Tensions in liberalism: The troubled path to liberal world order

The lack of a general consensus on the major characteristics of world order has led to a considerable amount of confusion among scholars as well as among policymakers. What kind of order is emerging now? Is it the “liberal moment”; a renewed balance of power competition; a “clash of civilizations”, “Jihad vs. McWorld”; or something else entirely? These analyses make valid points but they are misleading as versions of world order, because they fail to capture what is the most decisive characteristic of the present order. The core issue of world order has to do with tensions in liberalism. Progress towards a genuinely liberal world order has proven much more complicated than expected when the Cold War ended. Liberals agree on the major principles of world order but they are vastly unsure about the real substance of order, including what it should offer to people and states.