The Disorderly Society: Rethinking Global Governance in an Age of Anarchy

The liberal, ＂rules-based＂ order faces its greatest crisis since the end of the Cold War. Liberalism is in retreat around the world. Authoritarian regimes have become more numerous and increasingly repressive. International norms are unravelling. Yet there is little sign of a new, post-liberal order. Talk of a global power shift to the East is commonplace, but despite the growing influence of China, a ＂multipolar＂ world remains an abstraction. Instead, there is a growing void in global governance - a new world disorder.

In a broad and erudite narrative, Bobo Lo argues that there is no future in a return to dominant US leadership, great power competition or the post-Cold War chimera of a geopolitics-free world. The way forward lies in a more inclusive and flexible order, driven by a common purpose in meeting universal challenges, such as climate change, pandemic disease and global poverty.

Bobo Lo is an independent international relations analyst. He is a non-resident fellow with the Lowry Institute, Sydney, and an associate research fellow at the French Institute of International Relations. He was previously Director of the China and Russia programmes at the Centre for European Reform in London, and Head of the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House. His books include A Wary Embrace: What the China-Russia Relationship Means for the World (2017) and Russia and the New World Disorder (2015).