Each January, the Swiss town of Davos sets the stage for the world leaders to exchange ideas on the pressing issues shaping the international order. The scenes each year always showcase the paradox; private jets flying the millionaires to talk about global issues such as poverty, climate change etc. This year, however turned out to be different as the discussions at World Economic Forum (WEF) moved beyond the prevailing climate inconsistencies to address a more fundamental geopolitical narrative.
The standout moment of Davos occurred when current Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, admitted the truth that rules-based order was just a story. It was a rare moment as one of the leader of West explicitly deconstructed the myth on which many western nations foreign policy had been built upon.
“For decades, countries like Canada prospered under what we called the rules-based international order,” Carney stated. He added ” We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically”. He acknowledged that this narrative had value, bolstered by America’s hegemony that facilitated particular global goods. Nonetheless, it was a narrative nurtured with varied and sophisticated vigour.
The Hypocrisy India called out
For India and Global South as whole, Carney’s admission wasn’t an astonishing disclosure rather it was a long expected acknowledgement. Time and again India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar has been calling out West’s hypocrisy in major international forums. He has persistently maintained that the West’s ‘rules’ were often a malleable tool, applied erratically based on individuals involved.
In a forthright comment from 2022, Jaishankar precisely emphasized the imbalance: “Europe has to let go of the assumption that its dilemmas are global dilemmas, while the world’s challenges do not pertain to Europe.” Just prior to the World Economic Forum, Jaishankar recently undertook a six-day tour to France and Luxembourg, where he adeptly exposed the West’s duplicity concerning the reactions of certain nations to Operation Sindoor, during which India targeted terror launchpads and military installations in Pakistan in May 2025.
Furthermore, the duplicity of the West that India has been vocally addressing is blatantly apparent when examining India’s energy collaborations with Russia. While imposing sanctions on India and threatening punitive actions, Western countries persist in purchasing Russian oil and petroleum products. This blatant hypocrisy reveals the West’s inherent double standards. The Western powers are hesitant to relinquish the advantages of trading with Russia, yet they insist that others conform to NATO’s objective of restraining Russia, regardless of the consequences, especially when non-NATO countries are burdened with the repercussions, whether they agree or not.
For further reading : Difference Between International Order and World Order
The Power of Narrative
The deeper meaning of Carney’s acknowledgment can be discerned not in its emphasis of Western hypocrisy, but in what it exposes about the functioning of global order and systems, which steers through narrative consent rather than impartial justice. His speech in a way revealed that power in geopolitics, as in society, is sustained by strategic narrative. Interestingly, quoting former Czech President Havel, Carney articulated the idea that the resilience of the global order depends on the society’s shared “willingness to live within a lie’’. This notion of narrative dominance has also been advocated by prominent thinker Joseph Nye, he argued that international affairs has become matter of ‘whose story wins’.
By analyzing Carney’s speech, one can discern that strategic narratives are fundamental in shaping and expressing political identities, perspectives as well as ways in which global order is imaged and construed. These narratives goes beyond expressions of material interests, they shape an actor’s self-conception and set expectations about an actor’s role in the world and how it should be recognized. They serve to achieve political objectives and influence the behaviors of others towards particular outcomes.
India’s Narrative Leadership
India has skillfully leveraged the influence of narratives in international relations, as demonstrated by its Voice of Global South Summits, which express shared goals for fair global governance. The Ministry of External Affairs in India has consistently pointed out the contradictions in Western policies, such as uneven sanctions on Russian energy imports that criticize India’s acquisitions while European nations continue to buy substantial amounts. Mark Carney’s acknowledgment in Davos supports this viewpoint, allowing India to promote a dialogue centered on multipolar pragmatism instead of unilateral supremacy.
For long, India has pursued greater acknowledgment on the international stage and advocated for adjustments to the international framework, not through disruption, but by positioning itself as a connector between the West and the Global South. Strengthening its narrative of multipolarity and pragmatic diplomacy could allow India to influence how other nations perceive the global system and align with India’s strategic approach.
Conclusion
Carney’s recognition denotes a significant division in the framework of the rules-based system, pointing to a lengthy transformation in international narratives. India emerges as a pivotal architect, championing multipolar equity through collaboration with the Global South and strategic autonomy. In this shifting story, Delhi’s pragmatic stance on global issues guarantees the establishment of a more equitable international framework.
