Many fear that the rise of China and a resurgent Russia will bring a decline in respect for rules and international law. Western policymakers are responding by placing greater value on the ‘rules-based global order’. In 2016 Australia’s Defence White Paper warned that "the rules-based global order is under increasing pressure and has shown signs of fragility". 

This session will formally launch a new entre of Gravity Paper by ANU and international scholars examining the idea of a ‘Rules Based Global Order’. It brings a multi-disciplinary focus to examine how the rules based global order emerged, what it really means and what its future looks like in a more contested strategic environment.