ABSTRACT
In the concluding chapter, the critical juncture of international society marked by financial crisis, the climate emergency and the resurgence of nationalism is discussed. The chapter analyses different role relationships of rivals, competitors and team workers in global governance, illustrated by the lessons from European integration on the one hand and nationalism in Northeast Asia on the other. The end of the international liberal order is not seen as a collapse, but as a challenge to one-size-fits-all multilateralism that has to come to terms with nationalism, value pluralism and the role of non-state actors in an anarchy of complexity and diffusion of power. Polycentric and network governance require different types of relationships, legitimacy and order than the Western international community could provide. The conclusion offers a fairly optimistic outlook on the possibility to transform the post-war order into collaborative global governance, oscillating between the multilaterally constituted polycentric approach and the looser, nationalist way. International cooperation can and must succeed in a culturally diverse world in which nation-states remain key players in the search of peace and prosperity despite power diffusion in complexity. Nationalism is the biggest threat to global governance, not authoritarianism, but there is a whole menu of governance options that can accommodate national sovereignty and polycentric solutions.
