The Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East & Africa at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad hosted the launch of Marc Saxer’s book ‘Geopolitical Conflict in the Wolf World, Great Power Competition and the Illiberal Revolt against the Liberal Order’ on 14 May 2026, drawing diplomats, academics, students and civil society to discuss the challenges of an increasingly contested international environment.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Khalid Mahmood<\/strong> described the book as an insightful analysis of shifting global dynamics, noting how intensifying great power competition and geoeconomic rivalry are accelerating the erosion of the liberal international order. He emphasised that the author’s emphasis on pragmatic engagement and diversified partnerships has direct relevance for Pakistan’s foreign policy choices in a multipolar era.<\/p>\n Dr. Amina Khan<\/strong> said the work persuasively charts the decline of previously dominant liberal frameworks and the rise of contestation among major powers, arguing that geopolitical conflict and geoeconomic tensions are actively reshaping alignments across regions, including implications for South Asia.<\/p>\n Felix Kolbitz<\/strong> observed that Pakistan today sits at the intersection of nearly every major geopolitical shift, calling the book a rigorous map of forces driving contemporary uncertainty. He urged policymakers and analysts to use this framework to better navigate strategic change and regional flux.<\/p>\n Marc Saxer<\/strong> presented the core argument that the international system is transitioning away from an era defined by open markets and multilateral consensus toward a ‘Wolf World’ where strategic competition, economic security and competing visions of order dominate. He warned that intensifying rivalries and geoeconomic fragmentation are placing strain on existing institutions, and stressed that no single power can impose a new order, making dialogue, negotiated compromise and novel forms of cooperation essential.<\/p>\n Aiza Azam<\/strong> praised the timing of the book, saying the ‘Wolf World’ concept captures the renewed salience of great power competition and the expanding role of non-Western and middle powers in global governance. She highlighted the author’s call for a more inclusive and balanced international order.<\/p>\n Dr. Vaqar Ahmed<\/strong> highlighted the book’s discussion on middle-power partnerships and the future of the international monetary system as particularly relevant for countries navigating multipolarity. He argued that strategic autonomy requires measures beyond defence spending and identified three lessons for Pakistan: maintain macroeconomic stability in a fragmented world, expand and deepen multiple strategic partnerships, and remain an active voice in international forums as the erosion of rules tends to harm smaller and middle powers disproportionately.<\/p>\n The event convened policymakers, scholars and civil society, underscoring how debates on geopolitical conflict and multipolarity are increasingly central to Pakistan’s strategic calculations and economic resilience. Participants agreed that informed, pragmatic engagement and diversified partnerships will be critical as global competition intensifies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Explore geopolitical conflict at the ISSI book launch and its implications for Pakistan’s strategic partnerships, economic stability and multipolar diplomacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":18852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}