Mainstream American political leaders regularly argue that the United States adheres to, defends and promotes a “rules-based international order.” What’s that? It’s rarely defined.
The best summary I’ve been able to find was articulated by John Ikenberry of Princeton University, introduced by The Financial Times as “an influential scholar whose former pupils populate the American government,” in 2023. “I think the rules-based order has a history that predates the US and even predates 1945 and the great order-building efforts after World War II," Ikenberry said.
It's Time to End US' Cynical Policy of International Disruption
BY TED RALL