CAMBRIDGE: The Western-led global economic order had a bad 2023. But a new international order is unlikely to emerge anytime soon. Instead, as more and more countries decide to self-insure by building alternatives to the Western-led order, the global economy risks increasing fragmentation, eroding America's leadership role and accelerating a system-wide shift toward disorder. Two developments, in particular, have fueled widespread frustration with the Western-led order this year. Regardless of one's position on these developments, they have called into question the effectiveness and legitimacy of the Western-led international order and risk accelerating the ongoing transition from a unipolar to a multipolar global economy.
