The world order that has ruled the globe since the end of the Second World War has been under severe stress for some years now. The growing challenges to the supremacy of the United States as the sole super-power, the rise of China on the world stage and the emergence of multiple power centers have irreversibly impacted geo-politics worldwide. Coupled with that, the rise of narrow nationalism, laced with xenophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment and Islamophobia have catalyzed strategic shifts in the global governance system. The principles of inter-state conduct enshrined in the UN Charter— most notably respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference and non-intervention have been trampled upon with impunity, all the while leading to a disarray in the world order. With Donald Trump assuming presidency of the United States, the unilateralism epitomized by the ‘America First’ approach has further undermined the spirit of globalism and multilateralism. Protectionist trends have come to impede free international trade, while economic coercion rather than cooperation has become the norm for inter-state conduct.
