Countries that had long been part of the system knew it was “partially false,” Mark Carney told the Davos forum
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has acknowledged that the “rules-based international order” was never more than a partially false narrative that countries deliberately maintained for decades because it served their interests.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, Carney said nations like Canada thrived under and championed a system they knew was not entirely accurate.
“We knew the narrative around the international rules-based order was partially false—that the strongest would make exceptions for themselves when it suited them, that trade rules were applied unequally,” Carney said.
“And we knew that international law was enforced with differing strictness depending on who the accused or victim was,” he added, likening decades of adherence to a shopkeeper displaying a political sign he doesn’t agree with—describing it as “living within a lie” to “avoid trouble.”
Carney said this “bargain is no longer viable,” adding that “we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.” He portrayed a new reality marked by “intensifying great power rivalry” where economic integration, tariffs, and financial infrastructure are used as “weapons” and “coercion.”
His comments mirror remarks from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, who said the world’s rules have been “thrown out the window” and replaced by a game of “might makes right.”
Moscow has long denounced the Western-led order, saying it was used to force rules on others that major powers themselves ignored.
The statements come at a time of heightened tensions after a string of bold actions from the US. Since President Donald Trump retook office, the US has carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, struck Caracas and abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and is now seeking to acquire Greenland from NATO ally Denmark while threatening tariffs against European opponents of the move.
European officials have expressed worries about excessive dependence on the US. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever called on European allies in Davos on Tuesday to pick between dignity and being a “miserable slave” in the face of Washington’s demands.