Description
The construction of ‘the West’ as spearheading the ‘rules-based order’ in political discourse – whilst actionably contravening it – implicitly pits the ‘Western Self’ against ‘non-Western Others’, contributing to uncertainty in the international order. By calling it "Western-led," this language infers an authority over global norms that excludes and marginalizes non-Western actors, prompting them to resist and reject this framing. Group identities drawn up by dominant Western powers – such as ‘liberal Self v. illiberal Other’ – provide Othered actors with the rhetorical weapon to attack the so-called Western-led international order; rejecting the order is not only politically convenient for certain actors to scapegoat the West, but it can align with a regime’s own legitimation narratives and unify them in their grievances. This paper explores how civilizational language mobilised by political leaders ostracised from the West – namely Russia, Iran and China – serves to secure their own identities by questioning the perceived legitimacy of the Western-led international order. That is, how do select global actors define their identities within the order vis-à-vis the West; and how do these conflicting identities contribute to ongoing uncertainty in international relations?
