The Emerging Global Order

To mark the recent passing of Russell Trood, the Lowy Institute is proud to present his 2008 Lowy Institute Paper on Australian foreign policy in the 21st century.

Key Findings

Globalisation, US primacy, ideological divisions, environmental sustainability and the nation-state are in a state of rapid transformation.
These transformations will test the prevailing Western liberal order and potentially reshape existing institutions of justice, order, security, legality and peace.
To secure its future in an unstable international environment largely indifferent to Australia’s policy priorities, Australia must maintain an active internationalism.

To mark the recent passing of Russell Trood, the Lowy Institute is proud to present his 2008 Lowy Institute Paper on Australian foreign policy in the 21st century.

Key Findings

Globalisation, US primacy, ideological divisions, environmental sustainability and the nation-state are in a state of rapid transformation.
These transformations will test the prevailing Western liberal order and potentially reshape existing institutions of justice, order, security, legality and peace.
To secure its future in an unstable international environment largely indifferent to Australia’s policy priorities, Australia must maintain an active internationalism.

Executive Summary

Dr Trood’s 2008 Lowy Institute Paper explores the shifting foundations of the emerging global order, identifying the fault-lines in twenty-first century world politics, assessing the implications for long-term international security and the impact on traditional institutions of armed forces, international organisations and international law. It provides a set of recommendations to guide Australian foreign policy under a framework of selective global activism.

The Paper can be downloaded here.

Once it had ended, the comparatively simple, if often dangerous verities of the Cold War no longer defined the global predicament. Even more importantly, it was a triumph for the West, one that served to consolidate the foundations of the Western liberal order within the international system. One of the great as yet unanswered geopolitical issues of the age is whether this consolidation can continue into the future.

The Emerging Global Order

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Executive Summary