Pakistan, May 8 -- For nearly three decades, the world was told a seductive story: borders would matter less, trade would make wars obsolete, supply chains would connect humanity, and economic interdependence would create stability. Factories shifted to Asia, consumers in the West enjoyed cheap products, corporations maximised profits through global outsourcing, and economists celebrated the age of hyper-globalisation as the inevitable destiny of mankind. Yet somewhere between trade wars, pandemics, sanctions, chip restrictions, shipping disruptions, and rising nationalism, that world quietly began to die.

No leader formally declared the end of globalisation. No international summit announced its funeral. Instead, the signs emerged gradu...