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97 Foreign Aff. 16 (2018)
Liberal World: The Resilient Order

handle is hein.journals/fora97 and id is 656 raw text is: Liberal World The Resilient Order Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry ecades after they were suppos- edly banished from the West, the dark forces of world politics- illiberalism, autocracy, nationalism, protectionism, spheres of influence, territorial revisionism- have reasserted themselves. China and Russia have dashed all hopes that they would quickly transi- tion to democracy and support the liberal world order. To the contrary, they have strengthened their authoritarian systems at home and flouted norms abroad. Even more stunning, with the United Kingdom having voted for Brexit and the United States having elected Donald Trump as president, the leading patrons of the liberal world order have chosen to undermine their own system. Across the world, a new nationalist mindset has emerged, one that views international institutions and globalization as threats to national sovereignty and identity rather than opportunities. The recent rise of illiberal forces and leaders is certainly worrisome. Yet it is too soon to write the obituary of liberal- ism as a theory of international relations, liberal democracy as a system of govern- ment, or the liberal order as the overarch- ing framework for global politics. The DANIEL DEUDNEY is Associate Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. G. JOHN IKENBERRY is Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. liberal vision of nation-states cooper- ating to achieve security and prosperity remains as vital today as at any time in the modern age. In the long course of history, liberal democracy has hit hard times before, only to rebound and gain ground. It has done so thanks to the appeal of its basic values and its unique capacities to effectively grapple with the problems of modernity and globalization. The order will endure, too. Even though the United States' relative power is waning, the international system that the country has sustained for seven decades is remarkably durable. As long as interdependence-economic, security- related, and environmental-continues to grow, peoples and governments every- where will be compelled to work together to solve problems or suffer grievous harm. By necessity, these efforts will build on and strengthen the institutions of the liberal order. THE LIBERAL VISION Modern liberalism holds that world politics requires new levels of political integration in response to relentlessly rising interdependence. But political orders do not arise spontaneously, and liberals argue that a world with more liberal democratic capitalist states will be more peaceful, prosperous, and respect- ful of human rights. It is not inevitable that history will end with the triumph of liberalism, but it is inevitable that a decent world order will be liberal. The recent rise of illiberal forces and the apparent recession of the liberal international order may seem to call this school of thought into question. But despite some notable exceptions, states still mostly interact through well-worn 16 FOREIGN AFFAIRS

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