Gewirtz Publishes New Article on the Rules-Based International Order

In a new article published by Brookings, Paul Tsai China Center Director Paul Gewirtz addresses “The U.S., China, and the Future of the Rules-Based International Order.”  

Few concepts in U.S. foreign policy are invoked more frequently than “the rules-based international order,” and few U.S. phrases are more contested by China. The U.S. accuses China of seeking to destroy or gravely undermine “the rules-based international order.” China accuses the U.S. and other Western countries of invoking the concept to demonize China and impose its hegemony.

Gewirtz addresses this conflict at a time of global turmoil, when the post-World War II ideal of organizing world affairs through international institutions and “rules” creating greater “international order” is under great stress. The West is at risk of the existing international order collapsing, becoming an empty shell, or being replaced by bipolar orders with a divided set of rules, or even more fragmentation.

Since the United States sees China as the greatest challenger to the “rules-based international order,” Gewirtz analyzes China’s views in detail and considers whether there is any constructive path forward to salvage an international order that is now gravely weakened and endangered.

Gewirtz is the Potter Stewart Professor of Constitutional Law at Yale Law School and is the Director of the Paul Tsai China Center. The Center carries out research and teaching on legal development in China and on U.S.-China relations, and also undertakes a wide range of cooperative projects with Chinese counterparts to help advance China’s legal reforms and to contribute to the development of U.S.-China relations.