The Davos Confession: Our Global Order Was a Fiction
Each January, the Swiss town of Davos sets the stage for the world leaders to exchange ideas on the pressing issues shaping the international order. The scenes each year always showcase the paradox; private jets flying the millionaires to talk about global issues such as poverty, climate change etc. This year, however turned out to be different as the discussions at World Economic Forum (WEF) moved beyond the prevailing climate inconsistencies to address a more fundamental geopolitical narrative.
The standout moment of Davos occurred when current Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, admitted the truth that rules-based order was just a story. It was a rare moment as one of the leader of West explicitly deconstructed the myth on which many western nations foreign policy had been built upon.
“For decades, countries like Canada prospered under what we called the rules-based international order,” Carney stated. He added ” We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically”. He acknowledged that this narrative had value, bolstered by America’s hegemony that facilitated particular global goods. Nonetheless, it was a narrative nurtured with varied and sophisticated vigour.
The Hypocrisy India called out
For India and Global South as whole, Carney’s admission wasn’t an astonishing disclosure rather it was a long expected acknowledgement. Time and again India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar has been calling out West’s hypocrisy in major international forums. He has persistently maintained that the West’s ‘rules’ were often a malleable tool, applied erratically based on individuals involved.
In a forthright comment from 2022, Jaishankar precisely emphasized the imbalance: “Europe has to let go of the assumption that its dilemmas are global dilemmas, while the world’s challenges do not pertain to Europe.” Just prior to the World Economic Forum, Jaishankar recently undertook a six-day tour to France and Luxembourg, where he adeptly exposed the West’s duplicity concerning the reactions of certain nations to Operation Sindoor, during which India targeted terror launchpads and military installations in Pakistan in May 2025.
Furthermore, the duplicity of the West that India has been vocally addressing is blatantly apparent when examining India’s energy collaborations with Russia. While imposing sanctions on India and threatening punitive actions, Western countries persist in purchasing Russian oil and petroleum products. This blatant hypocrisy reveals the West’s inherent double standards. The Western powers are hesitant to relinquish the advantages of trading with Russia, yet they insist that others conform to NATO’s objective of restraining Russia, regardless of the consequences, especially when non-NATO countries are burdened with the repercussions, whether they agree or not.
For further reading : Difference Between International Order and World Order
The Power of Narrative
The deeper meaning of Carney’s acknowledgment can be discerned not in its emphasis of Western hypocrisy, but in what it exposes about the functioning of global order and systems, which steers through narrative consent rather than impartial justice. His speech in a way revealed that power in geopolitics, as in society, is sustained by strategic narrative. Interestingly, quoting former Czech President Havel, Carney articulated the idea that the resilience of the global order depends on the society’s shared “willingness to live within a lie’’. This notion of narrative dominance has also been advocated by prominent thinker Joseph Nye, he argued that international affairs has become matter of ‘whose story wins’.
By analyzing Carney’s speech, one can discern that strategic narratives are fundamental in shaping and expressing political identities, perspectives as well as ways in which global order is imaged and construed. These narratives goes beyond expressions of material interests, they shape an actor’s self-conception and set expectations about an actor’s role in the world and how it should be recognized. They serve to achieve political objectives and influence the behaviors of others towards particular outcomes.
India’s Narrative Leadership
India has skillfully leveraged the influence of narratives in international relations, as demonstrated by its Voice of Global South Summits, which express shared goals for fair global governance. The Ministry of External Affairs in India has consistently pointed out the contradictions in Western policies, such as uneven sanctions on Russian energy imports that criticize India’s acquisitions while European nations continue to buy substantial amounts. Mark Carney’s acknowledgment in Davos supports this viewpoint, allowing India to promote a dialogue centered on multipolar pragmatism instead of unilateral supremacy.
For long, India has pursued greater acknowledgment on the international stage and advocated for adjustments to the international framework, not through disruption, but by positioning itself as a connector between the West and the Global South. Strengthening its narrative of multipolarity and pragmatic diplomacy could allow India to influence how other nations perceive the global system and align with India’s strategic approach.
Conclusion
Carney’s recognition denotes a significant division in the framework of the rules-based system, pointing to a lengthy transformation in international narratives. India emerges as a pivotal architect, championing multipolar equity through collaboration with the Global South and strategic autonomy. In this shifting story, Delhi’s pragmatic stance on global issues guarantees the establishment of a more equitable international framework.
Author
Vaasu Sharma