For the best part of 80 years, diplomatic relations between countries have rested on a shared set of assumptions, based around what is commonly called the multilateral rules-based order, which emerged from the post-Second World War settlement, including the United Nations and its agencies and the international agreements that accompanied them.
This system was never universally accepted or respected. Military and economic power continued to underpin and sometimes overshadow the rules. But many believed, particularly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, that the world was moving gradually towards a greater respect for rules and the settling of issues in multilateral forums. This faith is now being questioned. The system is not only fraying but risks breaking down completely. If the established rules are weakening, what rules of diplomacy should today’s diplomats apply?
