The 'Rules-Based Order': A Geopolitical Speak-Easy
THE ACTORS: Curators of the Narrative The 'rules-based order' isn't some ancient scroll discovered in a desert cave; it's a carefully curated concept, largely championed by the United States and its allies. The primary actors are typically heads of state (e.g., President Biden and past administrations), their foreign policy advisors (e.g., Tony Blinken, Jake Sullivan), and a chorus of think-tank
scholars and journalists who, for various reasons, find it advantageous to parrot this phrase. Think of institutions like the Council on Foreign Relations or the Atlantic Council – they’re constantly churning out papers and hosting events reaffirming this 'order'. THE FUNDING: Selling the Status Quo The financial incentives for maintaining this narrative are immense. Major defense contractors
(e.g., Lockheed Martin with $67.6 billion in sales in 2022, Northrop Grumman with $36.6 billion) thrive on perceived global instability, which the 'rules-based order' is supposedly designed to prevent – or, more accurately, manage through military spending. Furthermore, think tanks advocating for a strong US-led global presence receive significant funding from these same corporations, as well as
governments. For instance, the Atlantic Council received between $1,000,000 and $4,999,999 from the US government in 2022, alongside substantial corporate donations (Atlantic Council, 2022 Annual Report). This creates a self-reinforcing echo chamber where the 'order' justifies the means, and the means fund the justification. THE INCENTIVES: Maintaining Hegemony Through Semantics The primary