Terminology
The term draws a comparison with the mandala of the Hindu and Buddhist worldview; the comparison emphasises the radiation of power from each power center, as well as the non-physical basis of the system.
Other metaphors such as Tambiah's original idea of a "galactic polity", describe similar political patterns as the mandala. The metaphor of a "solar polity" is preferred by the historian Victor Lieberman, because in the solar system there is one central body, the sun, and the components or planets of the solar system galaxies.
Read more about this topic: Mandala (Southeast Asian Political Model)