All articles tagged with #rules based order
HRW’s annual report warns a global democratic recession has left about 72% of the world’s population living under autocracy, with the Trump administration and ongoing actions by Russia and China threatening the rules-based order; it urges democracies to form a strategic alliance to defend rights, while also highlighting domestic rights concerns in the UK and ongoing civil society protests.
As debates about a 'rules-based' order give way to great-power realignments, Allan Little argues that middle powers must unite to curb unilateral US power and preserve shared norms, or risk being relegated to the margins; the piece traces US interventions from the Monroe Doctrine era to current tensions over NATO, Greenland, and global leadership, highlights Mark Carney’s call for middle-power cohesion at Davos, and concludes democracy and the rule of law must be actively defended rather than assumed.
Trump flirted with seizing Greenland by force after Venezuela, but market turmoil and NATO unity forced a back‑down. The episode highlights the durability of the rules-based international order, aided by middle powers like Canada’s Mark Carney, and shows that global finance and alliances can constrain impulsive presidential power even when imperial instincts persist.
Canada’s prime minister, speaking at Davos, argued that the postwar rules-based international order isn’t delivering and urged middle powers like Canada to pursue an independent, economically stronger foreign policy, deepen ties with Europe and Asia, push back on economic coercion, and consider a loose, coalition-style alternative to the U.S.-led system—while acknowledging practical steps and unknowns about how such a bloc would work.
China has not responded to any of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's requests to establish direct communication channels between its commander and the commanders of China's main military commands, according to Adm. John Aquilino. The two countries are competing, with China considered to be the pacing challenge. Aquilino added that some countries look to disrupt the current system in ways that benefit themselves but would come at the cost of others. The U.S. Coast Guard and European nations are welcome to deploy to the Indo-Pacific, join exercises, operate with his command, and build relationships with partners in the Indo-Pacific.