Addressing the Fracturing of Global Governance: Power Politics vs. Principled Order​​

Lawrence Anderson: Senior Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Merissa Khurma: Founder and CEO, AMENA Strategies Dr. Maiko Ichihara: Professor, Hitotsubashi University Dr. Daniela Schwarzer: Member of the Executive Board, Bertelsmann Stiftung H.E. Srgjan Kerim: President of the 62nd Session of the UNGA, United Nations Dr. Akio Takahara: Senior Adjunct Fellow, Emeritus Professor, Distinguished Visiting Professor, The Japan Institute of International Affairs, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo Woman's Christian University (Moderator) The rules-based international order is fracturing under the weight of competing visions and inconsistent application. From the paralysis of the UN Security Council over Gaza and Ukraine to the weaponization of trade dependencies and the erosion of WTO dispute mechanisms, power politics is increasingly displacing principled governance. The rise of alternative frameworks such as BRICS expansion reflects not just dissatisfaction with Western-led institutions, but a fundamental crisis of legitimacy in global governance itself. Yet these alternatives have largely replicated rather than resolved issues of selectivity and power asymmetries.​ This session will examine concrete flashpoints where the international system has failed its own standards: why economic coercion through export restriction, sanctions and debt now rivals military force as a tool of statecraft, how the constraints on the international judicial bodies’ ability to enforce its rulings has undermined its credibility across the Global South, and whether the growing intolerance and democratic backsliding within states is making international cooperation structurally impossible. Featuring perspectives from Japan, the Middle East, and beyond, panelists will debate whether meaningful reform can restore trust in multilateralism, or whether we are witnessing the irreversible fragmentation of global governance into competing spheres of influence. In partnership with: Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA)