World must not slide into 'ruleless' abyss

Although the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 concluded, concerns voiced during the event about the world sliding toward a "ruleless" order continue to resonate across the international community.

In its latest National Security Strategy, the Trump administration has elevated differences with Europe to the level of a so-called "civilizational erasure." It has pressed ahead with attempts to seize Greenland from Denmark, escalated tariff threats, and repeatedly played down the role of NATO allies.

These actions have led Europe to increasingly realize that, under U.S. power politics, being an ally offers no protection.

The recent changes in U.S. policy toward Europe have laid bare the logic of hegemony: nothing is off the table. Europe's sense of helplessness in the face of successive shocks is, to some extent, the price of its long-standing strategic dependence on the United States.

At present, frictions between the United States and Europe have deepened, reflecting, in part, a profound crisis confronting the world.

Since the beginning of this year, from brazen actions against Venezuela to overt attempts to assert control over Greenland, the United States has trampled on international law and the international order indiscriminately, accelerating the world's slide toward a "ruleless" state.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned: "It's a shift toward a world without rules, where international law is trampled underfoot, and where the only law which seems to matter is the strongest with imperial ambitions resurfacing."

The international order established after World War II is far from perfect, but it has played an important role in maintaining overall global peace, promoting relatively open global trade, and advancing international cooperation. It remains the foundation for the orderly functioning of today's world.

Yet in recent years, key architects of this order have reversed course, increasingly embracing hegemonism, unilateralism, and protectionism. They have become disruptors of the very system they helped build.

Today, the risk of "rulelessness" is forming an interconnected and compounded complex of systemic risks across multiple domains, profoundly threatening the living environment of all members of the international community.

In the realm of economic and trade cooperation, economic ties such as trade and investment -- once drivers of global prosperity -- are now being deliberately and strategically weaponized by certain countries. This has directly disrupted global industrial and supply chains and dealt a severe blow to multilateral trade rules.

In terms of multilateral cooperation, hegemonic countries have unilaterally withdrawn from international mechanisms, plunging core global governance institutions such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization into unprecedented crises and heightening challenges to world peace and development.

In an environment where rules are disregarded and power is worshipped, no country can effectively safeguard its own interests. When constraints disappear, unpredictability itself becomes a powerful destructive force, pushing the world toward disorder and greater instability.

While hegemonic threats persisted after World War II, Western nostalgia for a "golden past" often overlooked consequences borne elsewhere. Today, however, the United States' actions to bully the weak and its reckless destruction of the international order have inflicted pain widely felt across the international community. The world must fully recognize these risks and shoulder shared responsibilities in addressing them.

To prevent descent into rulelessness, adherence to international law is paramount. International law and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter are vital to world peace and stability and constitute an important basis for resolving international disputes.

Only by fully, faithfully, and comprehensively observing international law and these fundamental norms -- ensuring the uniform application of rules and rejecting double standards -- can the law of the jungle be prevented from becoming the guiding logic of global affairs.

To prevent a slide into a "ruleless" abyss, the international community must renew its commitment to solidarity.

Countries share a common future, and self-preservation in the face of brute force is not a viable path forward. All countries should take shared interests into consideration, build a common understanding of global risks, strengthen the foundations of unity and cooperation, and jointly tackle the challenges posed by hegemonism and power politics.

The international order established after World War II has been protecting the world for more than 80 years. What is needed today is to consolidate, reform, and improve this order -- not to tear it down or undermine it at its foundations.

Some argue that where the old order "fractures," emerging forces committed to independence and pragmatic cooperation will gain increasing space to help define rules. Viewed this way, "disorder" can also serve as the prelude to transformation.

The world stands at a critical crossroads. The international community must not stand by as the world is pushed into a "ruleless" abyss. Only by jointly upholding the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international law, and by forging certainty through dialogue and cooperation, can humanity be guided toward a brighter future.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of Qiushi Journal.