The US-led Global Governance system, formed in 1945 post-World War II, is now on the brink of collapse. In recent years, from 2020 to 2026, we have witnessed an increase in conflicts around the globe, and institutions have been deemed potentially ineffective in dealing with them. There has been a rise in interstate conflicts in certain regions of the world, like Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Among which, the Middle East is the most conflicted zone right now. The main issue is the spillover effect and regional escalation, which engulf multiple actors in conflicts.
Multipolarity makes it worse because each Major Power with its competing regional interests further complicates efforts for peace restoration. The US is fading from the very system it created and is neglecting its responsibility as a Global Leader. The United States under Trump’s second term has adopted an America First policy under which it prioritizes its national interests by taking measures like the imposition of Tariffs, exiting the multilateral institutions, and selective foreign engagement.
US unilateralism is one of the key aspects of this issue and a major contributing factor to the decline of effective Global Governance. With a major power leaving the central stage, world politics are becoming increasingly problematic, and other major powers are trying to fill the vacuum left by the US, seeking it as an opportunity to grow their regional influence. The US foreign policy under Trump is driven by impulsivity, as evident from the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan in 2021, which had stayed there for a long period of 20 years. It caused consequences for Afghanistan’s government and security as the Taliban took over right after the American troops had left.
Moreover, the United States withdrawal from the JCPOA or Iranian nuclear deal and intensification of sanctions on Iran, its military intervention in Venezuela, and the unlawful abduction of its President Nicolás Maduro under its operation named Absolute Resolve, which was a serious breach of state sovereignty, and the recent nuclear and military strikes in Iran have alarmed the international community.
It is of significance because when a Major power engages in such unpredictable and impulsive actions, it not only causes the international community to lose trust in it but also serves as an exemplar for other states. The growing insensitivity towards the violation of norms automatically shakes Global Governance to its core.
The US has also reduced funding for UN peacekeeping missions and demanded increased burden sharing and 2% of defense budget, which stirred up dissent among its NATO allies and enhanced mistrust and diplomatic resistance between them. They are now reverting to the formulation of sub blocs like PESCO Permanent Structured Cooperation and European Defense Fund to counter NATO. It is also seen in other case scenarios like the Bilateral Defense Pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan because of their mistrust of the US.
- The Middle East was once an area of US interest, but now it is no longer under US protection and supervision. The vacuum left by the USA is being filled with assertive and nationalist regional states like Iran and Saudi Arabia.
- In the Asia Pacific, the rise of China and its assertiveness in the South China Sea have caused the states to defend themselves by forming alliances like QUAD between Japan, Australia, and India.
- While in Europe, the mistrust among the allies has caused them to focus on the strategic autonomy of the region rather than relying solely on the US for their protection. The world is becoming multipolar, and with multiple poles comes the era of proxy wars, competition, and lawlessness.
The institutional paralysis is yet another sub-issue. The United Nations Security Council is experiencing an issue of Veto Paralysis, which is also a manifestation of the Great Power competition and their conflicting interests. Mutual tension between the P5 causes them to fail in managing conflicts as in Gaza, Ukraine, Myanmar, and Sudan, etc. During the time of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022-2023, Russia was not consenting to use its veto on problems related to Ukraine. While China and the USA also tried to manage their safe distance, avoiding any possible consequences.
Later, the US support for Ukraine caused Russia to grow resentful towards it. It blocked humanitarian aid to Syria and withdrew peacekeeping missions from Mali. China was unable to stop it. According to some scholarly debates, Russia was assumed to be helping its friends in Mali, Syria, and the DPRK by doing so. Also, if we look at the Hamas and Israel conflict, it could not be resolved diplomatically because of issues of implementation. The United States stood by Israel and tried to justify and prove its stance to the world, while Russia catcalled the USA for having double standards.
The mockery among the veto powers and fragmentation among them caused the conflicts to linger despite 50 failed resolutions. The Global South also views the global institutions with suspicion now, as they assume the great powers only follow rules that don’t compromise their national interests, while they face harsh rules and regulations in the form of sanctions and diplomatic isolation upon disobedience.
The globalization system, which once benefited the world, has now become a system of manipulation and control. The world responds to these faultlines of the global governance system by reverting to alternate, smaller, and informal security settings like QUAD, BRICS, and AUKUS, etc. This can also be nomenclated as minilateralism. The downside of it all is that it will increase the security dilemma because the security measures taken up by one bloc could be assumed to be an offense by another bloc, and so on. This can also lead towards an Arms race, militarization, and deterrence politics. The alternative blocs compete indirectly in the form of proxy networks, as in Sudan, Syria, etc.
This decentralized system would not be able to take immediate action when faced with crises. The ground for cooperation on common global issues like climate action, pandemics, and nuclear nonproliferation efforts would also shrink. Thus, mutual coordination of major powers is fundamental for the restoration of the old system of global governance. With greater power comes greater responsibility, and for peace to be restored and to persist, they must perform their duties responsibly.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift
Maria Waris is a Graduate in Defense and Diplomatic Studies and is currently pursuing her Masters in International Relations from the Center for International Peace and Stability (CIPS) NUST.
