The liberal international order has become a target of contestation and controversy. A range of factors can explain this political reality, from the rise of BRICS, to the articulation of a postcolonial critique of liberalism, or the growing electoral support for authoritarian populism. But who exactly are the contestants of the liberal order? And how do different categories of contestatory actors relate to one another? 

In this Global Governance Talk, Michael Zürn focuses on different kinds of contestants as well as their roles to better understand the overall landscape in which the liberal script is being contested. Grouping different contestants of the liberal script into clusters, he explores their normative goals, underlying epistemologies, chosen strategies, invoked emotions, and identities. Pinpointing five archetypical clusters, each with their own characteristics, he emphasises how different kinds of contestants relate to one another and how that plays out in the making and stability of the contestatory. 

SPEAKER

Michael Zürn is the Director of the research unit on Transnational Conflicts and International Institutions at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB) and Director of the SCRIPTS project. He is also the head of WZB’s Rule of Law Center and a Professor of International Relations at Free University Berlin.

Discussant

Ana Beatriz Balcazar Moreno,  PhD candidate in International Law, Geneva Graduate Institute.

MODERATOR

Lucile Maertens, Professor of International Relations/Political Science, Geneva Graduate Institute.

Photo by WikiImages on Pixabay