International Cooperation in the Twenty-first Century: Familiar Problems and New Challenges

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The creation and proliferation of international organizations of various sorts, increasing economic interdependence, the spread of democracy. and the strong leadership played by the United States all worked positively together to facilitate international cooperation during the second half of the twentieth century, overcoming to a great extent the familiar problem of 'cooperation under anarchy. 'But humankind is confronting new challenges as well, arising from the shift in power relations among nation-states and the rise of new issues that call for global. attention. One of the most prominent issues is the protection of environment. It is unclear how easily the formulas that have proved to be so successful in bringing about international cooperation in the twentieth century can be applied to the new challenges. If a series of organised responses to the issue of climate change as shown in the completion and implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) is any indication, however, the international. community seems to have successfully begun to confront them. The relative promptness of action taken by the international community. the manner in which the issue is negotiated where the principle of equity was directly addressed, the comprehensiveness of the Treaty's scope, and responsible behaviour of the states of the world, all point to broad optimism about international cooperation in the twenty-first century.