Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, argues persuasively that the major dividing line in international affairs today “is the one that separates those that support the international rules-based order from the rest” (The key global issue is not the clash of north and south, 20 February).
Dr Paula Gutlove applauds the French foreign minister’s views on shared global values and goals, but Dr Alexandra Hofer points out France’s double standards.
The order that Barrot refers to is an intricate web of international agreements and cooperative practices set in place since the second world war.
Using that approach, we can build global human security and nurture Earth’s interdependent life-support systems, allowing us to thrive for generations to come.
Moreover, in a world of nuclear weapons, new technologies and ecological stresses, continued pursuit of power-over poses an existential threat to human civilisation.
