Which elements of the liberal project are essential and universalisable? Which were historically contingent or self-serving? How might transatlantic cooperation evolve to promote stability and prosperity without reproducing the very inequalities and exclusions that have fueled disillusionment domestically and internationally?
The liberal world order and the transatlantic partnership that underpins it stand today at a crossroads marked by profound tension, introspection, and uncertainty. Structural strains, domestic political divergences, and competing global ambitions have long suggested a deeper and potentially enduring erosion of the transatlantic bond. The Russia-Ukraine War only briefly galvanized transatlantic unity. The increasingly illiberal leadership of President Donald Trump has amplified pre-existing divisions, further diminishing the role of Western leadership in maintaining the liberal world order.
At the heart of this moment of great turbulence also lies the contested legacy of the liberal world order itself. For its advocates, this order—rooted in shared transatlantic values of democracy, open markets, multilateralism, and the rule of law—delivered unprecedented global gains: from the spread of electoral democracies to reductions in conflict and inequality, and historic improvements in prosperity, health, and education. Perhaps nowhere were its benefits clearer than in Europe, where the transatlantic alliance helped secure peace and foster integration after centuries of devastating conflict. For many, the liberal order’s achievements remain not only real but preferable to any known alternative. However imperfectly realised, its promises of accountable governance, human rights, and the aspiration of law over arbitrary power remain worth defending.
Yet, this narrative has come under sustained critique from across the ideological spectrum. Detractors argue that the liberal order has too often served as a mask for domination, imposing its values—frequently by force—on populations for whom its principles felt alien, disenfranchising, or hypocritical. They point to the environmental toll of global capitalism, the failures of liberal democracies to prevent backsliding into authoritarianism, and the order’s complicity in perpetuating global hierarchies. Increasingly, even within liberal societies, voices question whether the system’s structural inequities and contradictions have fatally undermined its legitimacy.
The transatlantic relationship sits at the core of these debates. It faces the dual challenge of preserving what has been valuable in the liberal order while responding to an international environment where fewer actors, both within and beyond the West, see that order as either just or sustainable. Non-Western powers, in particular, express little nostalgia for Western-led systems and seek instead a more transactional, multipolar order grounded less in ideology than in practical concerns of security, prosperity, and sovereignty. Ironically, the very incoherence of the contemporary West creates fertile ground for these alternative visions.
Against this backdrop, the future of the liberal world order—and transatlanticism itself—cannot rest on nostalgia. To endure, they must be scrutinised and possibly reimagined. The question is not merely whether the liberal order "worked" or whether it is worth saving, but whether it can be adapted to center human welfare more genuinely and inclusively in a world that is less willing to defer to Western leadership. This requires hard reflection and the stakes are high. The weakening of the transatlantic alliance and the unraveling of even the imperfect liberal order risk opening space for a world of unchecked power politics, transactionalism, and violent conflict. Yet defensive postures alone are insufficient. The path forward lies in critically reassessing the promises and failures of liberalism and transatlanticism alike—resisting the urge either to romanticize the past or discard its gains, and instead forging new frameworks that can meet the demands of a more plural and contested global landscape.
This event is not only an occasion to discuss the liberal world order’s ailments but also to explore the possibilities of its renewal, transformation, or replacement. If the liberal order is to survive in any form, it must demonstrate that its core principles—democracy, accountability, freedom, and human dignity—are adaptable to the complexities of the present and the aspirations of those far beyond the shores of the Atlantic.
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