Letter From the Editors
On the face of things, the convergence of the world’s wealthy and powerful on Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum suggests a world order functioning as strongly it has since the cold war. But with McFlurry machines down in Kiev and renamed in Moscow, the McDonalds Peace Theory has been overthrown, and with it the golden age of globalization. “The world is changing, and not for the benefit of the liberal elites,” an anonymous scholar warned Meduza. Davos is no longer a triumphal march for those elites, but a debate over how best to replace them.
US President Trump, naturally, has his own ideas for a new “golden age.” After abducting the Venezuelan president and rattling the saber at Europe with threats to annex Greenland, he is now offering membership in something called the Board of Peace (Republic’s Mikhail Shevchuk aptly calls it the “friends of Trump club”). Originally envisioned three months ago in a UN resolution as a transitional governing body to oversee Gaza, the board has grown to mythical proportions in Trump’s portrayal as “one of the most influential bodies ever created in the history of the world.”
For once, Russia’s skepticism about an international institution put it in good company with both East and West. Valdai expert Dmitry Suslov commented, “Donald Trump understands that it will not be possible to reach decisions favorable to him within the UN framework, so he is trying to create an alternative institution where the leverage for decision-making will be in his hands,” which is “unacceptable to Russia.”
Most European states, it is reported, have already declined the offer due to similar concerns. As Trump neared the one-year mark of his second administration, after “liberation day” tariffs, the Midnight Hammer strike on Iran and everything else, it seemed a threshold had been reached.
Enter Canadian PM Mark Carney, who earned a rare standing ovation from his Davos audience by urging united resistance by “middle powers” against “hegemons” – effectively, to end US unipolarity. “We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” ran his most quoted line.
While his speech expressed skepticism at the slogan “Workers of the world, unite!” Carney might find a surprising ally in Russian Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, who touched on similar themes in his annual Duma address, despite a dimmer view of the Davos set. “Trump will soon speak in Davos, where he will bring Europe to its knees,” Zyuganov predicted. “The appetites of those aiming for world domination must be curbed at the earliest stage. Only concerted efforts will make it possible. This is why coordination of efforts and joint actions with our allies are so important today.”
Carney should take heed, since if Canada really wants to build an antihegemonic coalition, it will need to look beyond the North Atlantic to the Global South. The charter members of the Board of Peace are exactly the sort of “middle powers” he hopes to rally – states that lack the military potential to fend off even their neighboring rivals, but whose economies can support tribute payments.
Those “middle powers” who aren’t lining up to pay dues to Trump might also require some convincing that Canada is their champion. After all, it’s still a US ally, while Russia has shown its seriousness as a challenger to hegemony with blood and treasure. Who but Putin could respond to Trump’s summons thus: “We could already allocate $1 billion to the Board of Peace from Russian assets that were frozen under the previous US administration.”
Western leaders, though, seem inspired by Carney’s rabble-rousing. Attendees booed and jeered, and ECB President Christine Lagarde led a walkout when US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick harangued them at one Davos event. NG reports that “The atmosphere became so charged that [WEF organizer Larry] Fink reportedly concluded the dinner prematurely, before dessert was served.” It seems that the Trump administration cannot have its cake and eat it too.