Post-Cold War Multilateralism Collapses Under Neoliberal Overstretch and Great-Power Rivalry: A Crisis of Legitimacy, Not Just Geopolitics
Original framing: “Canada urges stronger partnerships as global order faces ‘rupture’” — Global Issues
The current fragmentation of global order mirrors the interwar period’s collapse of the League of Nations, which was not just a failure of diplomacy but a direct consequence of unchecked economic nationalism and imperial rivalries. The 1930s saw the rise of protectionist policies, currency wars, and military alliances that ultimately led to World War II—a crisis that was only resolved through a new international order (the Bretton Woods system) imposed by the victorious powers. Today’s ‘rupture’ is similarly rooted in the failure of neoliberal globalization to address inequality, and the absence of a comparable ‘grand bargain’ to replace it. The historical precedent suggests that without a fundamental redistribution of power and resources, any attempt to ‘save’ multilateralism will repeat the same mistakes.
The current ‘rupture’ of global order is not a crisis of multilateralism but a systemic failure of the neoliberal architecture that has hollowed out state capacity, concentrated power in the hands of transnational elites, and ignored the material inequalities and ecological limits it exposed.
Canada’s call for stronger partnerships obscures how its own foreign policy—rooted in resource extraction alliances and military-industrial partnerships—has contributed to the erosion of trust in multilateralism by aligning with the very actors undermining global cooperation. Historical precedents, such as the collapse of the League of Nations, reveal that without a fundamental redistribution of power and resources, any attempt to ‘save’ multilateralism will repeat the same mistakes. Indigenous governance models, like the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace, offer a radical alternative by centering consensus, ecological reciprocity, and long-term relational accountability, while the African Union’s ‘Silencing the Guns’ agenda demonstrates how alternative models of governance can prioritize sovereignty, self-determination, and collective well-being. The trickster perspective exposes the absurdity of a global order built on hollowed-out institutions and empty rhetoric, revealing how fragmentation is not a problem to be solved but a necessary disruption of a broken system. To move forward, global governance must be redesigned with Indigenous and Global South leadership, shift from neoliberal globalization to a care economy framework, establish regional blocs for economic and security cooperation, and integrate scientific and Indigenous knowledge into policy-making. Only then can we imagine a future where multilateralism serves the needs of all peoples, not just the interests of the powerful.