Contested World Orders: Rising powers, non-state actors, and the politics of authority beyond the nation-state

In this WZB Discussion Paper we develop an analytical framework for the research project 'Contested World Orders', a collaborative effort between researchers based at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), and the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB). In this project, we analyse the interests in and demands for change in world order from the side of rising powers and transnational non-governmental organizations (NGOs) using a common analytical approach. As part of a broader empirical research project, this paper outlines the theoretical and conceptual framework, guiding research questions, and basic methodological propositions. First, we outline key reasons that global order is contested, namely the confluence of the rise of international authority combined with a shift in the distribution of international power. Second, we outline a conceptual approach for the analysis of the preferences and political strategies of rising powers and NGOs as two potential sources of contestation. Finally, we outline issues of case selection and guiding hypotheses.