Reimagining Global Governance: Strategic Pluralism, Normative Blending, and the Emergence of a Polycentric Order
Julia Gurol-Haller / Ariel Macaspac Hernandez / Miriam Prys-Hansen / Tomas Costa de Azevedo Marques
Reimagining Global Governance: Strategic Pluralism, Normative Blending, and the Emergence of a Polycentric Order
Global Studies Quarterly | 2026
Abstract
This article offers a new theoretical framework to capture the current developments in global governance through the lens of strategic pluralism, normative blending, and polycentricity. Rather than viewing current dynamics as mere fragmentation or institutional decline, the article foregrounds the argument that they signal a structural transformation in global governance. Using illustrative empirical snapshots from different world regions, it argues that actors from the Global South are not passive recipients of global norms but strategic co-creators, experimenting with flexible and context-specific forms of authority. Strategic pluralism captures their pragmatic engagement across diverse alliances and institutions; normative blending highlights the blending and repurposing of global, regional, and local values; and polycentricity describes the emergence of a decentralized, multi-scalar configuration of authority.
Deutschland braucht Pflegekräfte aus dem Ausland, muss aber attraktiver werden, um sie zu halten. Es werden die verschiedenen Gründe untersucht, warum fragmentierte Anwerbung scheitert und wie eine faire Partnerschaft mit den Philippinen nachhaltige Fachkräftepolitik ermöglicht.
India leads BRICS, the US chairs the G20—eight members overlap. With great-power relations at historic lows and multilateralism under strain, 2026 is a stress test for whether these groupings can still do meaningful work, or are simply mirrors of a fracturing international order.
Im Vorfeld eines Treffens mit Trump manövriert Lula zwischen Autonomie und Abhängigkeit. Um die Strafzölle der USA aufzuheben, mobilisiert er Brasiliens Unternehmen. Gleichzeitig treibt er das EU-Mercosur-Abkommen voran, um die falsche Dichotomie „entweder USA oder China“ zu überwinden.
