Heterarchy: Toward Paradigm Shift in World Politics

International Relations theory has been dominated since the study of IR formally began at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, in 1919 by the presumption that world politics is at its core a system of states. We argue that this way of conceiving world politics was (a) always problematic and challengeable, and (b) time-bound and increasingly anachronistic. In the 21st century world politics is becoming increasingly multi-nodal and characterised by heterarchy – the predominance of cross-cutting sectoral mini- and meso-hierarchies above, below and cutting across states. These heterarchical institutions and processes are characterized by increasing autonomy and special interest capture. In this context, states today are no longer primarily ‘guardian states’ but more and more ‘reactive states’; state capacity is not simply eroded but entangled in hybrid structures and processes. A fundamental paradigm shift is required in our understanding of how world politics works.