The international rules-based order (sometimes called the liberal international order) refers to an open and rules-oriented system of international relations where states cooperate in security and trade to make mutual gains. It is “enshrined in institutions such as the United Nations and norms such as multilateralism” (Ikenberry 2011, p.56). Developments in the 1980s such as globalization and the demise of the Cold War toward the end of that decade seemed to expand the possibilities of the international rules-based order.

Nevertheless, the post 9/11 era has been marked by the steady erosion of an international rules-based order on three fronts. First, there has been international challenges such as the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and subsequent full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the US/Israeli war against Iran in 2026. Second, this period has witnessed the rise of right-wing populist leaders in the US, the UK, Brazil and Hungary, which has served to diminish support within these countries for an international rules-based order. Third, international and national challenges have morphed together to create a combined threat. Opponents of the rules-based order have sought, particularly in the social media space, to influence the political direction of states that have traditionally supported this order.

New Zealand cannot be indifferent to these trends. Since 1945, all governments in this country have been firm supporters of a rules-based multilateral system. Like most middle and small powers, New Zealand has a vital stake in ensuring that its security and economic well-being are not dictated by the unrestrained exercise of raw power. Besides, the descent into a lawless global environment only weakens the capacity of states to resolve the growing number of problems, like climate change, that do not respect borders.

The 60^th University of Otago Foreign Policy School brings together a formidable team of international and national specialists to consider the rules-based order through the lens of five related themes:

• Liberal Institutions and Multilateralism: Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives
• Free Trade, Sovereignty, Big Tech, and Democratic Governance
• Upholding Rules in an Insecure and Unjust World
• Alternative Approaches to an International Rules-Based order
• New Zealand and an International Rules-Based Order under Strain

Co-Directors

Professor Robert Patman, Politics Programme, University of Otago

Dr Peter Grace, independent researcher

Associate Professor Trent Smith, Department of Economics, University of Otago

Co-ordinator

Dr Balazs Kiglics, Division of Humanities, University of Otago