Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Liberal World Order and Its Critics: Civilisational States and Cultural Commonwealths

Pabst, Adrian (2018) Liberal World Order and Its Critics: Civilisational States and Cultural Commonwealths. World Politics and Dialogues of Civilizations . Routledge, London, UK, 106 pp. ISBN 978-0-367-02993-7. E-ISBN 978-0-429-01985-2. (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:69488)

PDF Author's Accepted Manuscript
Language: English

Restricted to Repository staff only
Contact us about this Publication
[thumbnail of Liberal World Order and Its Critics - Civilisational States and Cultural Commonwealths (Author Accepted Manuscript).pdf]
Official URL:
https://www.crcpress.com/Liberal-World-Order-and-I...

Abstract

Liberals blame the retreat of the liberal world order on populists at home and authoritarian leaders abroad. Only liberalism, so they claim, can defend the rules-based international system against demagogy, corruption and nationalism. This provocative book contends that the liberal world order is illiberal and undemocratic – intolerant about the cultural values of ordinary people in the West and elsewhere while concentrating power in the hands of unaccountable Western elites and Western-dominated institutions.

Under the influence of contemporary liberalism, the international system is fuelling economic injustice, social fragmentation and a worldwide ‘culture war’ between globalists and nativists. Liberals, far from defending rules, have broken international law and imposed their version of market fundamentalism and democracy promotion by military means. Liberal ‘civilisation’ has fuelled resentment across the world by imposing a narrow worldview that pits cultures against one another. To avoid a descent into a violent culture clash, this book proposes radical ideas for international order that take the form of cultural commonwealths – social bonds and cross-border cultural ties on which international trust and cooperation depend. The book’s defence of an older order against both liberals and nationalists will speak to all readers trying to understand our age of anger.

Item Type: Book
Subjects: J Political Science > JC Political theory
J Political Science > JZ International relations
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
Depositing User: Adrian Pabst
Date Deposited: 10 Oct 2018 07:51 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Feb 2021 13:58 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/69488 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.