“If the global West reverts to its old ways of direct or indirect dominance or outright arrogance, it will lose the battle. If it realises that the global South will be a key part of the next world order, it just might be able to forge both values-based and interest-based partnerships that can tackle the main challenges of the globe.”

This advice from Alexander Stubb, president of Finland, was given to readers of the influential US journal Foreign Affairs in January. Stubb subdivides global politics between 50 countries in the global West led by the United States, 25 in the global East led by China and 125 in the global South comprising many of the world’s developing and middle-income states from Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and southeast Asia.

Global order for decades to come will be negotiated in a triangular relationship between these three groups, he believes. He proposes the “values-based realism” he recommends for Finland could give the European Union and the West enough room to navigate it. The doctrine combines a continuing commitment to universalism, plus a recognition of differences in creating an equal and symmetric dialogue with the global East and South.

Stubb links this to a looming choice between multilateralism and multipolarity in global politics. Multilateralism, he says, “is a system of global co-operation that........

© The Irish Times