The Upsurge, Overreach and Unravelling of the ‘Liberal International Order
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7473475 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Laurence Whitehead (0000-0002-1088-9806, University of Oxford, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 10-24 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Asian and African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9096 • E-ISSN: 1745-2538 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00219096251380760 |
| OpenAlex | W7126183721 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
The idea of a ‘Liberal International Order’ has a long and controversial history. Until 1989, it was a fiercely contested project, but during the ‘unipolar moment’ of the 1990s, it underwent an unprecedented upsurge and appeared to achieve hegemonic status. This article offers a retrospective analysis, viewing the ensuing cycle as a discursive metanarrative, and covering the ensuing overreach and its more recent unravelling. It concludes with an overview of alternative conceptions of liberal order, and some brief reflections on how a revised Liberal International Order (LIO) might regain some of the ground it has lost, and what that would involve
Hegemony · International relations · Liberalism · Multilateralism · Order (exchange · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |