Is This the End of the Liberal International Order?: The Munk Debate on Geopolitics

The twentieth semi-annual Munk Debate pits Niall Ferguson against Fareed Zakaria to debate the end of the liberal international order.

Since the end of World War II, global affairs have been shaped by the increasing free movement of people and goods, international rules setting, and a broad appreciation of the mutual benefits of a more interdependent world. Together these factors defined the liberal international order and sustained an era of rising global prosperity and declining international conflict. But now, for the first time in a generation, the pillars of liberal internationalism are being shaken to their core by the reassertion of national borders, national interests, and nationalist politics across the globe. Can liberal internationalism survive these challenges and remain the defining rules-based system of the future? Or, are we witnessing the beginning of the end of the liberal international order?

The twentieth semi-annual Munk Debate, held on April 28th, 2017, pits prominent historian Niall Ferguson against CNN’s Fareed Zakaria to debate the future of liberal internationalism.

Niall Ferguson is the author of numerous bestselling books. A prolific commentator on contemporary politics and economics, Ferguson is a contributing editor for the Financial Times and senior columnist with Newsweek.

Fareed Zakaria is host of CNN's flagship international affairs program, Fareed Zakaria GPS, and the Editor-at-Large of TIME. He is the author of the international bestsellers, The Future of Freedom and The Post-American World.

Rudyard Griffiths is the co-organizer and moderator of the Munk Debates. He is also the co-founder of the Dominion Institute, co-director of the Grano Speakers Series, and author of Who We Are: A Citizen's Manifesto. He lives in Toronto.