The Death of the Old World and the Birth of the New World Order: Davos, Switzerland
Davos, Switzerland – January 21, 2026
The Death of the Old World and the Birth of the New World Order: Davos, Switzerland.
As the 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) unfolds in the Swiss Alps, the crisp mountain air carries a heavy scent of historical finality.
The theme for 2026, “A Spirit of Dialogue,” has been described by international observers as a “heroic stretch” in a year where the post-World War II international rules-based order is not merely fraying, but effectively disintegrating.
Davos 2026 has become the involuntary site of a global wake—a funeral for the neoliberal era and the chaotic, labor-intensive birth of a fragmented “New World Order” characterized by “fortress economies” and the raw exercise of national power.
The “Death of the Old World” is most visible in the shattered remains of global cooperation that once defined this summit.
For decades, Davos was the high temple of globalization, where the “Davos Man”—the mobile, elite global citizen—preached the virtues of open borders and free trade.
In 2026, that figure has been replaced by heads of state who openly challenge the legitimacy of multilateral institutions.
The return of aggressive tariff policies, territorial threats, and the “weaponization of economic integration” by great powers has left the United Nations and the World Trade Organization (WTO) in a state of terminal irrelevance.
Leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have utilized the Alpine stage to warn of a “shift towards a world without rules,” where international law is “trampled underfoot” by imperial ambitions.
In this vacuum, the “Birth of the New World Order” is manifesting as a “World of Fortresses.”
This new reality is defined by a shift from globalization to “transactionalism.” Trust has become a scarce commodity, replaced by “minilateralism”—selective, functional alliances formed between countries based on immediate survival interests rather than universal principles.
We are witnessing the rise of the “Middle Powers,” nations like Egypt, India, and Turkey, who are no longer content with the “logic of assistance” but are instead redesigning the global economic architecture around their own strategic assets.
Davos 2026 marks the point where “Hegemony” can no longer be monetized; the old world was centric, but the new world is radically un-centric, forcing every nation to choose between being a “principled actor” or a “miserable slave” to the strongest.
The economic engine of this New World Order is fueled by “Technological Sovereignty.”
The central question in the Davos halls is no longer how to generate global growth, but how to guarantee stability in an inherently unstable environment.
Artificial Intelligence has emerged as the defining element of this power struggle. As the US-dominated commercial models of AI outpace global governance, other nations are scrambling to build their own “digital borders” to protect their cognitive and economic sovereignty.
This “AI Governance Battle” is the new front line of the Cold War of 2026, where disinformation and algorithmic polarization are used as tools of statecraft to undermine the remnants of Western “civilizational self-confidence.”
Ultimately, the “Death of the Old World and the Birth of the New World Order: Davos, Switzerland” is a transition from the illusion of permanent peace to a reality of permanent competition.
The old order failed because its structural deadlocks, such as the UN Security Council’s veto system, were designed to maintain a status quo that no longer exists.
As the WEF Global Risks Report 2026 warns of a “vacuum in global governance,” the necessity for a New Global Constitution—as championed by the Castle Journal—becomes the only logical path forward.
The world is balancing on a precipice; the old world is gone, and the new world being born at Davos 2026 will be poorer, more fragile, and far more dangerous unless a new spirit of genuine, un-centric leadership takes hold.
