Power shifts in the international system and transformations of the international order. China’s new normative role in global rule-making:the cybernorms.

Guest lecture by Caterina García Segura

Abstract:

The starting point of this talk is the fact that for years we have been witnessing two phenomena that are often presented as cause and consequence: the transformation of the world power structure and the so-called crisis of the liberal international order. We will argue that, despite the recurrent claims of a radical change in the international order, the transformations in the structure of world power have not changed it and, although certain institutions of the liberal order (e.g. multilateralism) are in crisis, this is not directly related to changes in the distribution of power, or, in any case, it is not the only cause. Secondly, this presentation will argue that power transformations do have an impact on the institutions of the international order. The new powers want to have more weight in the decision-making mechanisms, that is true. But, contrary to what is sometimes asserted – not without political intentionality – the emerging powers are conservative powers in terms of the articulating principle of the international system, namely sovereignty. Thirdly, we will analyze this relationship in relation to the construction of global norms. We will see how global challenges impose the need for global governance and the construction of global norms to address them. This cosmopolitan outlook, in terms of Ulric Beck, which we relate to an incipient and incomplete model of new order (Wordfalia), is contrasted with the sovereigntist resistance associated with the traditional order (Eestaflia), generating what we have called the „cosmopolitan tension“. We will try to demonstrate these arguments by analyzing the role of China, as an emerging power, in the construction of global norms in a new geopolitical space, cyberspace.

Please register here:
https://uni-due.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5AlfuGppjwpG9G6rxriCfk-ag1Tw__4L-tD

Short Bio Caterina García Segura

Professor of International Relations at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain).

She holds a degree in Communication Sciences from the Univeritat Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB) and in Education Sciences from the Universitat de Barcelona. She did her doctoral studies at the Université de Québec in Montreal (Canada) and at the UAB.  She holds a PhD in Political Science and Administration from the UAB.

She has been the president of the Spanish Association of International Law and International Relations (2017-january 2022).

Member of the Scientific Council of IBEI (Barcelona Institute of International Studies) and of the editorial board of several international relations journals (national and international). Member of research evaluation committees (national and international).

Her main topics of interest and lines of research are the theory of International Relations, non-governmental international actors, the evolution of international order, power and security transformations and area studies (East Asian region).