Decline or Disruption? The West and the Transformation of the International Order

Arguments about the decline of the West are abound, but is it the West passively declining or is it using its still relevant power and influence to re-define order and disorder at the global level? And what are the effects on the global scale at large, on the liberal international order, and on intra-Western cohesion?

The 2025 joint symposium by T.wai, LSE Ideas and the University of Turin tackles these key questions, by looking at general issues of ordering, at changes in the use of force, and at the evolving international political economy of an apparently chaotic world.

Decline or Disruption? The West and the Transformation of the International Order

5 May 2025 | Campus Luigi Einaudi, Lungo Dora Siena 100/A, Sala Lauree Blu

9.00-9.15 Welcome and opening remarks (Stefano Ruzza, Chris Alden)

9.15-9.45 Keynote speech: Leadership and Gangster Diplomacy – Richard Higgott (Brussels School of Governance)

9.45-11.15 Panel 1: Making Sense of Disorder

Chair: Stefano Ruzza (University of Turin and T.wai)

• “Last Orders” and Lost Orders – Aaron McKeil (LSE Ideas)
• Into Uncharted Waters: From Shaping Global Order to Navigating Disruption – Anna Caffarena (University of Turin)
• After Virtue: the Post-Liberal West – Chris Alden (LSE Ideas)

11.30-12.45 Panel 2: Bringing Disorder into Focus: Old or New?

Chair: Vlad Zigarov (LSE Ideas)

• Enabling Blocs: The Global Response to US Trade Illiberalism – Giuseppe Gabusi (University of Turin and T.wai)
• Disruptive Decline? US Amoral Internationalism in Historical Perspective – Marco Mariano (University of Turin)

14.15-16.00 Panel 3: Violent Disruption: Changes in the Use of Force

Chair: Giulia Grillo (LSE Ideas)

• Deterrence and Defence: Evolving Responses to Deepening Threats – Peter Watkins (King’s College London)
• The Prospect of Rearmament through Integration – Andrea Locatelli (Catholic University of Milan)
• Contested or Dead? The Anti-Mercenary Norm and 21st Century Warfare – Eugenio Cusumano (University of Messina)
• Empowering Revolution: Drone Warfare in Myanmar – Matt Arnold (LSE Ideas)

16.00-16.15 Closing remarks (Chris Alden, Stefano Ruzza)