Book Talk with Carl Strikwerda: "The Origins of the Contemporary Global Order"

In his just-released book, “The Origins of the Contemporary Global Order: From the Nineteenth Century to the Cold War”, historian Carl Strikwerda interprets anew the emergence of the institutions and practices created by the United States and its allies after World War II. That order is now being challenged by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s aggressive foreign policy, both of which threaten the ideals of peace, free trade, and internationalism that have undergirded the international system for almost a century.

The history of globalization, imperialism, and the economic blocs of the 1930s, Strikwerda argues, shows why the United States initially failed to create a global order in the immediate postwar period. The global order that emerged by 1950, he argues, depended as much on cooperation with other countries as leadership by the United States. The global order, however, continued to be shaped by the heritage of imperialism and tensions between regionalism and globalism. As a result, Strikwerda writes, Russia and China today seek to acquire the gains that globalization offers while rejecting the current international order in favor of economic blocs.

As the new US administration pursues policies that spur protectionism and isolation, this history has contemporary repercussions for the public and policymakers.