Liberalism is founded on the principles of economic and political opportunity, advocating for the spread of democracy and human rights. One of their core beliefs is interdependence, specifically complex interdependence, which is the idea that states and their fortunes are interconnected and states can intrinsically affect one another.
In today’s world, these core beliefs can be represented by a multitude of organisations, two of which are integral to the progression of liberalism are the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Both are examples of intergovernmental organisations, set up with the aim of establishing peace after World War II. EU has given rise to the European “single market”, which allows for free movement of goods, capital, services and labour across EU countries, and helping to carry out the EU’s fundamental purpose of spreading social, political and economic harmony across member nations – all liberalist ideologies. Similarly there is NATO, also founded post World War II in hopes of establishing peace, and it has clear liberalist underpinnings even though the basis of the alliance is of shared military power – more of a realist strategy in global politics.
With the exit of Britain from the EU, and the election of republican Donald Trump as US president, it is believed that liberalism is in retreat. The very act of Britain’s exit signals to the world that a very powerful economy doesn’t want to be associated with such liberalistic principles anymore. It has substantially weakened the power of the EU, hence weakening one of the frontrunners of modern liberalist ideologies in action. Donald Trump has already promoted an extremely nationalistic image of the US under his presidency, which are very anti-liberalist ideologies. He has even explicitly expressed his dislike for NATO, calling into question its legitimacy and its principles.
I believe that liberalism is in the early stages of retreat. With two major global economies already taking drastic steps away from liberalism, it seems like this movement will take even further shape. With globalisation on the rise, it seems as thought there is a lot of room for collective economic gains, but at the cost of human rights. I feel as though more importance is being given to the economic principles of liberalism rather than the ones promoting peace, especially given current conflicts in the Middle East and the growing tension between North Korea and its opposers. Liberalism advocates for building a sense of global community, however the very dominant nature of globalisation is fragmenting the world – in particular marginalising third world countries and creating a wide gap between the rich and the poorer. If liberalism continues to retreat, it can have devastating consequences for the equality and opportunity enjoyed by all states.
