Contested Liberal World Order – Nationalist Challenges for Multilateralism

The liberal world order is in crisis. National populist movements in the core countries of liberalism are on the advance. Parties with a nationalist and Eurosceptic agenda such as the French Rassemblement National (formerly Front National), the UK Independence Party (UKIP) or the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are increasingly receiving support. In the USA, Hungary, Poland and Austria, politicians with similar attitudes participate in the government.

This development has far-reaching consequences for multilateral cooperation, which appeared to be taken for granted at the latest since the end of the East-West conflict: On the one hand, the international scope for action for liberal governments is restricted by a growing populist opposition. Due to national resistance, the member states of the European Union (EU) have so far been unable to agree on a solution to the so-called ‘refugee crisis’. On the other hand, nationalist and populist governments are fundamentally questioning the traditional liberal value base within international institutions. US President Donald Trump, for example, criticizes the principle of free trade enshrined in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

These current re-nationalization tendencies in international politics raise urgent questions: What effects does the success of nationalist movements have on the actions of liberal governments at the international level? What role do new nationalist governments play within existing international institutions? More precisely, when do nationalist governments criticize international institutions – such as the United States in NATO – and when do they withdraw from them – such as in the case of Brexit Britain's withdrawal from the EU? Which values and norms anchored in international institutions attack national-populist politicians, which remain undisputed? How do international organizations react to the populist challenge? 

In order to discuss these questations and examine the causes and consequences of these current re-nationalization tendencies in international politics, we organize a inter- and multidisciplinary workshop that will take place at the Munich Center on Governance (MGC) from 6^th to 7^th June 2019. The workshop is sponsored by the GraduateCenter^LMU.

More information can be found in the workshop program.