Is There a Pathway from the Global Order We (Don’t) Want to the Planetary Order We Need? Towards a Metamodern Political Theory

The contemporary global order faces a polycrisis—interlinked geopolitical, ecological, and technological shocks—symptomatic of a deeper metacrisis within unresolved tensions between modernity and postmodernity. This appears as a Copernican Double Bind in which science de-centres humanity while philosophy re-centres it, producing a Hyper/Postmodern Duality that immobilises governance. I propose a Metamodern Political Theory that integrates modern ambition with postmodern reflexivity while moving beyond both. Methodologically, it combines archdisciplinarity—identifying cross-metatheoretical “arches”—with an ontoethical method that derives prescriptive principles from a relational ontology, reframing the is–ought divide: entangled realities carry ethical imperatives. The resulting planetary governance architecture comprises five interlocking logics: fractal (nested sovereignty), complex (adaptive metastability), computational (a legible planetary stack), grammatological (ontoethical protocols for technodiversity), and evolutionary (institutional learning through variation and selection), aligned with arches such as fractality, complexity, and developmental stages. Applications to (1) geopolitical tensions in a post-liberal order, (2) cultural cleavages at the family–technology nexus, and (3) the Catholic Church’s role in planetary crises yield institutional templates for “ontoethical design” that negotiate the technocracy–democracy dilemma. Addressing illiberal resurgence, shifting sovereignty, democratic redesign amid new power centres, and inclusion of marginalised voices, this approach outlines a credible transition toward a resilient, pluralistic, and legitimate planetary future. It contributes to debates on post-liberal orders and global transitions, bridges macro-planetary and micro-cultural concerns via Hegelian insights on rational life and purposiveness, and critiques liberal internationalism while offering symbiotic, adaptable institutional tools for navigating the polycrisis.