Lithuanian Military Academy students hold NATO membership states flags during the celebration of the 15th anniversary of Lithuania's membership in NATO in Vilnius, Lithuania March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
The liberal world order can be a pretty easy target to slam, and Professor Patrick Porters piece in War on the Rocks does a colorful job depicting its shortcomings. But his skewering portrait, useful as a cautionary tale, doesnt show the way to a better alternative.
The phrase liberal world order functions more or less as a stand-in for the US-led system that emerged after World War II: a security system based on NATO in Europe and a set of US-led alliances in Asia; the European Union, which ended European nationalist rivalry (a union which, US President Donald J. Trumps claims notwithstanding, the United States supported from the beginning); multilateral institutions that created rules to support trade, finance, and development; and an elastic system that allowed for the rise of new powers after 1945: Germany, Japan, South Korea, and in principle, Mexico, Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and others. After 1989, the liberal system grew to embrace the newly self-liberated countries of Central Europe and offered post-Soviet Russia and rapidly-reforming China places in the system, though with mixed success.
The above description does nothing to convey the sense of confusion, improvisation, and anxiety that characterized the liberal world order even in its best years. The Good Old Days, much pined for today, seldom seemed that way at the time. Porters critique fairly points out the failures of the US-led system over the years; multiple examples of US hypocrisy as its steward (e.g. sometimes supporting dictatorships or holding itself exempt from its own rules); and US blunders, usually in the form of ill-considered military interventionsthe Iraq and Vietnam Wars come easily to mind.
Porter makes two deeper critiques: first, that the liberal order is inherently expansionist, seeking to impose its values on the world and causing endless tensions; and second, that the liberal order is so amorphous it actually has no real meaning other than as scaffolding for US arrogance and imposition of the countrys self-anointed role as world savior. He calls it fog. Porters strongest argument is his warning against hubris. Indeed, being realistic about obstacles, ones own assets, and the sheer complex nature of any problem you set out to fix, is a critical and needed piece of advice for the United States.
Porters argument loses strength, however, when he starts outlining his alternative, which goes beyond tactical realism to what I term doctrinal Realism, by which I mean a foreign policy view that national interests are defined as devoid of values while pursuit of values is dismissed as cant, cover, or simply unsustainable naivety. Tactical realism has its virtues, e.g., patience, and some of Porters suggestions have merittactical restraint, arms control, diplomatic openings to ones adversaries (he mentions Nixons opening to China), learning to live with some disorder, and other wise suggestions. But Porter also slips in some of doctrinal Realisms worst ideas, such as when he praises the United States for tacitly acknowledging the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
Hes right that the United States did exactly that, especially under Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger. But it doesnt look good in retrospect. What was realistic about assuming the Iron Curtain was forever and that a miserable system of tyranny and economic failure could be imposed forever upon 100 million unwilling Europeans? Realists at the time, Porters policy forebears, argued that US support for Polands Solidarity movement was futile and destabilizing and that Ronald Reagan was a warmongering simpleton for his talk of communisms ultimate failure. But the Iron Curtain fell, pulled down as US-supported democratic movements gained power in Central Europe. Freedom and prosperity expanded in Europeshock therapy economic reforms, that Porter criticizes, worked out well in Poland and the Baltic States. The Cold War ended on freedoms terms and, although Porter objects to NATOs enlargement, presumably because it violated the Kremlins sphere of influence that he oddly embraces, the twin enlargements of NATO and the EU helped create the most united, peaceful, and prosperous Europe in history.
Porter suggests that the liberal world order is inherently expansionist. But perhaps the rule of law, democracy, and freedom has an attractive power of its own, an inherent appeal. In that case, it is the Realists preferred system of spheres of influence that is actually unstable: tyrannies, like Vladimir Putins Russia and possibly Xi Jinpings China, exercise repression at home and in their spheres either because they cant deliver for their people or are made insecure by the example of democracy too close to home. And, partly for the same reason, they will always push to expand their spheres.
Yes, the United States was inconsistent and hypocritical in its years leading the free world. And, yes, the more extravagant promises of the liberal world order, e.g. to usher in Immanuel Kants era of perpetual peace between republics, fall apart when set against the messy realities of the real world.
