The World Order According to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Its Dismantling

Abstract

This article analyzes the formation, evolution, and contemporary crisis of the world order established after the Second World War. The author examines how the strategic vision of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the foundations for a new global order and delineated its basic mechanisms, positioning the United States at its core as the guarantor of security and stability. His successor, Harry Truman, completed the institutionalization of this vision by facilitating the creation of a collective security system (NATO) and initiating Europe’s economic recovery (the Marshall Plan). Together, they established the foundations of the liberal international order, which shaped the trajectory of global politics for subsequent decades.

Particular attention is devoted to the crisis of this order in the twenty-first century, especially in relation to the foreign policy of the Trump administration. The author emphasizes that this shift represents not merely a change in style or priorities but a deeper ideological transformation. Instead of liberal internationalism, which entailed active U.S. engagement in building multilateral institutions and sustaining the global order, the Trump administration adopted a transactional approach centered on short-term gains, skepticism toward traditional alliances, and distrust of international institutions. The “Make America Great Again” ideology effectively repudiates international commitments as burdensome and frames global politics not as a space for cooperation but as an arena of competition. This approach has led to the destabilization of the world order, U.S. withdrawal from key international agreements, weakening of allied ties, erosion of leadership positions, and ultimately, a significant decline in global trust toward Washington.

The author argues that a new liberal world order can only emerge if Europe assumes leadership in global international affairs, thereby compensating for the United States’ retreat from its former role. In this context, Ukraine is seen as a critical element of the new European security architecture, and its victory in the war against Russia is viewed as a necessary precondition for the establishment of effective mechanisms of collective security.

The article concludes that building a new and viable liberal world order will require not only political will but also sustained strategic thinking. New (or reformed) international institutions need not be universal, but they must be effective, adaptable, and capable of responding promptly to global challenges, as well as of containing authoritarian and totalitarian regimes.