Defending the Rules-Based Global Order

We are constantly hearing that the age of the rule-based international order is over. Due to high levels of exposed corruption and the actions of destructive nations, the argument is that we have to give up on the quest for a global system based on the rule of law and shared interests. However, this rejection of modern liberal democracy fails to deal with the question of how are we going to address the global issues of climate change, war, pandemics, AI, genetic-manipulation, crime, crypto, tax evasion, and wealth concentration. All of these global problems require a global solution, and part of this solution has to be the development and enforcement of international law.

It thus makes no sense to argue that the aggressive policies of the United States, Russia, and Israel mean that we now live in a system of competing national interests, and so we should give up on the old belief in regulating the world and fixing our most pressing threats in a coordinated manner. However, due in part to the fear of an oppressive global government, we are moving away from the process of global progress.

For instance, the exposure of the high levels of globalized corruption in the Epstein files should not make us give up on international law; instead, we need to read this story as one dealing with the failure of individuals and nations to enforce existing laws. Likewise, the aggressive military actions of the United States, Isreal, and Russia should motivate us to commit more to international law and not less.

The truth of the matter is that we have no choice: Either we decide to work together or we perish. There is simply no way for individual nations to deal with these global issues on their own, and so we have to move beyond a system based on nation-states. Of course, climate change is the clearest example of why an individual nation cannot fix things on their own: Since we share one environment, we cannot focus on our own individual situation and politics.

Likewise, the Epstein files reveal how wealthy people work together to evade taxes and concentrate their wealth and power. It is also a story of the failure of legal systems across the world to hold these individual accountable for their crimes. What we need then is better international law coupled with better enforcement and not a retreat into a cynical world where everyone is only out for themselves.

In terms of the wars in Iran and Ukraine, we have to insist on the punishment for war crimes on a global basis. We simply cannot have individual nations acting to pursue only their own immediate interests. Moreover, in the case of Israel, we have seen that their continuous violation of the United Nations has undermined this needed body of regulation and coordination. Since the U.S. has acted to shield Israel from any sanctions, we need to change the ability of a few nations to veto any UN resolution. We also have to find a way to build up the UN’s ability to enforce international law.

The solution then to the failures of the global rule-based system is not to move on to something else; rather we have to make this system better and more effective.