The international system is undergoing a profound transformation that cannot be fully explained by traditional conceptions of unipolarity, bipolarity, or multipolarity. Contemporary power relations increasingly exhibit differentiated patterns across spatial and functional dimensions, where global, regional, and subregional dynamics interact with military, economic, technological, institutional, and normative forms of power. Rather than assuming a single distribution of capabilities, emerging theoretical approaches suggest that polarity is layered, with different configurations coexisting and influencing one another simultaneously.
This panel invites contributions that advance new theoretical perspectives on the changing international order, with particular emphasis on the concept of Layered Polarity (or Layered Multipolarity) as a framework for understanding twenty-first-century international politics. The panel welcomes research examining how different layers of the international system interact, how states adapt strategically to overlapping polarity configurations, and how regional dynamics increasingly shape global outcomes. It also encourages dialogue between established International Relations theories and emerging conceptual approaches capable of explaining the growing complexity, fragmentation, and interconnectedness of world politics.
By bringing together theoretical, conceptual, and empirical contributions, the panel seeks to stimulate debate on the future of polarity theory and the analytical tools required to understand an international system characterized by simultaneous competition, cooperation, and adaptation across multiple layers of governance and power.
Suggested Topics
• Layered Polarity as a New Framework for Understanding the Contemporary International System.
• Global, Regional, and Subregional Power Structures: Interactions Across Spatial Layers.
• Functional Layers of Power: Military, Economic, Technological, Institutional, and Normative Dimensions.
• Beyond Classical Polarity: Rethinking International Relations Theory in a Layered World.
• Strategic Adaptation under Layered Polarity: Foreign Policy and Grand Strategy.
• Regional Security Complexes and the Changing Distribution of Power.
• Strategic Autonomy in a Layered International System.
• Great-Power Competition Across Multiple Layers of the International Order.
• The Relationship Between Global Bipolarity and Regional Multipolarity.
• Methodological Challenges in Measuring and Comparing Layered Polarity.
• The Future of Global Governance in an Increasingly Fragmented International System.
