The Disorderly Society

The liberal, "rules-based" order faces its greatest crisis since the end of the Cold War. Liberalism is in retreat around the world. Authoritarian regimes have become more numerous and increasingly repressive. International norms are unravelling. Yet there is little sign of a new, post-liberal order. Talk of a global power shift to the East is commonplace, but despite the growing influence of China, a "multipolar" world remains an abstraction. Instead, there is a growing void in global governance a new world disorder. In a broad and erudite narrative, Bobo Lo argues that there is no future in a return to dominant US leadership, great power competition or the post-Cold War chimera of a geopolitics-free world. The way forward lies in a more inclusive and flexible order, driven by a common purpose in meeting universal challenges, such as climate change, pandemic disease and global poverty.