People of the Global South have long argued that the so-called rules-based international order is a fiction. That it was only ever applied selectively, with the big powers doing the selection. But now, for the first time, there is official acknowledgement of this fiction from a prominent Western leader.

In an extraordinary speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney publicly stated that even the ‘pretence’ of a rules-based order is over, and that this is not a moment of transition but ‘rupture’.

Taking potshots at President Donald Trump’s weaponisation of tariffs, he said that the new definition of a country’s sovereignty is its ability to withstand pressure from the big powers.

His speech has resonated with many across the world, and has become a talking point in strategic circles. But are his remarks just great content, or will they prove consequential? Should India be taking a leaf out of Carney’s book, especially when dealing with the big powers?

Guest: Suhasini Haider, The Hindu’s Diplomatic Affairs Editor.

Host: G Sampath

Recorded by Aniket Singh Chauhan

Edited and produced by Jude Weston

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