Leaders | The new economic order

The liberal international order is slowly coming apart

Its collapse could be sudden and irreversible

The words “The New Economic Order” printed on a fragmented and torn map.
image: Carl Godfrey/David Rumsey

At first glance, the world economy looks reassuringly resilient. America has boomed even as its trade war with China has escalated. Germany has withstood the loss of Russian gas supplies without suffering an economic disaster. War in the Middle East has brought no oil shock. Missile-firing Houthi rebels have barely touched the global flow of goods. As a share of global GDP, trade has bounced back from the pandemic and is forecast to grow healthily this year.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “The new economic order”

From the May 11th 2024 edition

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