From Rules to Power: Is the Rules-Based Order Quietly Collapsing?

In this commentary, BIPSS Research Assistant Jannatul Toba Jhumu analyzes the mounting pressures on the rules-based international order (RBO), from U.S. disengagement and diplomatic erosion to the rise of competing regional blocs. She observes that the system, long criticized as a Western-dominated club, is now fragmenting as both established and emerging powers prioritize strategic interests over shared norms. Toba contends that while the old liberal order is not yet extinct, its universalist claims have given way to a multipolar and patchwork world. She argues that the future of global governance will depend on whether major actors can forge a new consensus, or if the world will slip into a prolonged period of dysfunction where rules are applied unevenly and power is the only arbiter.