Abstract The post-1945 liberal international order has entered a phase of rupture, as articulated by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in his January 2026 Davos address. This article applies George F. Kennan’s concept of spiritual vitality—the capacity of a society to resolve internal challenges, maintain coherence, and project an attractive model—to assess major powers in… Continue reading George F. Kennan’s Spiritual Vitality in the Post-Rupture World Order
Reconstructing the Post-Rupture World Order: Civilizational Wisdom and China’s Global Governance Initiative
Abstract The contemporary international system faces profound disruption, characterised by successive crises that have eroded the post-Cold War liberal consensus. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s January 2026 address to the World Economic Forum in Davos framed this era as a “rupture, not a transition,” urging middle powers to adopt principled pragmatism in navigating great-power competition… Continue reading Reconstructing the Post-Rupture World Order: Civilizational Wisdom and China’s Global Governance Initiative
Reclaiming the UN Charter in a Post-Rupture World
Abstract Observers frequently describe the international rules-based order as dead, ruptured or under severe strain. Recent events illustrate the point. Yet the UN Charter itself remains fully intact and binding on all 193 Member States. No state has withdrawn from it. What has ruptured is not the universal legal framework but the version long dominated… Continue reading Reclaiming the UN Charter in a Post-Rupture World
Revisiting John Rawls in the Post-Rupture World Order
John Rawls ranks among the most influential political philosophers of the 20th century in the Anglo-American tradition. His seminal work, A Theory of Justice, revives the social contract tradition from Locke, Rousseau, and Kant. Rawls portrays society as a fair system of cooperation among free and equal citizens.1 Rawls connects profoundly to the Western liberal… Continue reading Revisiting John Rawls in the Post-Rupture World Order
Why Nations Obey International Law: Is the Transnational Legal Process Dead?
Introduction Harold Hongju Koh’s transnational legal process theory explains why nations obey international law in a decentralised world.^1 Koh argues that obedience arises not primarily from coercion or short-term rational calculation, but from a repeated cycle of interaction, interpretation, and internalisation. Transnational actors—governments, courts, NGOs, corporations, and individuals—engage in fora where they interpret norms, then… Continue reading Why Nations Obey International Law: Is the Transnational Legal Process Dead?
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