The Post-WW2 Global Order and Why It’s Now Falling Apart - Historian James Holland

Stop your addiction today! Go to https://joinrelay.app/winston Use code WINSTON to get 7 days free In this episode of The Winston Marshall Show, I sit down with bestselling historian James Holland to explore how the Second World War transformed the global order and whether the world built in 1945 is now falling apart. We discuss the rise and fall of the British Empire, the competing visions of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Churchill’s wartime leadership and the creation of the rules-based international order. We also debate the legacy of American power, the failures of modern political leadership, the decline of Britain and whether the West is abandoning the very principles that made it prosperous. As the post-war settlement comes under increasing strain, I ask James whether the world is heading towards a new era of global instability.

RECORD ON 3RD SEPTEMBER 2026

WATCH THE EXTENDED CONVERSATION HERE: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/

Chapters 00:00 The World Before 1945 03:31 How the British Empire Dominated the World 09:07 Woodrow Wilson & the Birth of a New World Order 15:00 The Origins of the Rules-Based International Order 20:00 How Empires Shaped the Modern World 24:20 National Self-Determination & the Treaty of Versailles 27:19 Roosevelt's Vision for the Post-War World 33:57 Has the Post-War World Order Been a Success? 39:19 Why Ideology Can Be So Dangerous 43:00 Roosevelt, the New Deal & the American Economy 48:03 Why Defence Spending Isn't a Waste of Money 51:11 The Lessons of the Great Depression 54:55 Government Debt, Investment & Economic Growth 01:00:00 Why Britain Needs Pragmatism, Not Ideology 01:03:11 Have We Forgotten the Good of the British Empire? 01:09:05 What Britain Has Lost 01:12:00 Churchill, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms 01:15:00 How James Holland Would Rebuild Britain's Military 01:18:42 Britain's Energy Crisis & National Infrastructure 01:21:06 Are We Already at War With Russia? 01:24:17 Has Britain Become Over-regulated? 01:27:05 Brexit, Immigration & Britain's Future 01:30:00 How America Became the World's Dominant Superpower 01:33:11 Truman, Hiroshima & the Atomic Bomb 01:36:00 Christianity & the Foundations of Western Democracy 01:39:43 Why British Communities Have Fallen Apart 01:42:12 Why Britain Abandoned Its Empire 01:45:00 What Does It Really Mean to Be British? 01:48:08 Why Churchill Refused to Surrender 01:51:02 Are British Schools Teaching History Properly? 01:54:09 The Crusades & How We Judge the Past 01:58:27 Was the British Empire Really Evil?