Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, issued a call for middle powers to stand and work together in coalitions of the willing, in a frank speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 20th. “We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” he declared. He accused the strongest states of using economic, financial and supply-chain dependencies as weapons. “In a world of great-power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: compete with each other for favour,” or form like-minded groupings to defend themselves and manage risks, Mr Carney said. In his case, that means reducing...