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The German Marshall Fund of the United States

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Future of the Liberal International Order

Photo Credit: Mark Van Scyoc / Shutterstock, Inc.

Sustaining, deepening and enlarging the liberal international order has long been a central part of GMF’s mission. In 2017, this order is under assault on multiple fronts, both internal and external, and on both sides of the Atlantic: from populist forces in America to Russian interference in Western elections, from anti-EU movements to the backlash against new trade agreements, from the rise of great power revisionism to question marks over the future of U.S. alliance leadership.

GMF’s initiative on the future of the liberal international order seeks to preserve the open, rules-based system the transatlantic allies built together -- and to develop a comprehensive action plan to reform and strengthen it.  We must address today’s political and economic turbulence in a manner that is attuned to long-term economic, technological, political, and power dynamics.  Before we can act, we also need to understand what is happening. What liberal international order are we defending? What are the driving forces (from populism to technology to globalization) behind the fraying consensus and what scenarios could lead the international order to unravel or adapt? What can we learn from history? Are there models for success we can learn from? All of these questions and more inform our work on the liberal international order, and our aim to identify a way to reinforce and adapt it.

Related Work

Security and Defense Program

Featured Work

Photo Credit: Claudine Van Massenhove / Shutterstock, Inc.

Blog post

In Increasingly Authoritarian World, Can People Embrace Enlightenment 2.0?

Mar 7, 2017 | By Marc Grossman

Photo credit: endermasali / Shutterstock.com

Blog post

The Counter-Enlightenment and the Great Powers

Mar 13, 2017 | By Andrew Small

Photo credit: VanReeel / Shutterstock.com

Blog post

Abandoning the Liberal International Order for a Spheres-of-Influence World is a Trap for America and its Allies

Jun 2, 2017 | By Daniel Twining

Out of Order

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Out of Order

America Voted. What’s Next for Foreign Policy

Out of Order

Trading Jabs: What’s Next for Trump’s Trade Battles with China and Europe?

Out of Order

Trading Jabs: What's Next for Trump's Trade Battles with China and Europe?

Andrew Small

Expert Spotlight

Amy Studdart

Jamie Fly

Derek Chollet

Peter Sparding

Transatlantic Fellow, Europe Program
View More Experts »

Featured Events

Jan
25
Past Event

Europe's Last Chance: A Transatlantic Talk with Guy Verhofstadt, MEP

January 25, 2017 | 12:00PM to 1:15PM EST
| Washington, DC
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Most Recent Content

Photo Credit: Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock

In the News

Recommended Reading: "The World Needs the West"

Sep 12, 2019 | By Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff
Report

Europe and the Liberal Order

Mar 21, 2019 | By Bart M.J. Szewczyk

Photo Credit: Circlephoto / Shutterstock

Transatlantic Take

Going it Alone? The Flawed Logic of Brexit in an Age of Great-Power Competition

Mar 20, 2019 | By Norbert Röttgen and Ulrich Speck

Photo Credit: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock

Transatlantic Take

Merkel’s Defense of the Liberal Order

Feb 19, 2019 | By Ulrich Speck

Photo Credit: Triff / Shutterstock

Blog post

Engagement Within Atlantic Societies Is Key to Local and Global Order

Feb 7, 2019 | By William McIlhenny
View more Research & Analysis »
View more Perspectives »
Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation

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