Evolutionary Stable Global Orders: Co-Relational Power and Multilateral Security Organisations

Abstract

Drawing on a Foucauldian philosophy of thought, this article proposes the concept of co-relational power, substantively understood as non-zero sum (positive) power – i. e. the power of one actor is not detrimental to the power of another actor, but it is instead a sum of cooperative interactions between actors. We argue that, in a context of competitive multipolarity, international collaborative security organisations, such as NATO and the EU, seek to adapt and to develop progressive and evolutionary grand strategies that can remain stable over time. Our analysis shows that both NATO and the EU are faced with geopolitical dilemmas while they seek to adapt to the new international order and constellation of threats. The main contribution of this article is that it produces new knowledge about the conceptual underpinnings and practical implications of a concept of non-zero sum (positive) concept of co-relational power, that can help understand how collaborative security organisations can become stabilising and re-enforcing pillars in the international rules-based order (‘building blocks of order’) without entering the spiral of great power competition but instead pursuing strategies that are progressive for a stable international development.