Only the very alert readers of Australian media have discovered this is the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and more importantly, the defeat of fascism. There is the odd whisper, a low key event in Townsville, a fleeting acknowledgement and little else.

When I visited the Australian War memorial in Canberra last week, there was not a single new display, banner or acknowledgement of this significant global event. The tour guides escorting schoolchildren made no specific mention of this anniversary.

It’s an interesting oversight. The overly cynical might attribute this muted remembrance to our growing defence friendship with Japan and our tolerance of the new fascism emerging in Israel and the US with its “brownshirt” ICE agents.

(As an aside, should Netanyahu visit the War Memorial, he will discover that Palestine was extant in 1914 as all the AIF explanatory panels and historic maps attest.)

The Allied victory in the anti-fascist war was not only a defence of human dignity and freedom but it also laid the foundation for the current international order.

The primary institution of this post-war order, the United Nations, was a success, but its inability to change has made it vulnerable to failure. The fruits of victory are increasingly sabotaged.

The primary lesson arising from the defeat of fascist forces is that peace and stability rests on global co-operation that, in turn, is predicated upon an agreement about the importance of a global rules-based order. The concept is upheld by institutions which are respected for the roles they play in sustaining the operation of these rules.

Growing out of the ashes of World War II, the United Nations embodied the hopes and aspirations of those who saw that co-operation was the foundation of global stability.

From peacekeeping forces playing a mediating role in small-scale conflicts, to ongoing humanitarian aid in health initiatives, the protection of children and the delivery of ongoing aid to counter the impacts of famine, the UN has provided a model of co-operation with an agreed rules-based framework.

On a broader economic level, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund provided a global stability that assisted with economic growth which fostered increasing levels of stability and prosperity. The UN has provided a structure of global institutions and co-operation which, in turn, has encouraged the development of regional co-operation across a wide range of international issues.

In the ASEAN region, this includes co-operative agreements of APEC and ASEAN which provided avenues for trade and political co-operation. The stability bought by the post-war globalisation enables trade agreements like RCEP which operate on a multilateral level.

The most significant outcome of the peace that followed the end of World War II is the growth of globalisation and global co-operation within a rules-based structure. In recent years, this concept has come under sustained attack, most notably from the US.

The extreme unilateral and arbitrary tariffs imposed by President Trump threaten to sabotage the foundations of the post-World War II aspirations for a genuine representative and responsive global rules-based order.

World War II allies like Australia have largely stood aside from these attacks. Rather than vigorous opposition to tariff mayhem, Australia has adopted a cowardly small-target approach, content to take a kicking while avoiding the bashing handed out to others.

Any solution that Australia might be involved in is with Western nations, so invitations from China and ASEAN countries to join them in a stronger stance have been rejected.

Responses proposed by China which are designed to endorse and support the functions of the UN and push back against the forces of anti-globalisation have largely been ignored by Australia.

The legacy lesson of the defeat of fascism, that only global co-operation provides protection against the type of global conflict seen in World War II, is rejected when Western countries have been selective in the application of the global rules-based order.

The UN achieved very significant gains in world health, in education, the alleviation of poverty and other social programs including UNICEF. The sense of charitable global co-operation, which provided the guiding force for these post-war programs, has been replaced with a transactional focus that overtly supports the objectives of the US and its desire to dominate the international landscape.

The first major sustained attack on the legitimacy of the UN-sponsored international order came during the first Trump administration when the US refused to confirm the appointment of appellate judges to the WTO Arbitration panel. This presaged a wider direct attack on the functions of the UN, which threatens to destroy the 80-year legacy of broad co-operation in international affairs.

These actions erode the legitimacy of the post-World War II international order and forget or ignore the lessons that arise from the defeat of fascism. They also undermine the capacity to adjust solutions to recognise the significant changes that have occurred in international relationships.

It is the resistance to acknowledging changes in the economic structure of the international order that is undermining the effective rule of international law. The structures of global co-operation, which grew out of the defeat of fascism, are now under greater threat than they have ever been.

The 80th anniversary of the defeat of fascism is a vivid reminder of what was achieved through co-operation, and of what is now under threat by those who wish to undermine global co-operation.

The ability to adjust and reform is essential for the survival of the international rules-based order. A peaceful and co-operative future depends on recognising the changed international environment. New members need to be bought to the tables of international bodies to adjust rules so they are fit for purpose.

Co-operation is fostered through pragmatic action in fields as diverse as setting the framework for Artificial Intelligence and adjusting the remit of the WTO.

This anniversary, passing largely unremarked in Australia, is a time to consider how to chart an updated course for global peace and development that is relevant to today’s international environment. It is essential for Australia and others to accommodate the new economic realities if the international community is to build on the hard-won achievements of the past.

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A version of this article appeared in China Daily, 20 August 2025

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.