But does realitys messiness mean that the post-1945 international systemthe liberal world order that the United States ledwas meaningless? Was it nothing more than fog and cant, as Porter and many others charge? Lets peer through the fog. Lets instead compare the liberal world order not against the purity of its adherents most extravagant claims or against its critics abstract standards of unattainable perfection, but against the track record of its recent competition, Soviet Communism; the previous competitor of fascism; or against the pre-1914 system of imperialist balance of power. The liberal order gave the world generations of general great power peace and unprecedented prosperity. Stack that against the first half of the twentieth century.
Lets set the liberal world order, for all its faults, against its current challenger: neo-nationalism and might-makes-right, which appear to be the ultimate argument of this generations set of authoritarian challengers: Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and others including, in some sense, Trump himself.
Restoring some imagined Golden Age is not the issue. The issue is whether the liberal world order can be fixed and reengineered to meet todays challenges. Thats akin to Roosevelts challenge of reengineering US capitalism from the pits of the Great Depression: its no fun, and well be hit as we try from left and right. But wed better get started.
Daniel Fried is the Weiser Family distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. He was the coordinator for sanctions policy during the Obama administration, assistant secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia during the Bush administration, and senior director at the National Security Council for the Clinton and Bush administrations. He also served as ambassador to Poland during the Clinton administration.Follow him on Twitter @AmbDanFried.
Tue, Jun 9, 2020
Many in the region expected the 100th anniversary of Trianon to be a blow up. It could be yet. But around the actual anniversary, it was a dog that did not bark: the significance was in what wasnt said, in nationalist pandering avoided and confrontation dodged, and positive gestures recognized.
New AtlanticistbyDaniel Fried
Tue, May 5, 2020
The United States needs to lead in devising both immediate and systemic responses to the coronavirus challenge, but not alone. Leadership means neither diktat nor incantation of old formulas. It means using American convening power to adapt tested principles to new challenges, crystalizing friends and alliestransatlantic, transpacific and not forgetting hemisphericaround a common agenda.
New AtlanticistbyAna Palacio and Daniel Fried
Fri, Feb 7, 2020
One lesson is that core values may have more viability than it seems, especially in the long term: for two generations after 1945, foreign policy professionals and scholars concluded that Roosevelts weak defense of Poland at and immediately after Yalta was pointless (or cynical) and that the principles of the Atlantic Charter were inapplicable east of the Iron Curtain. Soviet domination there, it was implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) accepted, was forever. But it turned out otherwise. The Yalta Conference failed but Yalta Europe was not forever. The strategic vision that Roosevelt spelled out in the Atlantic Charter and sought to realize at Yaltaeven if miserablynow seems the right one.
New AtlanticistbyDaniel Fried
Read more:
Peering through the fog: The liberal international order in the real world - Atlantic Council
- NATO Protesters Receive 5- To 8-Year Prison Terms - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- NATO - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Latvia: US troops arrive in Baltics for NATO drill - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- No NATO. May 2012. Archive. Chicago, Il - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Erkkio Tuomioja: "Nato suojaa Suomea meteoriiteilta". - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- US troops arrive in Latvia for NATO exercises: Baltic states concerned by Russian military threat - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Voglio andare a vivere a Laveno dove e' nato Pozzetto - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- OcaqTv - Rusiya NATO srhdini pozdu -- F-16-lar havaya qalxd - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Men of War Assault Squad Cold War Mod - NATO vs Warsaw Pact - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- US troops in Poland: American soldiers arrive for NATO exercises in response to Russia threat - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Ancona 23-04-14 PdCI - La crisi dell'Ucraina, la NATO e l'UE: pericoli di guerra e lotta x la Pace - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Eastermonday Peace ralley NATO Bchel germany 21.04.2014 - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- How to change Gear 2 Strap NATO no tool needed - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- In Context: The War Report #3 - Ukraine and NATO - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- On The Wrist Omega Speedmaster Black NATO Strap - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- US, NATO expanding on Russia doorstep: Analyst - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- NATO War Games Send Warning to Moscow - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- NATO to deploy recon flights over Poland - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Nato News - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- NATO - State - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- NATO: Definition from Answers.com - Answers - The Most ... - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Marine Le Pen: Vyvediem Franczsko z NATO - francztina, rutina - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- 5 NATO troops killed in Kandahar Afghanistan UK's helicopter crash - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- European observers detained in Ukraine are branded 'Nato spies' - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Prostittas priecjas par NATO karavriem Latvij - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- MV Bill - A Luz #PersianaBaixaMix (prod. DJ Nato pk) Part. @KmillaCdd - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Furious Russia Proposes Retaliation Against NATO Countries! - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Conversation: NATO's Evolving Mission - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- NATO supply trucks stuck in Pakistan - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- NATO troops killed in Afghanistan helicopter crash - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Slovakia: NATO exercises in Central Europe - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- "NATO 3" individuals sentenced - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- NATO exercise scenario: Naval response to invasion of allied country - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- NATO News and Video - FOX News Topics - FOXNews.com - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- RAF Typhoons Arrive in Lithuania to Reinforce NATO Air Policing Mission - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Poland: French Rafale fighter jets join NATO force - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- RAF Deploys Typhoon Jets To Bolster Nato Air Policing Mission - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Sunday 4/27/2014 - Tarpley Points Out Fake-OSCE Observers Are Actually NATO Military Officers - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Germany: Pro-Russians rally against NATO in Frankfurt - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- April 28 2014 Breaking News NATO minesweepers set off on Baltic deployment - Video - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- NATO forces serve world bankers: Analyst - Video - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- 2 NATO troops killed in attack in eastern Afghanistan - Video - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- STEFANO BORGONOVO:ATTACCANTE NATO IL DOCUMENTARIO - Video - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- RAF Deploys Typhoon Jets To Bolster NATO Air Policing Mission - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NATO opens second Baltic air base in Estonia with 4 Danish fighter jets amid Ukraine crisis - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NATO triples fighter jets in Baltic countries - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Lithuania: US hands over NATO air patrol to UK - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Ukraine: Kerry announces more support from NATO towards coup - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Scoring Political Points? NATO bolsters forces in Eastern Europe - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Putin: NATO Chief Rasmussen secretly taped, leaked meeting when he was Danish PM - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Russia Accuses NATO of 'Provocative' Actions - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NATO & its future NAZI headquarters - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NATO Fest 2014 - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- RAF Jets Respond To Ukraine Crisis 28.04.14 - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- OSCE team in Ukraine NATO spies: Analyst - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NATO commander: Europe concept on international borders changed after Crimea annexation - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NATO allies take over Baltic mission from Air Force - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NATO official says Russia must now be viewed as more of an enemy than a partner - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NATO official says Russia now an adversary - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization - The New York Times - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Estonian Air Base Turns Into Second NATO Baltic States Hub - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Finale Ligure Freeride H e Base nato con Patrik - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Ellodesse Mv.1, 2, 3 - nato in Synthesia - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NATO Boosts Presence in Eastern Europe Amid Continued Turmoil in Ukraine - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NATO's efforts to attain advancement in ariel warfare and defense HD Stock Footage - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Me Gusta By Nato 2014 - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Toward a Europe Whole and Free: Secretary of State John Kerry - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NATO official: Russian moves in Ukraine pose 'grave challenge' to global security system - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- As NATO Builds It's Forces The Economy Is On The Brink Of Collapse -- Episode 355 - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- 15 years on: NATO's Murino Massacre of innocent children remembered In the NOW. - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Nato -- finally finding its feet? - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Europe Responds to Russian Aggression: NATO opens second Baltic hub at Estonia's Amari air base - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- NATO air strength triples in Baltic states - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Russia now an adversary, NATO official says - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- NATO Movie - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- The Expandables: NATO talking heads, war tech on 'crusade control' - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Friend to Foe? NATO's Deputy Head classifies Russia as enemy over Ukrainian crisis - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Tiger's Eye Dance by Oasis Dancers at 2014 NATO - JVC Version - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Cleopatra's Dance by Oasis Dancers at 2014 NATO - JVC Version - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Slave To The Rhythm Dance by Oasis Dancer at 2014 NATO - JVC Version - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]