Reshaping Global Order in the 21st Century: G‐Plus Leadership in a Multiplex World

• Author: Louis W. Goodman,Antoni Estevadeordal,Amitav Acharya
• Date: 01 September 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12300
• Published date: 01 September 2019

©2019 Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

China & World Economy / 63–78, Vol. 27, No. 5, 2019

63

*Amitav Acharya, Distinguished Professor of International Relations and UNESCO Chair in Transnational

Challenges and Governance, School of International Service, American University, USA. Email: aacharya@

american.edu; Antoni Estevadeordal, Manager of the Integration and Trade Sector, Inter-American

Development Bank, Washington, DC. Email: ANTONIE@iadb.org; Louis W. Goodman (corresponding

author), Professor and Emeritus Dean, School of International Service, American University, USA. Email:

goodman@american.edu. This research is supported by American University and the Inter-American

Development Bank. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not

necessarily reect the ofcial position of the Inter-American Development Bank.

Reshaping Global Order in the 21st Century:

G-Plus Leadership in a Multiplex World

Amitav Acharya, Antoni Estevadeordal, Louis W. Goodman*

Abstract

This article identies divergent views on the nature of the changing order and argues

that collaborative rather than hegemonic leadership is necessary to sustain global

peace, prosperity and justice. This collaborative leadership would increase the number

of actors with effective voice. It calls the evolving order “multiplex” because of the

overlapping yet divergent interests of the actors involved and “G-Plus” signaling the

importance of the increasing number and diversity of actors. It does so in the context

of two of the many challenges facing this multiplex G-Plus world: sustaining economic

prosperity and coordinating global trade.

Key words: economic growth, G-Plus leadership, global order, global trade, multiplex

world

JEL codes: A12, B59, F02, F60

I. Introduction

Despite the post-2008 slowdown in globalization, changes in international relations and

to the global order continue at a rapid pace. Views on the nature of future international

relations have become more divergent. Theorists, such as Ikenberry (2011), who were

initially hopeful for the longevity of a US-led liberal rules-based order now see it in

danger of signicant weakening. Others, such as Acharya (2014a) and Kissinger (2014),

have forewarned for some time that the liberal order was facing a deeper crisis and

decay. Americans, such as Haas (2017) and Bremmer (2012), suggest that the world is

Amitav Acharya et al. / 63–78, Vol. 27, No. 5, 2019

©2019 Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

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increasingly in disarray and that future global leadership may become fragmented with

the traditional “G Groupings” (e.g. the G77, G20, G8 and G7), unable to provide the

type of global leadership experienced for the past 75 years. Other Americans, such as

Lieber (2016) and Kagan (2018), fear that declining US leadership may result in great

cost to peace and prosperity.

Different views on 21st century international relations exist outside the US. In

2005, the Chinese philosopher Zhao (2005) published The Tianxia System, reviving the

phrase “all things under heaven,” specifying an increasingly important role for China in

the world, as well as suggesting that Chinese-style solutions to world problems might

differ from those of the American-led order. More recently, Yan (2011) examined what

China’s rise will mean for China and for the rest of the world, stressing that China needs

clear and admirable domestic and international policies to become an effective world

leader. Based on content analysis of 141 Chinese scholarly articles written between

2009 and 2014, Zeng (2016) further argued that Chinese scholars accept the idea of a “G2

with Chinese characteristics” and view China as both a great and a rising power. These

articles also reect awareness that the efforts required to sustain China’s domestic rise

will shape what China can do to resolve global problems, despite its great power status.

The authors of this article have focused on additional important aspects of

contemporary global leadership. In 21st Century Cooperation, Estevadeordal and

Goodman (2017) stressed the importance of the availability of public goods for

sustainable development and harmonious international relations and discussed how

and when nations cooperate to produce public goods. In The End of American World

Order, Acharya (2014a) described a world where nations’ interests diverge and overlap

at the same time, creating what he calls “a multiplex world” in which leadership shifts

from issue to issue in ways that may or may not be predictable. These aspects of

contemporary global leadership – cooperating to produce public goods and multiplex

collaborative leadership – signicantly contribute to the inclusion of a wide range of

stakeholders and the dampening of conict when addressing global challenges.

Sections II and III of this article describe important contexts for addressing these

challenges: sustaining economic growth and coordinating regional trade. Section IV

then describes “multiplex G-Plus leadership” and outlines its advantages for reshaping

the 21st century global order. Section V provides concluding observations.

II. Sustaining Economic Growth

Critically impacting these visions of global leadership is the future of the world’s recent

record of sustained economic growth in the face of population growth and increasing