"With the waning of globalization, post-Cold War world is becoming a site of sovereign nationalism."…

Question

"With the waning of globalization, post-Cold War world is becoming a site of sovereign nationalism." Elucidate.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Since the 2008 crisis and the pandemic, the post-Cold War drive to hyper-globalisation has given way to states reasserting control over trade, territory and technology, though globalisation is being rewired rather than reversed. The WTO Appellate Body has lacked a quorum since December 2019.

**Introduction**

The post-Cold War era promised Fukuyama's "end of history" and, after the WTO's birth in 1995, hyper-globalisation. Rodrik's trilemma warned that deep integration, sovereignty and democracy cannot all coexist; since 2008 and the pandemic, states have chosen sovereignty.

**Signs That Globalisation Is Waning**

SKETCH: flow | From Globalisation to Nationalism
- Hyper-globalisation
- Job, inequality anxiety
- Populist mandates
- Tariffs, border controls
- Sovereign nationalism

1. **Defensive trade**: The US-China tariff war from 2018 and the extra 25% US duty on Indian goods in August 2025, taking the total to 50%, mark a retreat from open markets.
2. **Weaker rules**: The WTO Appellate Body has lacked a quorum since December 2019, so trade disputes can be "appealed into the void".
3. **Exits and hoarding**: Brexit (2020) and export curbs on vaccines and medicines in 2020-21 put national control ahead of shared gains.

**How Sovereign Nationalism Is Expressed**

1. **Territorial assertion**: Russia's annexation of Crimea (2014) and invasion of Ukraine (2022), and Washington's push to acquire Greenland, revive hard claims of sovereignty.
2. **Technological sovereignty**: The US CHIPS Act (2022), EU strategic autonomy and India's Atmanirbhar Bharat (2020) prioritise national supply chains.
3. **Narrower security goals**: The US National Security Strategy of November 2025 shifts from global dominance to core national interests.
4. **Not autarky**: Selective deals, such as India's agreements with the UK (2025) and the EU, show globalisation being rewired, not reversed.

**Conclusion**

The world has moved from integration to sovereign nationalism, as "slowbalisation" among trusted partners rather than collapse. Strategic autonomy and diversified partnerships let India gain from openness while protecting the national interest.

"With the waning of globalization, post-Cold War world is becoming a site of sovereign nationalism." Elucidate.

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