The Political Economy of the Multiplex Age

This panel welcomes contributions that engage critically with the political economy of Multiplexity, a conceptual innovation proposed by the public intellectual Amitav Acharya to direct attention to the plurality of actors, across diverse states and societies, that influence international affairs today. Economic interdependence is denser than it has ever been, entailing proliferating forms of trade and finance, infrastructures, and supply chains. More people than ever before cross-national boundaries, and digital technologies have enabled the formation of transnational networks hitherto unthinkable. New actors, especially in the global South, are asserting their agency in shaping international affairs and addressing global challenges posed by such processes as climate change, human trafficking, and pandemics. These realities compel analysts to depart from great power-centric, unipolar, bipolar and multipolar perspectives that limit their focus to a handful of countries. The time has come, in short, to appreciate the significance of the range of actors that shape international affairs. The lens of Multiplexity challenges not only dominant Eurocentric narratives but warns against temptations of replacing these with, say, Sino-centric, Indo-centric or Afro-centric perspectives. This panel welcomes contributions on the political economy of our Multiplex Age.