{"id":313035,"date":"2026-02-09T12:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=313035"},"modified":"2026-02-08T07:41:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T07:41:41","slug":"carney-and-the-selective-death-of-the-rules-based-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2026\/02\/carney-and-the-selective-death-of-the-rules-based-order\/","title":{"rendered":"Carney and the Selective Death of the Rules-Based Order"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Carney called for \u201cstrategic autonomy\u201d for middle powers (File\/AFP)<\/p><\/div>\n

2 Feb 2026\u00a0<\/em>–\u00a0Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney sounded more like a populist leader than a former central banker during his address<\/a> at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month. Bemoaning the \u201cfading\u201d of the rules-based order, Carney delivered a surprisingly blunt speech. \u201cThe old order is not coming back,\u201d he declared. \u201cWe are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.\u201d In this new reality, he warned, quoting Thucydides, \u201cthe strong can do what they can and the weak must suffer what they must.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201crevolutionary\u201d rhetoric did not stop there. Carney called for \u201cstrategic autonomy\u201d for middle powers, warning that \u201cif we\u2019re not at the table, we’re on the menu.\u201d He insisted that the West could no longer rely solely on \u201cthe strength of our values,\u201d but must pivot to \u201cthe value of our strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, before mistaking Carney for a Thomas Sankara or a Patrice Lumumba, one must recall his administration\u2019s record on the slaughter in Gaza. The irony is inescapable: Carney rails against a world where \u201cmight makes right\u201d when it involves American tariffs or threats to Greenland, yet he presides over a policy<\/a> that facilitates exactly that in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

The contrast between Carney\u2019s Davos persona and his policy on Gaza is best illustrated by a single moment in Calgary on April 8, 2025. During a campaign rally, Carney was interrupted<\/a> by a shout: \u201cMr. Carney, there is a genocide in Palestine.\u201d The prime minister responded: \u201cI\u2019m aware. That\u2019s why we have an arms embargo.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Headlines tell the story of a West that is fiercely protective of its own sovereignty but indifferent to that of others”.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Dr. Ramzy Baroud<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For a few hours, it appeared the leader of a G7 nation had finally acknowledged the legal reality unfolding in Gaza. But the following day, after an immediate political backlash, Carney performed a semantic retreat. \u201cI didn\u2019t hear that word,\u201d he fumbled to reporters. \u201cI heard \u2018Gaza\u2019 \u2026 I was stating a fact in terms of the arms restrictions.\u201d With that, the official Canadian line returned to its former self: reducing the systematic extermination of the Palestinians to a mere humanitarian concern.<\/p>\n

Carney is far from alone. French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have all perfected this brand of strategic doublespeak. Headlines referencing them tell the story of a West that is fiercely protective of its own sovereignty but indifferent to that of others.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 8, Bloomberg reported<\/a>: \u201cGermany\u2019s Scholz: US must respect inviolability of borders,\u201d as the German chancellor reacted to American rhetoric regarding the \u201cpurchase\u201d of Greenland. Macron warned<\/a> of a \u201cworld without rules\u201d while appealing for European unity against US economic coercion. In London, The Guardian ran a headline<\/a> on Jan. 21: \u201cEnough appeasement: Britain needs its own \u2018trade bazooka\u2019 to take on Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Respect for international law, it seems, is a \u201cbazooka\u201d to be used against trade rivals, but a meritless nuisance when applied to Israel. Now, compare those headlines to the typical Western output on Palestine: \u201cCanada unequivocally \u2026 reaffirms its support for Israel\u2019s right to defend itself (Office of the Prime Minister statement<\/a>),\u201d \u201cGermany stands by Israel\u2019s side in deep friendship (Bundesregierung<\/a>),\u201d \u201cUK\u2019s Starmer defends Israel arms suspension as \u2018legal decision\u2019 (Courthouse News<\/a>).\u201d<\/p>\n

The irony reaches its peak when the legal institutions that are the crown jewels of Carney\u2019s \u201crules-based order\u201d become the targets of Western attack. When the International Criminal Court issued<\/a> arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for war crimes, the self-appointed guardians of the order did not uphold the law, they labored to misinterpret it.<\/p>\n

“The West\u2019s concept of a \u2018global order\u2019 privileges its own interests while marginalizing the rights of the Global South”.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Dr. Ramzy Baroud<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In Canada, while Carney pays lip service to international courts, his government in November filed a motion<\/a> to dismiss a landmark court case seeking to hold Ottawa accountable for its failure to prevent Israel\u2019s genocide. The government\u2019s argument? That the court has no jurisdiction over the \u201cpolitical questions\u201d of foreign policy.<\/p>\n

In Europe, the fracture is even more visible. France\u2019s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs suggested<\/a> Netanyahu might have immunity because Israel is not a member of the court \u2014 a \u201csovereignty loophole\u201d never afforded to Vladimir Putin. In Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz attacked the court\u2019s legitimacy, calling<\/a> the prospect of arresting an Israeli leader \u201ccompletely absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n

The West\u2019s concept of a \u201cglobal order\u201d has always been structural, not accidental \u2014 privileging its own strategic interests while marginalizing the rights of the Global South. This imbalance is not a bug in the system, it is the modus operandi of the system itself. Canada and Europe are only crying foul now because, for the first time in generations, they feel the walls of the privileged club closing in on them. They scream for international law to protect their trade routes and borders from Trump, yet they actively dismantle those same laws to shield an ally in Gaza.<\/p>\n

However, the US-Israeli attempt to reshape global politics presents Europe and Canada with a rare opportunity to confront this legacy of selective legality. While it is difficult to sympathize with their current grievances, that position could change if they chose to reorient themselves morally. They could enforce international law consistently, pursue war criminals without bias and end their roles as junior partners in Washington\u2019s unconditional support for a brutal occupation.<\/p>\n

Failing to do so merely exposes the \u201crupture\u201d Carney described as a self-inflicted wound. Even Carney must realize that values held only when convenient are not values at all \u2014 they are merely leverage. If the West continues to shout for the rules only when its own interests are on the menu, it should not be surprised when the rest of the world stops listening to the lecture. In fact, many of us already have.<\/p>\n

____________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author, and the editor of <\/em>The Palestine Chronicle. His latest book, <\/em>Before the Flood, will be published by Seven Stories Press. His website: www.ramzybaroud.net<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 arabnews.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JOIN THE BDS-BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, SANCTIONS CAMPAIGN TO PROTEST THE ISRAELI BARBARIC GENOCIDE OF PALESTINIANS IN GAZA.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

DON’T BUY PRODUCTS WHOSE BARCODE STARTS WITH <\/em><\/strong>729, WHICH INDICATES THAT THEY ARE PRODUCED IN ISRAEL. DO YOUR PART! MAKE A DIFFERENCE!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

7 2 9: BOYCOTT FOR HUMAN JUSTICE!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2 Feb 2026 – While Carney pays lip service to international courts, his government in November filed a motion to dismiss a landmark court case seeking to hold Ottawa accountable for its failure to prevent Israel\u2019s genocide arguing that the court has no jurisdiction over the \u201cpolitical questions\u201d of foreign policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":313038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[1619,3033,1268,87,1747,427,3043,70],"class_list":["post-313035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anglo-america","tag-canada","tag-denmark","tag-european-union","tag-gaza","tag-greenland","tag-palestine","tag-rbio-rules-based-international-order","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313035"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":313039,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313035\/revisions\/313039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}