Could the madness of Donald Trump revitalise the rules-based order?

America’s withdrawal from international bodies and agreements might compel democratic powers to strengthen their commitments in response, given the collective threat they face from countries like China, Russia and – apparently – the USA interested only in conquest and power.

A volatile year ahead

Australia is a fortunate nation, but fortune is not a strategy. The fractures reshaping the global order are no longer abstract or distant. It is not even the end of January, yet 2026 is already proving to be a pivotal year.

Ordering off the menu

Mark Carney’s speech at Davos offered a refreshing alternative to the insane ravings of Donald Trump and are a wake-up call to Australia and other ‘middle powers’ to stand up for the international order, rather than meekly accommodate the madness of the current American regime.

A tale of two speeches

The contrast between the speeches delivered by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and the bellicose ramblings of American President Donald Trump at Davos couldn’t be wider or more clear.

World peace in pieces

The fight for peace and justice has suffered endless setbacks in recent years as authoritarian powers flex their muscles and democracy wobbles in the west, but the struggle must go on.

The great power carve up

Rather than oppose the naked aggression of authoritarian states like Russia and China, Donald Trump’s America has chosen to join them, signalling the end of the liberal international order and a carve up of the world into three baleful spheres of influence.

Trump snatches Maduro

Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, has been apprehended and flown to the US where the US attorney-general has announced he will face charges of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.

The WPS generation

The WPS generation has come of age. It includes women who are leading human rights organisations in Sudan, commanding units in the Ukrainian armed forces and rebuilding communities from Bougainville to Bakhmut. But many of them are doing this work despite the system, not because of it.

Selective justice

The International Criminal Court has made headlines with arrest warrants for figures like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif but most people accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide will never see the inside of The Hague.

Words as weapons of control

The pen may still be mightier than the sword, but that’s not always a good thing as a swathe of authoritarian populists in democratic states are twisting words into weapons to blur moral boundaries and bludgeon the truth into submission.

Free Belarus

Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has urged US President Donald Trump to use his influence—including through further sanctions pressure—to help free more than 1,200 political prisoners held by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, branding it ‘true moral leadership’.

Nations, states and empires

John A. Hall’s Nations, States and Empires paints a grim picture of a world in the grip of authoritarian powers determined to increase their power and influence with no regard for international law or democratic norms.