Trailer

At the end of the Cold War, the international system underwritten by American power, liberal democracy and free markets looked to many like the high-water mark of a new world order. Fast forward to 2026, and that certainty looks far less solid.

Tristan Redman is joined by journalists and experts who had ringside seats to the biggest moments since the end of the Cold War. Together, they ask whether this rules-based order is ending, what might replace it, and whether it ever really existed.

From the collapse of communism and the conflicts of the 1990s to the wars in Georgia and Ukraine and the realignment of global power today.

A BBC News Long Form Audio production

Presenter: Tristan Redman

Producers: Keiligh Baker and Nik Sindle

Sound engineers: Neil Churchill, Gareth Jones and Michael Regaard

Production co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Katie Morrison

Editor: Matt Willis

Radio 4 commissioners: Daniel Clarke and Hugh Levinson