New multilateralism with old paradigms?

The world has turned on its head in many ways, particularly in terms of our paradigms. Despite the end of the Cold War, our paradigms had not changed. Foreign policy experts remained obsessed with “hard power”, making strategic calculations about military superiority and economic dominance. So-called “softer” issues, such as public health or environmental degradation were scoffed at as “low politics”. The biggest armies and the biggest economies failed against a microscopic virus — the weakest link undid decades of progress. We cannot navigate a new world order, let alone shape it, unless we are willing to shed old paradigms.