Measuring the Health of the Liberal International Order / Michael J. Mazarr, Astrid Stuth Cevallos, Miranda Priebe, Andrew Radin, Kathleen Reedy, Alexander D. Rothenberg, Julia A. Thompson, Jordan Wilcox.

As part of a larger study on the future of the post-World War II liberal international order, RAND researchers analyze the health of the existing order and offer implications for future U.S. policy. Today's order includes a complex mix of formal global institutions, such as the United Nations and World Trade Organization; bilateral and regional security organizations; and liberal political norms. To evaluate the health of the existing order, the researchers examined several categories of indicators, including both inputs (such as state participation in and attitudes toward order) and outcomes that reflect the order's primary objectives (such as economic liberalization and interdependence, peace among great powers, and adherence to the order's norms). Across numerous variables, the analysis demonstrates an impressive degree of stability -- and, in many cases, steady progress -- in the international order since 1945 and especially since the mid-1980s. However, the recent global populist upsurge is placing the popular consensus on key elements of the order in jeopardy. These elements include the desirability of open markets and open borders, the value of multilateral solutions, and the very notion of the rule of law. The study's overall conclusion is that the postwar order continues to enjoy many elements of stability but is increasingly threatened by major geopolitical and domestic socioeconomic trends that are calling into question the order's fundamental assumptions.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-202).

Print version record.

Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Preface; Contents; Figures; Tables; Summary; Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Chapter One: Introduction; The Order and Its Health; Challenges with Measurement; Methodology; Structure of the Report; Chapter Two: Participation in Formal Regional and International Institutions; Steady Institutional Participation; Integrating International Order into Domestic Institutions; Increasingly Diverse and Informal Institutions; Building New Institutions; Regional Institutions; Chapter Three: Economic Liberalization and Interdependence; Trade and Financial Integration.

Capital Markets and Foreign Direct InvestmentResponse to Crises; Development Assistance; Chapter Four: International Conflict and Peace; Treaties of Pacific Settlement; Territorial Changes Resulting from Conflict; Status of Controls on Weapons of Mass Destruction; Levels of Conflict; Ability to Constrain Major War; Chapter Five: Adherence to Liberal Norms and Values; Democracy and Liberal Systems; Human Rights; Corruption and the Rule of Law; Economic Growth and Democratic Stability; Chapter Six: Major-Power Signaling and Policies Toward Order; Russia; China; India; Brazil; Conclusion.

Chapter Seven: Public Attitudes Toward Elements of the OrderSupport for the Order's Rules and Institutions; Support for Trade; Support for Liberal Norms and Values; Support for Internationalism; The Rise of Nationalism; Chapter Eight: Foundations of Order: Geopolitics and Ideology; Geopolitical Trends; Ideological Trends; Conclusion: Causes for Worry; Chapter Nine: Summing Up: The State of the Order; The Importance of Ideas and Beliefs; Recognizing Danger Signs; Implications for Policy; References.

eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide