Global Empire? The Concept of a New World Order and the Power of the Liberal System

Abstract

Increasingly, there are more and more discussions about the crisis of so-called liberal system or liberal democracy. At the same time, the threat posed by populism to democratic institutions is pointed out. There appear also questions about how to regain control over reality and who has the real power in the system of global capitalism. In the paper, I would like to refer to the concept of the “new world order” (most often understood as ordinary conspiracy theory), which is based on the conviction of a great change in global politics. This concept also applies to speculation about the real power, which is supposed to lie in the hands of unelected and unofficial bodies or institutions (such as the Bilderberg group). The paper puts forward the thesis that the concept of “new world order”, on the ground of political theory, should confronted with the question of the impersonal power – the power of the system, which today is a liberal system, understood both as a set of economic or political solutions, as well as values underlying the dominance of the West. This “theoretical experiment” would let us to expand the field of view of political theory in conceptual as well as methodological, empirical and normative dimensions.