Session: Session 1
Date/Time: April 26, 2016 / 13:00-14:30

Moderator:
Philip Stephens, Financial Times

Speakers:
Chen Zhimin, Fudan University
Miyake Kuni, Ritsumeikan University
Evans Revere, The Brookings Institution
Dmitry Suslov, National Research University, Russia
 

Session Sketch:
Session 1, titled “Whose Rule, Which Order?” was led by moderator Philip Stephens, associate editor and chief political commentator of the Financial Times. Mr. Stephens opened the session by saying that the world needs to realign horizontal international problems with vertical structures of national states and its governments. Suggesting that the U.S.-designed international order seems unable to meet the needs of emerging powers, he asked whether it can be fixed to handle new challenges.

Prof. Chen Zhimin, dean of Fudan University’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs and professor of international relations, noted that the world is currently characterized by diffusion of power. From the Chinese side, however, it seems that the leading global powers are trying to continue to maintain or even strengthen Western dominance over world affairs, especially since the U.S. is unwilling to share rule-making power. Also, he pointed out that the Western world, once the engine for growth, has become the source of economic problems. Lastly, he noted that military intervention and adventurism of the Western powers have produced many failed states, which have become sources of instability and terrorism.

Next, Prof. Miyake Kuni, president of the Foreign Policy Institute and visiting professor of Ritsumeikan University, observed that the widening gap between rich and poor is leading to isolationist tendencies in many countries. He emphasized that the proliferation of nuclear weapons will not cease, and the Iran nuclear deal can be perceived as the beginning of that trend. He thought that the foreign policies of the U.S. and its allies are very compartmentalized. He stressed the importance of coordinating policies among the allies.

Dr. Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies, National Research University-Higher School of Economics, stated that the root of disagreement between Russia and the U.S. goes back to the end of the Cold War. He argued that non-Western powers should have been invited to be co-designers of the post-Cold War world order. In Dr. Suslov’s view, great power rivalry at the global level has returned. Profound diversification and multiplication of methods and tools of confrontation has also brought the world to a state of total-war where the new rule is ‘no rule.’ He saw these as preconditions for a new balance, and foresaw the creation of several regional orders.

Finally, Mr. Evans Revere, non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Institute, insisted that rumors of the demise of the rules-based liberal international order are premature and that “the night has yet descended.” He also noted that the tough challenges we face today are not worse than what the world has experienced in the past. Mr. Revere assessed that the global international order has shown resilience and strength over the decades and demands for U.S. leadership is stronger than before. Nonetheless, the U.S. will have to reject its domestic isolationist impulse. The allies should also be ready to share more burdens, and the U.S. is going to have to work better with China and Russia.

* The views expressed herein are summaries and may not necessarily reflect the views of the speakers or their affiliated institutions.