Democracy in Transition: Non-State Actors, Multipolarity and the Crisis of Multilateralism

The contemporary democratic order is undergoing profound transformation as the boundaries between state authority, global power and private influence become increasingly blurred. This panel examines three interconnected dimensions of this transformation: the rise of non-state actors, the emergence of a multipolar global order, and the crisis of multilateralism. First, technology corporations, multinational companies, NGOs and transnational networks increasingly perform functions that influence public policy, information flows and political behaviour. The growing influence of Meta, Google and X over digital information ecosystems, alongside the role of private technology companies in elections and governance.
The emergence of India, China, the European Union and other influential regional actors alongside established powers is reshaping global power relations. Contemporary developments surrounding the BRICS expansion, India’s Global South diplomacy and China’s Belt and Road Initiative illustrate the changing distribution of influence and its implications for democratic governance. The effectiveness of multilateral institutions is increasingly contested. Conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, disagreements within the UN Security Council, and difficulties in achieving collective responses to climate change demonstrate the limitations of existing global governance mechanisms.
The panel seeks contemporary cases that critically examine whether democracy can remain resilient amid private power, multipolarity and weakening multilateralism.