ABC News Daily Can middle powers really take on Trump?
Feb 5, 2026
Samir Puri, author of Westlessness and former Chatham House director, explains shifting global power and middle-power strategy. He discusses Mark Carney’s challenge to the rules-based order. He examines why US-led bargains are fraying. He outlines how middle powers can rethink defence, diplomacy and economic dynamism to adapt to a more multipolar world.
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Rules-Based Order Was Always A Fiction
- Mark Carney declared the US-led rules-based order effectively dead and urged Western middle powers to stop pretending US leadership is reliable.
- Samir Puri says this statement simply put words to a fiction that long masked American dominance and signals a multipolar future.
Who Counts As A Middle Power
- 'Middle powers' refers to countries too big to be ignored but not superpowers, like Australia, Britain, Japan and parts of the EU.
- Samir Puri argues these states must rely on each other more instead of defaulting to US leadership.
Carney's Beijing Visit And Trade Moves
- Samir Puri recounts Mark Carney's Beijing visit where Carney said China can be more predictable than the US under Trump.
- Canada discussed electric-vehicle imports and people-to-people ties as signs of deeper China engagement.
