For a mathematician, 2025 might stand out for being a “perfect square” - 45 multiplied by 45 (=2025), a rare symmetry. But, its significance goes far beyond numerical elegance. It marks the year the post-war global order expired and a new one was about to be born.

Eighty years ago, as the world emerged from World War II, the victorious Western Allies designed a system intended to prevent another catastrophic conflict. The result was a global order based on three intertwined promises - geopolitical stability anchored by American leadership; industrial progress that would steadily raise living st...