The End of the Liberal International Order? Globalization, Deep Contestation, and the Future

Abstract The Liberal International Order (LIO) that has largely structured relations between states since World War II is now deeply contested. Although the challenges to the LIO began long before Donald J. Trump was elected president in the USA in 2016, and especially before his second term, he has successfully transformed the Republican Party into a nationalist, unilateralist, sovereigntist and possibly imperialist coalition. While this essay is not a postmortem on the LIO, I seek to explain what was the LIO, its origins, the challenges it faces, and possible futures. Understanding how international orders are constructed, sustained, and challenged as well as the history of the LIO is important for analyzing the future of international order. Although I am pessimistic, I argue that the future is not foreordained but allows for choice by the new superpowers and other states.