As the world watches in dismay, former US President Donald Trump’s brazen attempt to seize control of Greenland by force has sent shockwaves through the international community. This reckless move, which disregards the principles of international law and the territorial integrity of nations, marks a dangerous departure from the post-war order that has long underpinned global stability.
The European-wide chorus of resistance, led by UK Labour leader Keir Starmer, is a clear signal that Trump’s actions will not be tolerated. His plan to take over Greenland, and to initiate a trade war against any country that stands in his way, has shattered any lingering hope that the liberal rules-based order can withstand his presidency. The question now is whether the 2020s will be defined by the complete collapse of this order’s already crumbling pillars, or whether an international coalition can come together to build a new global framework in its place.
For, in quick succession, the US has abandoned its long-standing championing of the rule of law, human rights, democracy and the territorial integrity of nation states. Gone is its erstwhile support for humanitarian aid and environmental stewardship. Gone, too, is the founding principle of the post-war settlement: that countries choose diplomacy and multilateral cooperation over aggression and unilateral action.
As former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown argues, this moment calls for the democracies of the world to draft a new “charter of values” that reasserts the enduring shared principles on which the post-1945 institutions were founded. This includes full support for self-determination and the mutual recognition of nation states, the outlawing of war and coercion, and the primacy of law, civil rights and democratic accountability.
Crucially, this charter must also address the fundamental changes that have occurred since the mid-20th century, including the existential nature of the climate crisis, the rightful demands for gender equality, and the rising aspirations of the global South. It must also reflect our increased and inescapable interdependence, and the need to work together to prevent this interdependence from being weaponised in hostile ways.
For one thing is clear: an “America First”, us-versus-them, nationalist politics that despises international cooperation does not have the support of the global public. The truth is that the sheer extent of our dependence on each other gives us no other option but to work together. And whether it be China’s stranglehold through its monopoly of rare earths, or the maritime chokepoints that can close down vital trade corridors, we know that to prevent interdependence being weaponised, the rest of us must act together.
This is a moment of truth for Europe. For too long, its voice has been silent as the Trump administration has violated internationally agreed trade rules, savagely slashed international development aid, and threatened its neighbours. Now, as the US walks out of 66 international organisations, it is time for Europe and the democracies of the global South to step up and reassert the values that must underpin a new global order.
The path forward is clear: we must reaffirm the need for equality of opportunity and fairness of outcomes, and for the four freedoms that Roosevelt championed – of speech and worship, from want and from fear. Only by doing so can we build a world that is just, secure and at peace. The future of the liberal rules-based order hangs in the balance, and the time to act is now.
