Advocating the rules-based order in an era of multipolarity
Date
2018
Authors
Raymond, Gregory
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
Abstract
Faced with eroding United States hegemony and the rise of a more
multipolar distribution of global power, Australia has embraced a
new foreign policy platform built around advocacy for a ‘rulesbased
global order’. In this essay I first argue that the emerging
characterisation of multipolarity overemphasises the centrality of
the United States and overlooks the legacies of Asian colonisation,
decolonisation, state-building and local norm development. I then
consider the reasons for the embrace of the rules-based global
order construct, locating it as an instinctive reaction to issues
arising from the South China Sea dispute, the raw use of power,
and the inclination to share the ideas of a close ally. I note,
however, that linking Australia closely with the United States
approach to global rules has drawbacks, given the United States’
explicit attempts to reserve a right to use force outside the UN
Charter. I suggest that Australia would be better served by clearly
delineating a separation between its military alliance with a
United States, a policy for worst-case scenarios, from its support
for international law and institutions, which should form the
mainstay and leading edge of its foreign policy.
Description
Keywords
Australia, foreign policy, rules-based global order, international law, alliance, multipolarity
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Source
Australian Journal of International Affairs
Type
Journal article
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Restricted until
2099-12-31
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