Article Details
  • Published Online:
    July  2026
  • Product Name:
    The IUP Journal of International Relations
  • Product Type:
    Article
  • Product Code:
    IJIR020726
  • DOI:
    10.71329/IUPJIR/2026.20.3.20-38
  • Author Name:
    Johnson Singh Chandam
  • Availability:
    YES
  • Subject/Domain:
    Arts and Humanities
  • Download Format:
    PDF
  • Pages:
    20-38
Volume 20, Issue 3, July-September 2026
Russia’s Endorsement and Contestation of the Liberal Order
Abstract

The concept of liberal order is Western-oriented. As such, the mainstream narrative creates a simplistic rhetoric of non-Western powers challenging the order. Contrary to such views, this paper argues that Russia has endorsed selective elements of the liberal order. The paper is methodologically grounded in interpretive research, in which the perspectives of Russian elites on international order vis-à-vis the liberal order are analyzed. Categorizing the components of the idea of liberal order into political liberalism, economic liberalism, institutional liberalism, American hegemony, and NATO, it can be substantiated that Russia contests merely the hegemony part and the universalization of Western political liberalism, while endorsing the others on reforms basis.

Introduction

The West is accustomed to popularizing the concept of liberal order. However, amidst the internal challenges posed by the devastating blow of the second Trump administration, the narrative that non-Western powers like China and Russia are undermining the order has never receded.