Construction and deconstruction of the Liberal International Order

Abstract

What does “liberal order” mean? And should we distinguish between “world order” and “international order”? On what basis did the liberal order emerge and what factors contribute to its erosion? This article seeks to answer these questions in a text divided into four parts. In the first, we explain the meaning of “order” in international relations, the difference between “international” and “world” order and our notion of “liberal international order”. In the second, we justify the paradox of considering that the liberal order was built on what many call the “Westphalian system”, although we reject this designation and typification and the initial attempt to build a liberal world order after World War I World, as well as its rapid deconstruction. In the third part, we demonstrate the building and consolidation of a liberal order after World War II, within the framework of a broader world order in the context of the Cold War. And in the fourth, we show that this liberal order has been a “world” one since the end of the Cold War, and that this process occurred amidst paradoxes and ambivalences that contribute to its deconstruction.