“Open Panel” for the 30^th DVPW Congress, 7-10 September 2027

 

Convenors

Prof. Dr. Thomas Risse (ret., Freie Universität Berlin); thomas.risse@fu-berlin.de

Prof. Dr. Lora Viola (Freie Universität Berlin); lora.viola@fu-berlin.de

 

Abstract

The retreat of the Trump Administration from more than 65 International Organizations (IOs), its trade wars against allies, violations of international law, and self-inflicted decline in influence have led many to conclude that the liberal or rules-based international order (LIO) is either dead or at least “under destruction.” Agreed upon global rules are being challenged or disregarded, deterrence is weakening as armed conflicts increase, and the US loss of credibility is providing an opportunity for other actors to expand influence. However, evidence for the end of the post-World War II liberal order or the emergence of something else is scant.

This panel addresses two interrelated questions:

1. What has been the role of the US in the post-WWII international order? How can we (empirically and theoretically) assess competing claims of the US’ role ranging from benign liberal hegemony to neo-colonial imperialism? Or should we reassess the significance of the US’s role altogether, as more confined and less relevant than usually assumed? What is the empirical evidence for these assessments?
2. How will a future world (dis-) order look like in which the US plays a much lesser role look? How can we assess arguments that variously predict brutish Hobbesian geopolitics, a division into new spheres of influence, or the emergence of multiple orders? What empirical indicators do we have to assess the likely trajectories of the LIO and/or its alternatives?

We invite theory-guided and evidence-based papers addressing one or both of these questions, including by authors from outside German-speaking countries.

To submit a paper, you need to be registered on the DVPW website “meine DVPW”: https://meine.dvpw.de/civicrm/kongress/auswahl-offenes-panel/