liberal international order

UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has issued a dire warning about the state of international cooperation. The long-standing international order, he says, is dividing and that threatens future global stability.

So, are his concerns valid? How is the international order likely to change over coming decades? And what practical steps can be taken to reinforce the global rule of law?

Guests:

Ketian Zhang is an Assistant Professor of International Security in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.

Scott Swift is a retired admiral with nearly 40 years of experience in the U.S. Navy. Swift is a former commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet and was previously a Robert E Wilhelm Fellow at MIT’s Center for International Security.

Susan Thornton is a retired senior U.S. diplomat with almost 30 years of experience with the U.S. State Department in Eurasia and East Asia. Until July 2018, Thornton was Acting Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the Department of State. She is currently a Senior Fellow and Research Scholar at the Yale University Paul Tsai China Center and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution.  

International Security Article:

This episode is based on, Ketian Zhang, “Cautious Bully: Reputation, Resolve, and Beijing’s Use of Coercion in the South China Sea,”Vol. 44, No. 1 (Summer 2019), pp. 117-159.

Additional Related Readings:

• Susan A. Thornton, “Is American Diplomacy with China Dead?” The Foreign Service Journal, July/August 2019.
• Ketian Zhang, “A View from the United States,” National Commentaries, The Asan Forum, Vol. 7, No. 3 (May-June 2019).
• M. Taylor Fravel, "Why does China care so much about the South China Sea? Here are 5 reasons," Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, July 13, 2016.

Originally aired on November 14, 2019