Prospects for the Rules-Based Global Order

Abstract

The two-decade period of United States post-Cold War predominance is now over, and an era of greater multipolarity has begun. Many fear that the rise of China and a resurgent Russia will bring marked decline in respect for rules and international law. Western policymakers are responding by placing greater value on the ‘rules-based global order’. In 2016 Australia’s Defence White Paper warned that “the rules-based global order is under increasing pressure and has shown signs of fragility”. This new Centre of Gravity Paper by Greg Raymond, Hitoshi Nasu, See Seng Tan and Rob McLaughlin examines the idea of a ‘Rules Based Global Order’. It brings a multi-disciplinary focus to examine how the rules based global order emerged, what it really means and what its future looks like in a more contested strategic environment.