The End of the world order as we know it

Liberalism and the rule of international law had a good run, but we have re-entered an imperial order, this time with different players.

In the past, European nations were the masters of colonialism. The French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Dutch sought resources from other parts of the world. The United Kingdom, however, pursued colonialism not only for resources but also to settle new territories and replace indigenous populations, as it did in North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Monroe Doctrine, proclaimed by President James Monroe in 1823, declared that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers would be considered a hostile act toward the United States.

Yes, the Monroe Doctrine was a strategic plan and a step for the U.S. toward becoming a new world power. While the doctrine would have an impact on Latin American countries, it also had a partially moral dimension.

Having emerged as a new democracy from revolution, the United States saw its liberal ideology as a model to spread, with the goal of freeing the Americas from the old European imperial order.

The post-WWII collapse of the traditional imperial order ushered in a 70-year ideological battle between USSR communism and American liberalism.

After becoming the sole global superpower in 1991, the United States sought to spread democracy in Europe via trade and economic engagement. This approach, however, failed when applied by force in the Middle East.

Harvard University estimates the U.S. spent $8 trillion on two wars. These wars resulted in over 1.5 million local deaths, damaged the U.S. reputation as a liberal republic, and created space for other powers—namely Russia, China, and to some extent India—to grow stronger and more prosperous.

Without our noticing, we entered a world where the United States—with its massive military, crippled democracy, legally corrupted system of political campaign finance, and damaged economy—turned against its own liberal values and the very international organizations it established to make the world safer and more civilized.

Under Donald Trump—a president charged with several crimes and frequently named in the Epstein files—we are witnessing actions to end the rules-based order. These are the first steps of an American empire beginning in Venezuela, Cuba, and Greenland, with who knows what more to come.

Ultimately, power comes first—narratives, justifications, and international law are all bent to its will. Welcome to 2026.