The end of the post-WWII world order: Europe and Asia see it differently

The established world order, forged after World War II, is crumbling, according to a Deutsche Welle analysis. This disintegration is often perceived in Europe as a loss, but it could also herald the dawn of a new, more inclusive global arrangement.

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That order, however imperfect even in its best times, no longer exists in that form.

The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the disregard for international law by the U.S. under President Trump, and accusations of violations in the Middle East have shaken many Europeans. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated at the Munich Security Conference in February 2026 that the order, imperfect even in its best times, no longer exists in its previous form.

Asian perspectives often express surprise at European dismay. Bilahari Kausikan, a former Singaporean diplomat, told DW that competition and conflict are fundamental to international relations. He suggested that this reality was briefly masked for about two decades, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the global financial crisis, calling it an exceptional phase in world history. "Europe thought the jungle was permanently tamed. Then it was shocked," he said.

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I think competition and conflict are the basic characteristics of international relations. These eternal, harsh truths were briefly hidden – perhaps for about 20 years, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the outbreak of the global financial crisis. Because it was an exceptional phase of world history.

Political scientist Markus Ziener explains the differing European and Asian viewpoints stem from distinct historical experiences. Europe, under the U.S. security umbrella, could entertain the idea of a liberal world order, a concept less conceivable in Asia. Ziener views aspirations for a liberal world order as failed, deeming a U.S. return to its pre-2010s role structurally impossible. The unipolar moment has passed, with the U.S. overextended by conflicts in Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific.

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Europe thought the jungle was permanently tamed. Then it was shocked.

Conversely, Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff of the German Society for Foreign Policy sees the U.S. less as overextended and more as pursuing an imperial project. He suggests the U.S. aims to establish a hegemonic great power world, a

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The return of the USA to the role it had until the 2010s is impossible for structural reasons.