The US-led rules-based order is dead.
That is what Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced when he stepped onto the podium at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland earlier this week.
Some pundits referred to the revelation as a bombshell — probably because Western observers have known all along that the whole thing was a sham. The rules only mattered when they served Western interests.
But that is not the only thing the Canadian leader said at the annual conference attended by heads of state, government ministers, multinational CEOs, economists, academics, the media and civil society organizations.
Drawing on Václav Havel’s essay The Power of the Powerless, he argued that middle powers like Canada have long participated in the “ritual” of the rules-based order, even while knowing its flaws — specifically, that great powers exempt themselves from the rules. He stated that this period of quiet compliance is over because economic integration is now being weaponized through tariffs, coerced supply chains, and financial leverage.
As multilateral institutions like the United Nations and World Trade Organization weaken, Carney said countries are forced to seek strategic autonomy. To avoid subordination, nations must ensure they can feed, fuel and defend themselves. However, he warned that if every nation builds its own “fortress,” the world will become poorer and more fragile.
Carney also introduced a shift in Canada’s foreign policy, moving away from old assumptions of geographic security toward “principled pragmatism.” This includes a steadfast commitment to sovereignty, territorial integrity, and human rights. It means engaging with the world “as it is,” recognizing that interests will diverge and progress is often incremental, while investing in shared standards and resilient supply chains with allies to reduce the cost of independence.
Carney said the “power of the powerless” begins with honesty. Middle powers must stop pretending the old system works and instead build a new order anchored in the ability to withstand pressure. Canada aims to lead by “calibrating” its relationships based on shared values and building internal strength rather than relying solely on old alliances.
Looking closer to home, the Philippines, widely classified as a middle power in Asia, must do the same. It cannot and should not cower under the shadow of its former colonizer. It cannot sneeze every time Uncle Sam catches a cold. It must carve a foreign policy that serves its own interests.
I am not suggesting that Malacañang cut ties with Washington, but it must stop going along with the White House’s policies as if this archipelagic nation’s life depended on it. We cannot go on accommodating at the expense of our national sovereignty. We cannot naively hope that compliance, as Carney pointed out, will buy us safety. Because it won’t.
Most Filipinos grow up thinking we owe our survival to the United States. History, we are told, teaches us that it was Uncle Sam who saved us from the clutches of the Japanese during World War II. We are burdened with a debt of gratitude that, supposedly, can only be repaid in subservience and obeisance.
The sad part is the US doesn’t even have to force us. We do it willingly and without thinking. Like automatons.
As the saying goes, “The strong do what they can,” but that doesn’t mean the weak must suffer what they must.
First, the Philippines must ensure that it can feed, fuel and defend its own people. It must seek out new alliances that provide mutual benefits where the endgame is “win-win” cooperation.
By all means, I am not criticizing the US but the persistent colonial mentality that many Filipinos continue to cling to.