Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz lead chorus on collapse of world order in Munich
India Today
At the Munich Security Conference, Friedrich Merz declared that the decades-old world order no longer exists, Emmanuel Macron warned that Europe must brace for war, and Marco Rubio said a new geopolitical era has begun, marking the end of the "old world."
The world order established after the Second World War is over. Last month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pointed to a “rupture” in the global order at the World Economic Forum in Davos. This month, a host of global leaders, including Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, spelt out the end of the rules-based order in as many words at the recently concluded Munich Security Conference.
“The world order as it has stood for decades no longer exists,” said Friedrich Merz, while Emmanuel Macron said Europe must brace for war. On the other hand, Marco Rubio said a new era has dawned in geopolitics and that the “old world” is gone.
The Security Report 2026, titled “Under Destruction,” tabled at the conference, underscored a stark conclusion: the post–Second World War order is under unprecedented strain, and confidence in the rules-based system is eroding across regions.
Participants pointed to the growing traction of political movements in Western societies that seek to dismantle longstanding structures. Frustration with the trajectory of liberal democracies and dissatisfaction with institutional performance have fuelled a broader loss of faith in traditional reform.
As reflected in the Munich Security Index 2026, only a small proportion of respondents in G7 countries believe their governments’ policies will leave future generations better off, signalling deep scepticism about the capacity of current governance models.
States and societies increasingly perceive political systems as encumbered by bureaucracy and legal complexity, resistant to meaningful adaptation. In that climate, more radical methods of political change have gained a degree of admiration or acceptance.
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