Global International Relations and the transformation of the current world order: beyond narratives of the « West » decline
Guest: Amitav Acharya, politiste, titulaire de la Chaire UNESCO sur les défis transnationaux et la gouvernance à l'American University (Washington D.C.)
Abstract: What do Global International Relations allow us to understand when it comes to contemporary transformations of the current world order?
To answer this question, this seminar welcomes Amitav Acharya, holder of the UNESCO Chair on Transnational Challenges and Governance at the American University in Washington, and major voice in debates on global governance and international order(s). Acharya’s works have played a key role in bringing global perspectives into the study of International Relations. He has consistently questioned how international norms and institutions –what he calls « foundational structures »– have been produced, diffused, and transformed beyond « Western » centers of power. By tracing these dynamics over the long term and revisiting phenomena often assumed to be products of « Western civilization » or of the « liberal world order », Acharya distances its analysis from common discourses of the « end of the West » and develops a nuanced perspective that helps us understanding contemporary transformations in global governance.
Date, time: Friday, January 23, 2026, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Paris time)
Location, room: Maison de la recherche de l'Inalco (2, rue de Lille, 75007 Paris), Dumézil Auditorium
Format: hybrid (Zoom link sent the day before)
Coordination of the Europe-Eurasia Axis (WP3): Delphine Allès (INALCO), Jean-Vincent Holeindre (Paris Panthéon Assas), Frédéric Ramel (Sciences Po). With Louise Beaumais, postdoctoral fellow in the DECRIPT program.
Registration for the seminar is open until Thursday, January 22 at 4:00 p.m. (Paris time) :