EDITORIAL – Jan & Feb 2026- Asia must lead creation of a new world order

It is tempting to dismiss America’s violent intervention in Venezuela and military threat to Greenland as rhetoric and provocation on the global stage.

After all, unseating hostile foreign leaders is nothing new for the US playbook and Greenland has been in its sights since the Alaska purchase of 1867.

But to yield to that temptation would be a mistake.

The opening weeks of 2026 cannot be taken in isolation. They are evidence of a deeper vulnerability within Western democracy itself.

Democracy depends not merely on the ballot box or any one leader during an election cycle. It also needs respect for institutions, the courts, law enforcement, universities, and so on.

When those guardrails fail, democracy becomes a delivery mechanism for vested interests, leading to volatility and hostility rather that stability and prosperity for which the system was designed.

In the US, this democratic process has now twice put in office a leader prepared to tear up institutional norms, treaty obligations, and alliance commitments.

Many of us tried to put aside the president’s first electionas an anomaly. But now, with his second term in office, the world is taking note and adjusting.

By threatening Greenland and Canada, the United Stateshas undermined a network that has safeguarded Europe and North America since the Second World War.

The security apparatus not only includes NATO, but also the Five Eyes intelligence gathering operating involving America, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, and the North American Aerospace Defence Command run by the US and Canada, which includes the sophisticated missile detection base in northern Greenland.

A myriad of other arrangements and agreements are in place to keep us safe, stable and prosperous.

So, in this new climate, what should Asia do?

While Latin America is reviving memories of brutal Cold War interventions and Europe is imagining life without its American security umbrella, Asia must accelerate the strategic regional recalculation that has been underway for years.

America might remain militarily and economically dominant, but it no longer functions as a reliable global steward. The failed Iraq and Afghan wars are evidence that guns and money alone cannot win what Washington wants, and the beacon of good governance that developing nations were once encouraged to match lies in tatters

China has moved quickly to point out Western double standards and present itself as a defender of stability. Beijing does not oust leaders it dislikes.Nor does it take sovereign territory: its claim to Taiwan is nothing new.

Beijing makes no secret of expanding its global economic reach and embedding itself through infrastructure, energy and financial diplomacy. Butrather than seeking outright domination, China is positioning itself as an indispensable, quieter, more reliable partner.

With America diminished and Europe remaining too fragmented for hard power projection, the standard bearer of Western values has – for the moment – become Canada.

In a concise 15-minute addresslast month to the Davos World Economic Forum summit, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carneydefined the American breakdown and how a new global system should emerge.

Carney’s advocacy was essentially for a multipolar world order where middle-ranking nations do not choose between rival superpowers. They opt for relationships that best suits them within values to which they adhere.

‘So, we’re engaging broadly, strategically with open eyes,’ said Carney.  ‘We actively take on the world as it is, not wait around for a world we wish to be…The past few days, we’ve concluded new strategic partnerships with China and Qatar. We’re negotiating free trade pacts with India, ASEAN, Thailand, the Philippines and Mercosur.’

At many levels, Carney’s message matches that of India at the 2023 G20 Summit in Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi argued that the post-Second World War global order was outdated, and a new, inclusive, multipolar system must be established through reform of international institutions.

Since then, things have moved on. Carney spoke not about transition, but rupture.

In the past two decades, Asia has become an engine of growth and innovation while simultaneously being caught in the midst of America’s attempts to contain China’s rise.

The region has deep experience in balancing hegemonic superpowers and in forging relationships despite differing values and political systems.

Asia can now grasp the moment and take a lead in creating a global operating system that the world so badly needs.