Liberal Democracy Could Die Young If We're Not Careful

The defenders of what's called the "liberal international order" have recently suffered setbacks from adversaries inside and outside their home countries. But those who want to see the Western-led post-World War II system survive or even thrive are plotting its resurrection. When the United States and European countries came together in the second half of the 20th century to build multilateral relationships and institutions to strengthen and spread liberal values such as rule of law, democracy, open markets and human rights, it was an aberration. The project ran counter to centuries of international politics based on brute strength, solipsism, greed and war. In France this weekend, former White House official Steve Bannon told far-right nationalists that "history is on our side" -- and he wasn't entirely wrong. While Bannon was working to undermine what he and his like deride as "globalism," a group of American and European officials, lawmakers and experts were meeting here to figure out how to save it. The German Marshall Fund's Brussels Forum kicked off with a call to action.   Continue reading...