Fractured West finds new balance as populism falters

Exactly one year ago, a profound sense of historical dread settled over the proponents of liberal democracy. The image of the Ukrainian President standing in the White House, seemingly cornered by the US President Donald Trump and his team, felt like a funeral dirge for the international order. For many, it evoked the tragic spirit of Stefan Zweig, the prominent novelist, who, in 1942, took his own life after losing faith in the survival of humanism against the tide of totalitarianism. The atmosphere was heavy with the belief that the "center" had not only failed but had been permanently erased.

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