Rethinking Multilateralism: Some Reflections

Abstract

Multilateralism occupies a vast canvas. It means different things to different people. It is studied across many disciplines from political science and international relations to history, sociology, and international law. Its theorists are as diverse as its critics (Alvarez 2000). As the contributions to this special collection reveal, our understanding of multilateralism is constantly evolving with new research, experience, and insights. In this comment, I reflect on international organizations as multilateralism’s laboratories and agents. Multilateralism is a cyclical phenomenon at an international institution (Cohen 2018). My focus, therefore, is on a multilateral institution’s life cycle and some of its legal and policy conundrums. I must caution, however, that I am neither a scholar nor an expert. My perspectives are shaped by my professional experience as an international institution’s staff member and by a personal interest in the history, law, and practice of multilateral organizations.