David Rothkopf
{
"authors": [
"David Rothkopf"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States"
],
"topics": [
"Foreign Policy"
]
}Source: Getty
New Rules and New Systems: America in a New World Order
As the world becoming increasingly multipolar and alternative centers of global power are arise, international institutions and rules will have to change to reflect the new global reality.
Source: World Affairs Council

Rothkopf noted that the world is rapidly becoming a multipolar system, with the center of intellectual and economic gravity shifting from the Atlantic to the Pacific. International institutions and rules in this new system have become either dysfunctional or ineffective, he said. Changes in how the global system is governed are already underway, such as in the shift in power from the G-7 to the G-20 and the rise of alternative centers of geopolitical gravity in Asia.
The panel examined other potential changes in the balance of global and their ramifications for U.S. foreign policy. Rothkopf argued that the world is in a period of substantial change, where old formulas and approaches may no longer apply. The United States will need to improve its diplomatic capabilities to contend with these new realities.
About the Author
Former Visiting Scholar
David Rothkopf was a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment as well as the former CEO and editor in chief of the FP Group.
- How Bush, Obama, and Trump Ended Pax AmericanaIn The Media
- A Bigger ClubhouseIn The Media
David Rothkopf
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Protests Like No Kings Can Only Go So Far to Stem AuthoritarianismCommentary
Lessons from other backsliding democracies show that mass mobilization needs to feed into an electoral strategy.
Saskia Brechenmacher, Shreya Joshi
- Southeast Asia’s Agency Amid the New Oil CrisisCommentary
There is no better time for the countries of Southeast Asia to reconsider their energy security than during this latest crisis.
Gita Wirjawan
- Fuel Crisis Forces Politically Perilous Trade-Offs in IndonesiaCommentary
As conflict in the Middle East drives up fuel costs across Asia, Indonesia faces difficult policy trade-offs over subsidies, inflation, and fiscal credibility. President Prabowo’s personalized governance style may make these hard choices even harder to navigate.
Sana Jaffrey
- Europe Doesn’t Like War—for Good ReasonsCommentary
The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are existential threats to Europe as a peace project. Leaders and citizens alike must reaffirm their solidarity to face up to today’s multifaceted challenges.
Marc Pierini
- In Its Iran War Debate, Washington Has Lost the Plot in AsiaCommentary
The United States ignores the region’s lived experience—and the tough political and social trade-offs the war has produced—at its peril.
Evan A. Feigenbaum