The distribution of power in the contemporary international system is increasingly differentiated across functional domains. Military capabilities, economic influence, technological leadership, institutional authority, and normative power no longer coincide in the hands of the same actors, creating patterns of competition and cooperation that cannot be adequately captured by traditional conceptions of polarity. While states may dominate in one functional domain, they may remain dependent or constrained in others, producing a more complex international environment than classical theories of international relations anticipate.
This panel explores the functional dimensions of international order and examines how different forms of power interact to shape state behavior, strategic competition, and global governance. Drawing on emerging theoretical approaches, the panel considers how functional layers complement spatial analyses of the international system and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of contemporary world politics.
The panel welcomes theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions investigating how military, economic, technological, institutional, normative, and other forms of power are distributed, measured, and transformed, and how interactions among these functional layers influence international stability, strategic adaptation, and the future evolution of the global order.
Suggested Topics
• Functional Layers of Power and the Future of Polarity Theory.
• Military, Economic, and Technological Power in the Twenty-First Century.
• Geoeconomics as a Functional Dimension of International Competition.
• Technological Leadership, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Sovereignty.
• Institutional Power and Contestation in Global Governance.
• Normative Power, Rule-Making, and International Legitimacy.
• Energy, Critical Resources, and Supply Chains as Strategic Functional Domains.
• Cross-Domain Competition: Interactions Between Military, Economic, and Technological Power.
• Functional Asymmetries and State Strategies in the Changing International Order.
• Measuring Functional Power: New Indicators and Methodological Approaches.
• Functional Layers and Strategic Adaptation in Foreign and Security Policy.
• Emerging Functional Domains: Space, Cybersecurity, Climate Governance, and Health Security.
