New world order (politics)

Logo of the coalition of the Gulf War and flags of the participating nations, the Gulf War was the first major event of the New World Order era

LocationGlobalIncludingGlobal multilateral cooperation (representing a drastic pivot away from the regional constraints of the Monroe Doctrine; while the 1823 doctrine limited U.S. intervention to safeguarding its own hemisphere, the New World Order framework positioned American influence globally to enforce international law via multinational coalitions)Leaders

Presidents

Key events

Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)
Malta Conference (1989)
Gulf War (1990–1991)
Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)
Expansion of NATO and global trade agreements (e.g., NAFTA)

The term "new world order" refers to a new period of history evidencing dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power in international relations. Despite varied interpretations of this term, it is commonly associated with the notion of world governance.

The phrase "new world order" or similar language was used in the period towards the end of the First World War in relation to Woodrow Wilson's vision for international peace; Wilson called for a League of Nations to prevent aggression and conflict. In some instances when Franklin D. Roosevelt used the phrase "new world order", or "new order in the world" it was to refer to Axis powers plans for world domination. Although Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman may have been hesitant to use the phrase, commentators have applied the term retroactively to the order put in place by the World War II victors including the United Nations and the Bretton Woods system as a "new world order."

The most widely discussed application of the phrase of recent times came at the end of the Cold War. Presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush used the term to try to define the nature of the post-Cold War era and the spirit of great power cooperation that they hoped might materialize. Gorbachev's initial formulation was wide-ranging and idealistic, but his ability to press for it was severely limited by the internal crisis of the Soviet system. In comparison, Bush's vision was not less circumscribed: "A hundred generations have searched for this elusive path to peace, while a thousand wars raged across the span of human endeavor. Today that new world is struggling to be born, a world quite different from the one we've known". However, given the new unipolar status of the United States, Bush's vision was realistic in saying that "there is no substitute for American leadership". The Gulf War of 1991 was regarded as the first test of the new world order: "Now, we can see a new world coming into view. A world in which there is the very real prospect of a new world order. ... The Gulf War put this new world to its first test".