The passing of American hegemony is heralding a multiplex world or a multi-regional order world. The emerging world order will neither be unipolar nor bipolar. Although multipolarity is rising, the emerging order will be more than simply multipolar. Drawing on the concept of multiplexity, we argue that regions will play an increasingly important role, not merely as theatres of Great Power rivalry, but as relatively autonomous entities in shaping its intensity and scope. In addition to emerging as important sites for order-building, regions are also reorganizing. The Indo-Pacific – or the primary theatre of the U.S.-China rivalry – is seeing the emergence of such a multiplex international order. This regional order is being led and legitimized by the weaker regional powers that are ideologically plural. The Indo-Pacific regional order will be “open” and connected with its neighbouring regions in the Middle East, Europe, and beyond.

Speaker:

Associate Professor Manjeet Pardesi is Head of the Political Science & International Relations Programme, Victoria University of Wellington. He is also Asia Research Fellow, Centre for Strategic Studies, Wellington, and Managing Editor of Asian Security. Currently, he is a visiting scholar at the GIGA.

Moderation:

• Dr. Miriam Prys-Hansen is a Lead Research Fellow and Head of the Research Programme Global Orders and Foreign Policies at the GIGA.
• Dr. David Camroux is Honorary Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor, Sciences Po-CERI.