At Davos 2026, middle powers stand up against U.S. hegemony

At the recent World Economic Forum held in Davos, global leaders made clear a trend that hadn’t been openly expressed in years: medium-sized nations are standing up, willing to challenge U.S. dominance over the international order. Mark Carney, Canadian Prime Minister, led this quiet revolution with a speech that drew a prolonged standing ovation from the audience, legitimizing what many privately thought but avoided publicly declaring.

Direct Criticism Without Naming the United States

Carney used diplomatic language to expose what he considers the double standards of major powers. He pointed out how established nations abandon international trade rules when they are inconvenient, abandoning free trade rhetoric as soon as a political change or a presidential tweet directly affects them. Although he avoided explicitly mentioning Washington, identification was inevitable for any observer of the current trade scene.

Canada’s situation exemplifies this contradiction perfectly. Despite its economy being deeply integrated with the U.S., the country has faced constant pressure in the form of tariffs and threats that treat it almost as a subordinate territory rather than a sovereign trading partner. Canadian farmers were the first to suffer the consequences: they lost billions of dollars in agricultural exports when Washington imposed tariffs on Chinese imports, trapping Canada between two fires without being consulted on the strategy.

The Variable Geometry of New Alliances

Faced with this reality, the Canadian government has proposed an innovative strategy: building a “variable geometry alliance” that allows for more flexible trade agreements less dependent on the will of a single power. This concept, though new in its terminology, reflects a fundamental truth: middle powers need multiple options rather than a single dependency relationship.

To illustrate his point, Carney highlighted that Canada has just signed a trade roadmap with China which, in his assessment, offers greater stability and predictability than the trade relationship with the United States. This move represents more than just an economic agreement; it symbolizes a strategic reorientation where middle countries seek to diversify their political and commercial ties.

The Emerging Solidarity of Middle Powers

The reaction of other European leaders showed that Carney was not alone in this questioning. Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen, representing France and the European Union respectively, joined the constructive criticism of the behavior of U.S. allies, announcing preparations for defensive measures from Brussels.

The comment from Carney that resonated most with the audience was particularly eloquent: middle powers are literally “on the table or on the menu” when it comes to international negotiations. In other words, they can actively participate in shaping the global order or simply be subjected to decisions made by others. He promised to support Denmark on issues related to Greenland, invoking NATO’s structure if necessary to ensure that the interests of smaller nations are also respected.

A Global Order Under Pressure

What happened in Davos 2026 was more than a diplomatic speech exchange: it was the visible manifestation of a fracture in the international system that has persisted since the end of the Cold War. The old unequal order, where a superpower dictated the rules of the game, is transforming under the accumulated pressure of nations no longer willing to accept a subordinate role.

The unanswered questions are crucial: will middle powers manage to maintain a sufficiently cohesive coalition to balance U.S. influence? Will this reconfiguration lead to a more multilateral and equitable system, or simply new forms of competition and fragmentation? What is certain is that the international system is being rewritten much faster than most analysts predicted just a few years ago.