Nobel laureate James A. Robinson argues that today’s global tensions are less the result of a historic rupture than of unresolved social and economic failures in the United States. In this interview, he explains why Donald Trump’s rise reflects deep-seated discontent rather than a sudden break with the past, why liberal institutions have lost credibility, and why the apparent strength of autocracies such as China may prove deceptive. Despite the turmoil, Robinson remains cautiously optimistic that the United States – and other democracies – can still reinvent themselves.

Global trade is under pressure with the United States sharply raising import tariffs on many countries and prompting a wave of bilateral deals that have revived fears of power politics overtaking established rules. The former Chief Economist of the WTO Ralph Ossa explains why small, open economies such as Switzerland need to defend and adapt the rules-based system during these turbulent times.

Liberal democracy is facing renewed pressure across much of the Western world. Political movements that openly question judicial independence, attack the media, or frame pluralism as weakness have gained traction. The challenge, as Cass Sunstein argued in his UBS Center Opinion lecture at the University of Zurich, is not that liberalism has failed. Rather, its opponents have become more effective at mobilizing fear, identity, and resentment – often faster and more forcefully than liberal institutions can respond.