The End of the Value-Based Global Order

The end of the Cold War has brought about one crucial effect on the global scene: the almost total domination of a US-led and value-based liberal order on the global scene, under ideological umbrella of “the end of history”. Only China rejected it at the time. However, since the global crisis of 2008 the situation has changed significantly. Now not only China, but also Russia and some other countries have chosen a more authoritarian approach and “sovereign democracy” solutions. Worse, the malaise came to the EU, undermining checks and balances system and Copenhagen Criteria in several member states, like in Hungary, Poland, and recently even in Italy, one of the forefathers of the European integration process. Combined with obvious replacement of values by the Donald Trump administration in the US, we have global disorder on the horizon, looking from the Western perspective, or a new multilateral order emerging, according to Beijing or Moscow. The West is divided, the transatlantic relationship has been weakened, while the role of emerging markets seems to be growing. The new global order is looming, but nobody knows who will be the leader(s) of it. Some scenarios are sketched in this text.