Changing Global Orders and Challenges to Global Political Theory

The liberal international order is facing major challenges. Democracy appears to be in decline globally, with populist and authoritarian actors on the rise in many countries. Illiberal states are gaining influence, and previously liberal states are becoming less concerned about their reputations, undermining international institutions (such as the International Criminal Court, the Human Rights Council, and the World Health Organisation), disregarding liberal values in their foreign policies, and cooperating with illiberal actors. Many prominent approaches in international political theory assume a stable liberal order. However, the changing global landscape challenges both the empirical foundations and the normative premises of these theories. The focus of leading accounts in global political theory now risks becoming outdated, having been shaped in an era when more liberal ambitions were achievable; as a result, many of their prescriptions risk becoming anachronistic. Compounding this shift, the growing influence of several BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is promoting alternative conceptions of state responsibility that emphasise national sovereignty and statist priorities over the cosmopolitan ideals of global justice and democratic legitimacy found in many accounts of international political theory. This year's General Conference section by the International Political Theory Standing Group will focus on the theme of changing global orders and challenges to global political theory. Through a series of panels, we aim to explore these and related questions: What moral and political dilemmas are raised by the changing global order? On what principles can legitimate global institutions be based in a post-liberal world? How should those wanting to resist global authoritarianism respond? What are the implications for responding to other global challenges, such as climate change? Should democracy be reimagined to respond to the challenges of the changing global order, including the rise of China? What role should regional bodies play in the changing global order? What are the implications for the principles that should govern war, order and conflict? How does the changing global order affect marginalised political actors and how can they be included in thinking about the changing global order? Panels envisaged: 1. Legitimacy of International Institutions in a Changing World (Antoinette Scherz, Stockholm University; Hong Do, Central European University) 2. Challenges to Democratic Norms and Global Justice: Cultural Restitution and International Relations (Rouven Symank, Freie Universität Berlin) 3. The Normativity of International Institutions: Between Commitment and Contestation (Svenja Ahlhaus, Universität Münster) 4. Postnational Constitutionalism (Carmen Pavel, King’s College London) Further proposals for panels and papers are invited.