Short Description: Global leaders warn that a fragmented, multipolar world without strong rules threatens security and prosperity, urging new alliances and resilience strategies.
Read Time: 5 minutes, 15 seconds
Main Article:
Navigating a Fragmented Global Economic Order
The concept of a stable, rules-based global order is giving way to a more complex and fragmented reality, a shift with profound implications for international finance and trade. At the recent ET Now Global Business Summit, experts highlighted that while multipolarity—the diffusion of power among several nations—is undeniable, it does not automatically create a functional system. Fabian Zuleeg of the European Policy Centre warned that a world without coherent rules “threatens security, it threatens prosperity, it threatens democracy.” This emerging global economic order is characterized not by cooperation but by major powers, including China and the United States, increasingly flouting established norms and gaming the system to their advantage, creating significant uncertainty for markets and policymakers.
The Rise of New Economic Engines and the Resilience Imperative
Within this turbulent landscape, new centers of economic power are rapidly emerging. Analysts pointed to emerging markets like India, Indonesia, and Vietnam as the potential next engines of global growth, provided they navigate governance and debt challenges successfully. Klisman Murati highlighted India’s dramatic ascent in global power rankings, noting it’s risen from 24th to 6th in three decades. This shift demands strategic recalibration. For nations like those in Europe, resilience now spans defense, energy security, and industrial competitiveness, especially with the weaponization of dependencies like Russian gas. For the US and its allies, the lesson is clear: geopolitical risk is now a core component of economic planning, requiring diversified supply chains and deeper partnerships with reliable emerging economies.
Multipolarity Without Rules Spells Disorder
The panel unanimously cautioned that unmanaged multipolarity risks a dangerous vacuum in global governance. Vince Cable noted the declining economic share of the traditional “Global North” and the rise of populist movements, stressing this is a crucial time for advocating a reformed multilateral system. The key takeaway for the finance world is that the old playbooks are obsolete. Economic resilience is no longer just about fiscal discipline and banking regulation—though those remain vital—but about building systemic buffers against geopolitical shocks, hybrid threats, and the erosion of international public goods like trade frameworks and climate agreements. The future will be shaped by which nations and alliances can successfully define new, even if weaker, rules for this disordered era.
Short Summary:
Experts warn that today’s fragmented, multipolar world lacks the rules needed for stability, directly threatening global prosperity and security. They identify rising emerging markets like India as new growth engines and stress that true economic resilience now requires integrating geopolitical defense, energy security, and competitive industrial policy into national strategies.
