International Law and Ordering Infrastructures in a Multipolar World

Objective

The unipolar era has given way to a multipolar landscape where established institutions and emerging coalitions advance rival visions of global order. 'International Law and Ordering Infrastructures in a Multipolar World' (MultiOrder) investigates how international law is reshaped through the coexistence and contestation of competing 'ordering projects'—state-led initiatives that scale political visions by embedding them in legal, financial, technical, and material infrastructures. The project advances three three objectives. First, it develops the MultiOrdering Matrix, a conceptual framework and coding manual identifying the structural dimensions of ordering projects, from political vision to infrastructural depth, and boundary strategies. Second, it tests and refines this matrix through two comparative dyads: OECD vs. BRICS in economic governance, and Artemis Accords vs. International Lunar Research Station in space governance. These strategically significant and structurally analogous cases serve as laboratories for analyzing how rival projects construct legal-infrastructural architectures, claim legitimacy, and interact through emulation, hybridization, or contestation. Third, it synthesizes findings to theorize international law as a dynamic field shaped by the interplay of competing infrastructures, offering a new account of how doctrines of sovereignty, hierarchy, and universality are reconfigured. The methodology combines doctrinal, institutional, and discourse analysis with infrastructural mapping, elite interviews, and comparative coding. MultiOrder is hosted at the University of Edinburgh and New York University and includes secondments in India (RIS) and China (Fudan). The project advances Horizon Europe’s scientific agenda by reconceptualisating international law through a structural account of multi-ordering. It supports Horizon’s societal goals by providing EU policymakers with open tools to anticipate clashes and foster inclusive multilateralism.