The New World Order After the Coronavirus Crisis. The View of Henry Kissinger.

In a commentary piece for the Italian website Formiche.net, Dario Cristiani takes a look at the opinion piece written by Henry Kissinger, secretary of state and national security adviser in the Nixon and Ford administrations, for the Wall Street Journal titled, “The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Forever Alter the World Order.” Kissinger calls upon the Unites States to safeguard the principles of the liberal world order and the world’s democracies to preserve and support their Enlightenment values. Drawing on Gilpin’s hegemonic stability theory and insights from the history of international relations, Cristiani analyzes Kissinger’s arguments claiming that China is presenting itself as an emerging provider of global public goods, thus trying to fill a gap that Washington seems more and more reluctant to tackle. A United States unwilling to lead risks accelerating its decline as the prominent power of the international system, and the coronavirus crisis could represent a topical moment in this decline if the United States does not act swiftly to address these trends.