Bungacast /540/ Welcome to the Apolar and Post-Multilateral World ft. Tom Chodor
Mar 17, 2026
Tom Chodor, IR scholar at Monash University known for work on non-hegemony, maps a world where multilateral institutions are hollowed out. He discusses how post-1945 multilateralism was exceptional. He explains the shift since 2008 toward apolarity, polyalignment, and state capitalism clashing with market institutions. The conversation focuses on declining US leadership and the prospects of non-hegemonic order.
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World Orders Emerge From Political Economy Shifts
- World orders arise from shifts in capitalist social relations that create new economic models, state forms, and ideologies to win consent.
- Chodor uses a Gramscian lens: hegemonic projects combine concessions and ideology to secure rule by consent.
Embedded Liberalism Explained
- The postwar embedded liberal order balanced trade liberalization with social protections like full employment, supporting a stable Fordist-Keynesian accumulation regime.
- Institutions institutionalized carve-outs so welfare and employment protections coexisted with open markets.
Neoliberal Globalization Thinned Consent
- Neoliberal restructuring from the 1980s removed embedded protections, liberalized finance and globalized production, creating thinner consent and rising tensions.
- The post-Cold War expansion spread neoliberal rules globally under the 'there is no alternative' logic.