You may have missed it, but we are living through turbulent times. As the old order begins to crumble, the Old Continent has an opportunity to help write the next chapter of international relations.
2026 will go down as the year the US pulled the plug on the international system it created, with much care, in the aftermath of the Second World War. It did so gradually, and then with haste through the weaponisation of trade, withdrawal from multilateral institutions, and contempt for international law.
The US bellicosity vis-à-vis multilateralism has led to an outpouring of commentary. In Davos, Canada's Mark Carney captured the zeitgeist: "The old order is not coming back. We shouldn't mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy. But we believe that from the fracture we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just."
We're standing at history's shores, with the tides of change lapping at our feet once again. But the Canadian Prime Minister is right: it is time to write the next chapter of international relations. Europe must be central to this.
From multilateralism to Machiavelli
The international order in question was created with the adoption of the United Nations Charter in 1945. Beyond establishing the UN, the Charter codifies the basic legal tenants, norms and practices – such as respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity – of our current international relations.
The UN, its norms, and the institutions that followed allowed for a period of sustained multilateralism; countries gained independence, economies became globalised, a number of disputes were settled amicably, and cultures intertwined.
This international order was never a true level-playing field, of course, nor was it perfectly ordered; millions were killed in conflicts, the Cold War saw great rivalry, powerful countries broke international law when they saw fit, and standards were applied selectively depending on who was the victim, or the aggressor.
But the "indispensable" nation, the US, was committed to upholding an imperfect system through its hegemonic economic, political, military, and cultural power. The world drank the Kool-Aid – and no one more so that the Europeans.
European integration is predicated on a functioning multilateral system. And a return to "might makes right" geopolitics and competing spheres of influence means small and medium sized powers become pawns on the chessboard of the most powerful – something Ukrainians have learnt the hard way, and Greenlanders may still.
Far from its heyday of imperial domination, this new era leaves Europe exposed; stuck in the crossfire of jingoistic powers. But international cooperation will not disappear entirely, it will be replaced by power politics, transactional alliances, and mini-lateral bodies. This is already in motion with the Board of Peace, something the US President has noted "might" replace the UN Security Council.
Ideas, actions, and people shape international relations. That is why Europe – its governments, civil society, and citizens – must put forth their own vision. And while much has been said about how global instability means this is Europe’s Machiavellian Moment (the moment to start speaking the language of 'hard power'), this vision can be based on both principles and pragmatism.
Doing so will involve returning to the very foundations of this dying system: the UN Charter.
A pathway forward?
"It might seem completely naive" to discuss reform of global governance and the UN amidst this unravelling, France's president, Emmanuel Macron, remarked recently. But, he continued, it is exactly because of this global shift that "now is the right moment" to focus on building the next order.
It must be different, however. The order in which we grew up was built in the West's image - this will not fly in a world that is multipolar, where the West has less influence, and is no longer united.
Here lies an opportunity for Europe: Finland's president, Alexander Stubb, has written about the need to build a rebalanced order. For this to happen, Stubb urges Europe to work with countries in the Global South to deliver UN reform.
This would be a form of political reparation, an opportunity to atone for history; most countries were excluded from drafting the world's rulebook in 1945 because they were European colonies.
And there is support for forging this new future. Most countries still believe in international cooperation; as do the world's citizens. That is why there is momentum behind invoking Article 109 of the UN Charter. This clause allows for a review conference to update the Charter; a chance for all 193 UN Member States to reaffirm its principles, rethink the rules, and ensure the organisation is more effective and reflects modern geopolitics.
Over 50 civil society organisations are now part of a coalition mobilising for this. Countries are joining the call too: Brazil, The Gambia, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, and South Africa have backed renewing the UN Charter.
A UN Charter review conference can advance Europe's objectives – international politics is not binary. Ideals blend with self-interest.
Listening to, and acting on, countries' concerns on representation at the UN is an opportunity to strengthen geostrategic partnerships (something noted by the European Commission already). The European Union could build on its recent deals with Mercosur and India, for example, and create a coalition that is pro-cooperation, as Brazil has indicated.
It is the current architecture, codified in the Charter, that prevents condemnation of Russia over its invasion of Ukraine because of its special status as a Permanent Member of the Security Council. As Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put it: 'the UN must be reformed... so the right of veto is not a right to kill.'
The UN Charter, drafted over 80 years ago, also fails to mention key challenges we face in the 21st century, namely the climate crisis and advanced technologies (the word "environment" does not appear in the Charter at all). It needs an upgrade to reflect these. And who better than Europe to open up on how to adapt integration with the times? It was through new treaties, amendments, and enlargements that the modern EU came into being.
Amidst the chaos, it is easy to focus on the short term. But we need to be architects for the future, not just firefighters in the present.
It is "difficult at times to repress the thought that history is about as instructive as an abattoir", Irish poet Seamus Heaney said during his Nobel Prize lecture, but we must put ourselves into action: the birth of the future we desire is in our hands.
