Future Multilateralism

The Future of Multilateralism addresses current challenges and future perspectives of international and regional organizations. It aims to uncover how stable the foundations of global cooperation really are, particularly in the light of the latest unilateral and protectionist practices of international players and challenges related to COVID-19. The post–World War II global order was built on the foundations of multilateral cooperation. The establishment of international institutions is aimed at avoiding another widespread collision like the two World Wars and to ensure peace and prosperity. Hence, the multilateral system was viewed as an effective mechanism in dealing and resolving various challenges at an international or a regional level. Given the effects of COVID-19 on the global, regional, state, and individual levels are so recent, very little research has been conducted to understand the challenges many multilateral institutions are facing due to the pandemic. This book uncovers the future of such organizations and prospects for the multilateral system, of which they constitute the building blocks, in view of recent trends and developments.

The aim of this volume is to discuss the kinds of multilateralism that would be required to pursue some of the alternative projects of society, namely those which agree with some of the key normative commitments of the MUNS programme: non-violent means for dealing with conflict; social equity; protection of the biosphere; diffusion of power among social groups and societies. The strategies identified here are both 'top-down', ie: relying on conventional international institutions and 'bottom-up', ie: involving a new multilateralism grounded in civil society.

This book considers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international diplomacy, and the challenges and opportunities it presents for the future of multilateralism. Global cooperation and solidarity are central to responding to and mitigating the health and socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet, to many, this was slow to mobilize and lacking in political leadership. This book takes a practical look at the lessons learned from the period spanning the World Health Organization’s first declaration of a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020, to the commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations in October 2020. This timespan covers a critical period in which to consider key areas of diplomacy, covering a range of tools of global cooperation: multilateral diplomacy, the rule of law, sustainable development, economics and financing, digital governance, and peace and security. Each chapter in this book introduces readers to the current situation in their respective areas, followed by a constructive consideration of lessons learned from the pandemic’s impact on that field, and key recommendations for the future. The practical focus and future orientation is particularly important as the book injects pragmatism and guidance that will facilitate ‘building back better’ in COVID response plans, while creating space for continued focus on global commitments around sustainable development and the future of the UN. Written by a team of authors who have worked directly in International Public Policy and the establishment of global agendas at the United Nations, this book will be essential reading for professionals and policymakers involved in diplomatic roles, as well as students and scholars interested in the future of international relations, global governance and sustainable development.

This book offers an important chronological perspective on the evolution of multilateralism within Europe and beyond. It provides a critical reconstruction of the history of the idea and praxis of peaceful global governance, a comparative analysis of regional multilateral organisations and a discussion about concrete trends and perspectives of a new multilateralism against the challenging context of the current multipolar power politics. Focusing on the changing European interplay with multilateralism – from Eurocentric cradle of civilian cooperation among sovereign imperial states, to political dwarf after the two world wars and decolonisation, and to potential co-leader of a multilayered and multi-actor cooperation within the current multipolar order, it addresses a theoretical “gap” by fuelling the long-recognised idealism v. realism debate over international cooperation and institutionalisation with both historical and new empirical insights. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of European studies, global governance, multilateralism, international organisations and more broadly international relations.

Despite the growing consensus that the rise of China is transforming international relations, policy makers and scholars have not sufficiently addressed the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications of a new paradigm, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian war. This book fills this gap. This is an original and innovative book that investigates how a new modus vivendi between China and the United States in a post-globalized world requires more economic independence because of the distrust between G20 economies but heightened international cooperation, in order to avert a shift to nationalism and protectionism and to fight financial and climate crises. The book is divided into four parts. Part I investigates the specific features of Chinese and U.S. capitalisms; Part II argues that several flaws observed in the multilateral architecture since the early 2000s have caused global imbalances and increased misunderstanding and mistrust between the two superpowers; Part III analyzes how the China-U.S. rivalry has manifested in Asia, Latin America, and in terms of global development finance and finally, Part IV provides a blueprint for a successful and revamped international order. The book provides an ambitious interdisciplinary analysis of the future of multilateralism and globalization with contributions from economists, lawyers, and political scientists. Due to its multidisciplinary approach, the book will attract the interest of scholars and postgraduate students from wide ranging fields, as well as practitioners working in international organizations, policy makers and more generally educated lay readers interested in the topic.

The long-standing, but unresolved debate of the virtues and values of multilateralism vs. unilateralism in American foreign policy is critically important in today's complicated world. To understand the history of each approach is to understand their opportunities and challenges for the future. The Best Laid Plans answers two central questions. First, why did the United States embrace the principles and practices of liberal multilateralism during World War II? Second, why did it cling to this vision of world order despite the outbreak of the Cold War in the late 1940s, as the 'One World' that had been anticipated by U.S. postwar planners split into two rival global camps? The book contends that neither the U.S. turn to liberal multilateralism nor the persistence of this orientation during the Cold War can be attributed solely or even primarily to the global power structure or crude considerations of material self interest. Rather, Stewart Patrick argues that a combination of enduring identity commitments and new ideas, based on the lessons of recent, cataclysmic events, shaped the policy preferences of American central decision-makers in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations. Although the book is steeped in history, its conclusions have tremendous relevance for the contemporary era, when the United States once again finds itself at the apex of world power, and debates are rife about the role of multilateral cooperation in the realization of U.S. foreign policy objectives.

After several decades of increasing global economic integration, the world is facing the risk of policy-driven geoeconomic fragmentation (GEF). This note explores the ramifications. It identifies multiple channels through which the benefits of globalization were earlier transmitted, and along which, conversely, the costs of GEF are likely to fall, including trade, migration, capital flows, technology diffusion and the provision of global public goods. It explores the consequences of GEF for the international monetary system and the global financial safety net. Finally, it suggests a pragmatic path forward for preserving the benefits of global integration and multilateralism