On December 6, 2024, Prof. Amitav Acharya gave a lecture titled “The Role of the Global South in a Multiplex World” at the Institute of Area Studies, Peking University (PKUIAS). The event was also the fourth lecture in the “Autonomous Knowledge System Construction and New Perspectives in Area Studies 2024 series”: “Understanding the ‘Global South.” The lecture was chaired by Zhang Yongle, deputy director of PKUIAS and attended by Prof. Yin Zhiguang, from the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University; Prof. Anthony Carty, visiting scholar at Peking University; Prof. Zhao Hong, from the School of Law; Prof. Xie Kankan, Prof. Zhang Minyu and Prof. Yang Meng, from the School of Foreign Languages; and Prof. Liu Haifang, Prof. Guo Jie and Prof. Chen Muyang from the School of International Studies among other renowned scholars from Peking University.

Prof. Acharya began his lecture by introducing his most recent publication, The Once and Future World Order, highlighting that from the historical perspective of 5,000 years, rather than just 500 years, the Global South was not “rising” but “returning.” Historically, China, India, the Islamic world, Africa, and even Afghanistan have seen the rise of brilliant human civilizations. Thus, per Prof. Acharya, today’s Global South is merely reclaiming its position in the global order. The return of the Global South does not herald a multipolar international order but a multiplex one. Multipolarity concerns only the major powers, whereas multiplex refers to global civilizations. The true contribution of the Global South lies in breaking the existing conceptual stereotypes and exploring new perspectives to understand the world order.

Subsequently, Prof. Acharya traced the evolution of the concepts of the “Third World” and “Global South”. The academic term Third World was coined by the French scholar Alfred Sauvy, who originally categorized the West as the First World, the East as the Second World, and other countries as the Third World. In the 1960s and 1970s, the term Third World often carried a pejorative connotation, symbolizing backwardness, corruption, and instability, and suggested that the ultimate goal of those countries was to catch up with the First World. In the late 20th century, as emerging economies like China, India, and Brazil grew rapidly, the concept of the Global South began to gain prominence. Western attitudes shifted from contempt for the Third World to fear of the Global South. Currently, many Western scholars, and even some from developing countries, consider the concepts of Third World and Global South to be outdated, as they were born out of the Cold War context and are seen as not being relevant to today. However, as Prof. Acharya argued, while these concepts emerged during the Cold War, they fundamentally pertained to the decolonization struggles of Asian, African, and Latin American countries, representing resistance against Western imperialism, racism, and hegemony. These concepts reflect deeper historical issues that extend far beyond the Cold War and remain unresolved to this day.

On the issue of whether China is a member of the Third World or the Global South, Prof. Acharya noted that, in Chairman Mao Zedong’s “Three Worlds” theory, the US and the USSR comprised the First World; developed countries like Europe and Japan, the Second World; and China, along with the vast majority of developing countries, the Third World. For a long time, China has positioned itself as a partner of the Third World and the Global South, rather than as a member, such as by supporting the Non-Aligned Movement and the G77 but without being a member of these groups. Nowadays, China increasingly identifies with the Global South, emphasizing at various summits, such as at BRICS and the G20, that it is a member of the Global South. This reflects the rising political and economic influence of the Global South, with China’s participation potentially having a broader global impact. However, Western discourse has intentionally excluded China from the Global South, categorizing it with Russia as a “challenger”; India also views China’s status in the Global South differently, reflecting the tensions underlying the concept of the Global South.

The Global South of today has evolved significantly from the 1980s and 90s and even from the early 21st century. The characteristics of the “new” Global South are evident: first, the material strength of the Global South countries, which are increasing their share of the global GDP and global FDI; second, the institutionalization of South–South cooperation is continuously improving, with a multitude of international organizations led by Global South countries, such as BRICS, NDB, and AIIB, providing new international public goods. Global South countries also play a more significant role in G20 and UN institutions; and third, the “new” Global South has eased its confrontational stance with the West, hoping to act as a bridge in international dialogues. The relationship between the Global South and the West is not a dichotomy but fluid and dialogic, breaking the previous narrative of “the West versus the Rest.” Among these, the greatest contribution of the “new” Global South to the construction of international order is not material power but the provision of new ideas and perspectives. This contribution is evident not only in emphasizing the inequality of the global economic order but also in having a greater voice on global political order and civil rights issues.

Thus, the Global South seeks not a multipolar but a multiplex international order. Western international relations research presumes the existence of “polars,” but “multipolarity” merely reflects the relationships among powerful military and economic nations. In a multipolar order, most small- and medium-sized countries are objects rather than subjects of this order. However, many medium-sized countries, such as Turkey, Indonesia, and South Korea, possess undeniable local experience and comparative advantages on specific issues or in their regional contexts, with cross-regional interactions becoming increasingly frequent. Today’s world is increasingly decentralized and diversified, and cannot be encompassed by a unipolar or multipolar order. Moreover, participants in the Global South are not merely national governments; many non-state actors, civil society networks, and even individuals also exert significant influence through social networks.

Subsequently, the participating scholars discussed various topics based on their research areas, including the definition of the Global South concept, how the Global South provides alternative interpretations to American “liberal hegemony”, specific pathways for dialogue or cooperation between the West and the Global South, and practical applications of the Global South in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America as well as in international law. Prof. Acharya responded in detail to the views of the participating scholars, and the seminar concluded amid further discussions.