoming more and more authoritarian with each passing day. Russia is resurging again with its own brand of communism. Some voices in the favor of Global Islamic Caliphate are also being heard.

 

However, still, there are many loopholes in these illiberal approaches. Trump’s view is not the complete order. Therefore I would not pose an existential threat to liberalism. Though China is illiberal vis-à-vis its domestic policies, however, it is adopting liberal policies in its external affairs. Resurging Russia has no world view. Similarly, the majority of the Muslims are not in the favor of Global Islamic Caliphate. Therefore, despite some challenges, the liberal world order is going to dominate the international arena.