Description
Multiplexity is a promising concept in International Relations (IR) and in this article we interrogate its theoretical foundations, arguing that its claims of foregrounding the significance of the Global South which is, in turn, “democratizing power relations” are problematic. Multiplexity justifies broadening the basis of oligarchy rather than democratising power relations. Our demonstration of this co-optation dynamic first places multiplexity within the developments of Western neo-colonialism. Current notions of ‘poly crisis’ fit well with the demands of multiplexity thereby strengthening the liberal paradigm. In the post-World War II milieu, we use specific empirical examples such as NIEO, Decolonization, BRICS, and G20, where the thundered arrival of a new multiplex world was co-opted. Ultimately, we call for a relational view in IR– synthesised with the insights of Gramscian hegemonic projects and Kautskyian ultraimperialism - of a multiplex world that is attentive to the demands of the people to democratize power, without which multiplexity remains in closer communion with a so-called more ‘diverse’ but still elitist international order.
