Click here for the article (The Atlantic).
See also video interview with Anne Applebaum on her Sudan visits
See also Tony Lake's appeal for contributions on behalf of Mutual Aid Sudan and the Emergency Response Rooms
This Is What the End of the Liberal World Order Looks Like
By Anne Applebaum — The Atlantic, August 6, 2025
Summary
By Anne Applebaum — The Atlantic, August 6, 2025
Summary
Anne Applebaum offers a grim portrait of Sudan’s collapse as a test case for the disappearance of the liberal world order. Traveling through Khartoum, Omdurman, Port Sudan, and West Darfur, she documents the human toll of the civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—a conflict marked by mass displacement, famine, and atrocities including rape, looting, and starvation as a weapon of war.
The war’s dynamics are shaped by Sudan’s gold wealth, foreign meddling by middle powers such as the UAE, Egypt, Turkey, and Iran, and the absence of effective U.S. or UN diplomacy. Applebaum traces the arc from Sudan’s 2019 democratic uprising—briefly promising “freedom, peace, and justice”—to the 2021 coup, the descent into chaos in April 2023, and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe.
Her reporting captures not only the physical devastation—burned oil refineries, destroyed hospitals, and looted cities—but also the collapse of the political and moral frameworks that once guided international responses. Former U.S. influence, aid, and mediation capacity have evaporated, leaving local volunteer networks such as the Emergency Response Rooms to fill the void, often under threat from both sides.
Applebaum argues that Sudan illustrates a world where “old rules and norms fall away” and nothing replaces them—an anarchy exploited by warlords, foreign powers, and mercenaries. Yet she also finds seeds of civic resilience in Sudanese traditions of mutual aid, suggesting that these could form the basis for a future democratic order—if given the chance.
The war’s dynamics are shaped by Sudan’s gold wealth, foreign meddling by middle powers such as the UAE, Egypt, Turkey, and Iran, and the absence of effective U.S. or UN diplomacy. Applebaum traces the arc from Sudan’s 2019 democratic uprising—briefly promising “freedom, peace, and justice”—to the 2021 coup, the descent into chaos in April 2023, and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe.
Her reporting captures not only the physical devastation—burned oil refineries, destroyed hospitals, and looted cities—but also the collapse of the political and moral frameworks that once guided international responses. Former U.S. influence, aid, and mediation capacity have evaporated, leaving local volunteer networks such as the Emergency Response Rooms to fill the void, often under threat from both sides.
Applebaum argues that Sudan illustrates a world where “old rules and norms fall away” and nothing replaces them—an anarchy exploited by warlords, foreign powers, and mercenaries. Yet she also finds seeds of civic resilience in Sudanese traditions of mutual aid, suggesting that these could form the basis for a future democratic order—if given the chance.
Key quotes
“In Sudan, old rules and norms have fallen away, and nothing has replaced them.” — Anne Applebaum
“Freedom, peace, and justice were the slogans of the revolution. None have survived the war.” — Anne Applebaum
“Local volunteer networks are doing what the world’s most powerful nations will not.” — Anne Applebaum
“Sudan is a harbinger of what happens when the liberal world order disappears.” — Anne Applebaum
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