5:00 pm The Advantages of Multipolarity

MCC Miskolc Center

In an era of rapid geopolitical transformation, the decline of unipolar dominance and the rise of a multipolar world order are reshaping global dynamics. Dutch sociologist and China expert Eric Hendriks, Visiting Fellow at the Danube Institute and Director of the China Initiative at the Telos-Paul Piccone Institute, explores the often-overlooked upsides of this shift.

Drawing on his research into China's integration into the global order, sovereigntist trends, and the ideological tensions between liberal universalism and cultural particularism, Hendriks argues that multipolarity offers distinct advantages: greater respect for civilizational diversity, reduced risk of hegemonic overreach, enhanced national sovereignty, opportunities for cross-cultural learning, and a more balanced distribution of power that can foster stability through mutual recognition rather than imposed uniformity.

Whether viewed through the lens of emerging alignments between Budapest, Beijing, and America First, or the broader transition from liberal globalization to a post-Occidental era, this talk highlights why multipolarity may not only be inevitable—but potentially beneficial for a pluralistic, self-reflective global future.

Dr. Eric Hendriks, a Dutch sociologist, researches China’s integration into the global order, keenly interested in the ideological tensions involved. He is working on a book about contemporary Chinese world conceptions and how these seek to challenge liberal, Western-centric views of world order. Hendriks has studied at Utrecht, Berkeley, Göttingen, and the University of Chicago, earned his Ph.D. from the University of Mannheim, and worked at the University of Bonn and Peking University. Hendriks lived in Beijing for six years, researching the educational linkages between China and the United States. He is also a public intellectual and published over seventy essays for Dutch, German, and English-language media. His writings have appeared in the NRC, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Quillette, Quadrant, and Times Higher Education.