The Struggle for Global Leadership

If we look behind some of the most tragic conflicts the world is witnessing right now - think of Gaza, Ukraine, Libya, Sudan, or Syria - we can see how a struggle for global leadership on behalf of medium powers and superpowers is playing into dynamics in key conflict zones.

To understand the Struggle for Global Leadership, a good place to start is America’s abrupt withdrawal from countries like Afghanistan and how that reshaped power project throughout eastern Europe and Asia. Or consider the fight for global leadership that is playing out among China, the US, and the Gulf States through their competitive development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. These interconnections are all part of our era of disorder, in which America’s global leadership has been replaced by a failure to act among the Western allies and a desire by key players like Russia and China to disorder other regions of the world.

This project area will unpack how the promises of international Order that stem from the post-Cold War era have been broken, how proxy non-governmental organisations are used by states like Russia to promote their disordering ventures, and much more. Connecting geostrategy to today's contemporary conflicts, we believe solutions to the struggle for global leadership will lie in bolstering collective action and strengthening our institutions to lead us through pressing issues like climate change, nuclear proliferation, and all-out war.

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