When we look at the actions of Russia, China, North Korea, Israel, Iran and now the US in recent years, there is a tendency to close our eyes tight, pull the covers over our heads and wait for the madness to go away. The rules-based order that we thought was here to stay after 1989 is no longer something we can rely on, if it ever was – as recent self- serving actions of the US president and his sycophantic gang make clear.
Gordon Brown’s piece (As Trump menaces Greenland, this much is clear: the free world needs a new plan – and inspired leadership, 20 January) provides a hopeful antidote to the chaos following the continuing breakdown of the postwar settlement. That settlement gave birth to international bodies such as the United Nations, Nato and others aimed at developing and maintaining democratic values. Brown wants to breathe new life into bodies such as these, essentially through the reiteration and rejigging of founding principles.
