MULTIPOLAR WORLD ORDER AND TRANSNATIONAL DEMOCRACY

 

Keynotes on the Function of Free Societal Worlds for the Future of Civilizations

by J. Michael Heynen*

After the rather unsuccessful attempts by global statehood to establish a sustainable order through the consistent application of rules and laws, the international community of states is effectively returning its mandate to societies. It is now up to societies to renew, transnationalize, and future-proof their social contract. Five determinants, outlined below, appear to be non-conditional for this purpose:

I   The Image of Humanity in Cosmopolitan Democracy

Human beings are born free into a realm of free will and with the capacity of emancipating, developing, autonomous subjects. The individual unites two worlds: an absolutely free, transcendent inner world, and an outer, relative world of responsibility, a communicatively learning potential for development, co-creatively connected with other people. In this way, they integrate and equilibrate absolute and relative worlds. Inner noumenal reflection, cognitive decision-making, and free will enter the outer world of relative phenomena, which offers infinite opportunities for its implementation and further development. This human being—as part of evolution—draws from their own self and inspires their immediate and wider external world. Ideally, potentials and synergies can unfold for the benefit of humanity and bring about progress with free and peaceful intentions. Thus, the ideal, transpersonal human being—integrated, authentic, and responsible—forms both within the family and globally. Whether in a large or small world: The subject shapes the object, is the determinator of social lifeworlds, and participates in democratic decision-making in a constantly equilibrating process.

II   Multipolar World Order: Transpersonal and Transnational

Attempts to create a world order have mostly failed, since the powers ignored the (ideal) human being and disconnected power processes from societies. Administration as an attempt at governance relies on egocentric "objectives" instead of the inherent human potential of its evolutionary capacities, the transpersonal subjects. But a multipolar world order comes closest to these human capacities; the democratic process of free, connected, and thus transpersonal individuals is therefore necessarily unlimitedly transnational.

III   Transnational Democracy and Societal Elites

Analogous to evolution and its dynamics: people and their groups possess different paths, qualities, dynamics, and thus also speeds of development. This diversity is of fundamental importance for every internal/external learning entity/organization, especially with regard to inspiration and creative development. Despite the importance of equality before the law (particularly in the area of public defense rights), the focus here is on the continuous facilitation of societal and developmental dynamics—including scientific ones. This communicative and facilitating dynamic of governance is a central function of societal development.

Here, real elites (not those from the grassroots) come into play, as they can be the driving, elevating forces for transnational-democratic, indeed cosmopolitan, process control. Even knowing the often justifiably negative connotation of the currently experienced "elites," the non-negotiable high quality standards are emphasized all the more: High integrity, transparency, consistency, respect, and indeed transpersonality (see above) are the non-conditional prerequisites. Therefore, democracy is not "credit on possible futures," but rather the guarantee of a future through the currently elevating power of the autonomous subject and its proactive centropic participation, inspiration, and conviction.

IV   Reason in Transnational Democracy

In contrast to state administration and its high degree of formalization, transnational democratic functions in internal and external societal decision-making and leadership processes are not bound / limited by formal criteria. This includes the quantitative determination of majority-based decision-making processes. Societal actors in transnational democracy can additionally incorporate universal laws of thought and principles of reason into their decision-making and position-forming, and reinforce them. The integration prospects for the autonomous subject are significantly better here, but at the same time, the demands on persuasion and balancing processes are correspondingly higher.

V   Interaction of Societal Worlds and Statehood in Transnational Democracy

State power is the administrator and coordinator of form, while societal power lies in the power to persuade through the mastery of noumenal substance and its communication. As history has shown, neither of these powers alone will suffice to guarantee a future worthy of humanity and to establish sustainable world orders. Both sides have an indissoluble synallagmatic connection and are therefore interdependent.

Transnational democracy establishes and promotes the institutionalization of necessary vision-building as well as dialogue and decision-making processes within human lifeworlds and the sciences. In both horizontal and vertical processes of collaboration and association, respective insights and decisions are moderated, syndicated, and communicated to the statehood. The transnational-democratically generated, amending or expanding normativity is then available to the states to adapt, if necessary, a constitution, or at least regulations concerning administration and coordination—also taking into account the existing global public sphere.

All interactions between the societal world and spheres of states must be placed under special scrutiny and appropriate protection in order to guarantee, by people for people, the freedom and development of their futures, as they experience and further develop their societies in the present. These two worlds are not the same, yet they are mutually dependent in their function of leading the maturing, transforming, and, above all, vertically reconnecting human beings in their respective development toward their civilizational fulfillment.

* The author is the founding president of the International Senate of Cultures (ISC) http://internationalsenate.org. The foregoing thoughts also form part of the programmatic background of the ISC's organizational policy. - Curaçao, February 17, 2026