‘Rules-based order’ wasn’t real – Canadian PM

Countries that long participated in the system knew it was “partially false,” Mark Carney told the Davos forum

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has admitted that the “rules-based international order” was always a partially false narrative that countries knowingly upheld for decades because it benefited them.  

During a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, Carney said nations such as Canada prospered under and promoted a system they understood was not fully true.

“We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false, that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically,” Carney said.  

“And we knew that international law applied with varying rigor depending on the identity of the accused or the victim,” he added, comparing decades of compliance to a shopkeeper displaying a political sign he does not believe in, calling it “living within a lie” to “avoid trouble.” 

Carney argued this “bargain no longer works,” stating that “we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.” He described a new reality of “intensifying great power rivalry” where economic integration, tariffs, and financial infrastructure are used as “weapons” and “coercion.”  

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His comments echo remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, who said global rules have been “thrown out the window” and replaced by a game of “might makes right.” 

Moscow has long criticized the Western-led order, arguing it was used to impose rules on others that major powers themselves ignored.  

The statements come amid heightened tensions following a series of brazen actions by the US. Since President Donald Trump returned to office, the US has launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, attacked Caracas and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and is now pursuing the acquisition of Greenland from NATO ally Denmark while threatening tariffs against European opponents of the move. 

European officials have raised concerns about over-reliance on the US. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever urged European allies in Davos on Tuesday to choose between dignity and being a “miserable slave” in the face of Washington’s demands.