Albanese Says Post-War International Order No Longer Fit for Purpose

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will argue that the international order established after the second world war is no longer adequate for today's global environment, according to excerpts of a major foreign policy address he is due to deliver in New York, as reported by the Guardian and Australian Associated Press.

In remarks prepared for an address to the Atlantic Council, Albanese will say that many of the institutions created in the aftermath of 1945 have not kept pace with the challenges facing the world today. He is expected to argue that the assumptions which shaped international affairs since the end of the Cold War — that openness equated to security, that efficiency mattered more than resilience, and that international rules would be broadly observed — no longer hold as firmly as they once did.

Those assumptions, according to the excerpts, rested on an expectation that the influence of major democratic powers would remain largely unchallenged, a premise Albanese is expected to argue has since been undermined by shifting global dynamics.

The speech comes as Albanese takes part in a broader push of engagements around the United Nations General Assembly session in New York, where world leaders are addressing a range of security and diplomatic issues, including the war in Ukraine.

Further details of the address, including any specific policy proposals Albanese may put forward for reforming international institutions, were not included in the excerpts reported ahead of the speech.