Mark Carney Calls for Middle Powers to Forge a New Global Reality at Davos
In a landmark address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a powerful critique of the shifting international landscape, urging intermediate nations to abandon complacency and actively shape a new world order. Carney, who previously served as Governor of the Bank of England, argued that the era of relying on a rules-based system dominated by great powers is over, and middle powers like Canada must lead through honesty and collective action.
The End of a Pleasant Fiction and the Rise of Harsh Realities
Carney began by starkly describing a rupture in global affairs, where geopolitics is increasingly unconstrained by traditional limits. He emphasised that this is not a mere transition but a fundamental break from the past, driven by great powers using economic integration as weapons—through tariffs, financial coercion, and exploited supply chains. "You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration, when integration becomes the source of your subordination," he stated, highlighting the vulnerabilities faced by smaller nations.
Referencing the Czech dissident Václav Havel's essay "The Power of the Powerless," Carney drew a parallel to today's international system. He explained how Havel described a greengrocer displaying a sign he didn't believe in to avoid trouble, symbolising how participation in false rituals sustains oppressive systems. Carney urged countries and companies to "take their signs down" by acknowledging that the old order's promises of security and predictability are no longer viable.
The Strategic Imperative for Middle Powers: Building Strength and Alliances
Carney outlined Canada's response, framed as "value-based realism"—a blend of principled commitments to human rights, sovereignty, and territorial integrity with pragmatic engagement in a divergent world. He detailed domestic initiatives to bolster Canada's resilience, including tax cuts, removing interprovincial trade barriers, and fast-tracking investments worth a trillion dollars in energy, AI, and critical minerals. Defence spending is set to double by the end of the decade, focusing on building domestic industries.
Internationally, Canada is rapidly diversifying its partnerships. Carney highlighted a comprehensive strategic deal with the EU, involvement in European defence procurement, and numerous trade and security agreements across four continents. He also mentioned new partnerships with China and Qatar, alongside ongoing negotiations with India, ASEAN, and others. "We are doing something else," Carney said, promoting "variable geometry"—forming issue-specific coalitions based on shared values and interests, such as supporting Ukraine or enhancing Arctic sovereignty with Greenland and Denmark.
Collaboration Over Competition: A Path to Sovereignty and Influence
Carney warned that middle powers negotiating bilaterally with hegemons do so from a position of weakness, leading to subordination rather than true sovereignty. Instead, he advocated for combining forces to create a third path with impact. "The middle powers must act together, because if we're not at the table, we're on the menu," he remarked, stressing that collective investments in resilience and shared standards are more effective than isolated fortresses.
He called for middle powers to name reality by openly recognising the current system as one of intensifying great-power rivalry, rather than pretending the rules-based order functions as before. Acting consistently and reducing vulnerability through economic diversification are key steps, Carney argued, enabling principled foreign policy without fear of retaliation.
Canada's Role and a Call to Action for a Just Future
Carney positioned Canada as a leader in this new era, citing its resources as an energy superpower, vast critical mineral reserves, educated population, and strong fiscal capacity. "Canada has what the world wants," he asserted, emphasising the country's stability, pluralistic society, and commitment to sustainability as assets in a turbulent world.
In conclusion, Carney reiterated that nostalgia is not a strategy. He encouraged other nations to join Canada in building a more just and cooperative global framework from the fractures of the old order. "The powerful have their power," he said, "but we have the capacity to stop pretending, to name reality, to build our strength at home and to act together." This path, he affirmed, is open to any country willing to embrace honesty and collective effort in the face of unprecedented challenges.
