Multilateral Forms Research Articles

Southern multilateralism from IBSA to NDB: Synergies, continuities and regional options

AbstractThe shifting nature of contemporary global politics highlights the growing contestation about power and how it is distributed, with multipolarity as its hallmark and distinguishing feature. Amid the shift to multipolarity, new forms of multilateralism are emerging from the South, which are grounded in ‘institutional arrangements led by countries of the Global South’ in terms of the origin of initiatives, the drivers of such arrangements and the resources to sustain them. In this context, Southern Multilateralism offers a differ approach to classical Realist thinking where power is ‘the final arbiter of things political’. Southern Multilateralism has also given rise to new international institutional arrangements, such as the BRICS‐led New Development Bank (NDB) and its predecessor, the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) Trilateral Forum and the IBSA Fund Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation.This article compares the IBSA and their Fund with the NDB and argues that there are continuities and linkages between the NDB and the IBSA Fund, which have yet to be examined by scholars; and to be more precise, the NDB has absorbed and reflects, key attributes of the IBSA and their Fund. Moreover, this study concludes by suggesting regional collaboration options for the NDB, led by South Africa, India and Brazil and their respective regions, whereby the NDB can expand its global role and relevance in future via its regional offices, particularly by supporting the regional trade integration plans in Africa, South Asia and South America.

What Does It Take to Build an Inclusive Governance of Global Value Chains? A Framework for Intervention

As important actors in global value chains (GVCs), multinational enterprises exercise coordination and control over worldwide commodity, production, service, workforce and knowledge mobility. A level playing field for all GVC stakeholders remains absent. We argue for empowering subordinated stakeholders in the design of inclusive GVC governance, as a necessary condition, to harness the power of GVCs that enable many firms to internationalise in the first place. We propose a Framework for Intervention at the level of civil society and five actions, using a revived form of multilateralism, to empower the economic “South” and fundamentally anchor change for human development.

Restructuring of Multilateralism and Inclusive Development of the SCO

Unlike the multilateral institutions of the past, formed by hegemons in accordance with their interests, the SCO multilateral format has given a new impetus to inclusive multilateral regional cooperation. In order to promote inclusive cooperation in Eurasia, the SCO member states have formulated strategic plans for cooperation in the main subregions and key areas of organization’s activities. New SCO plans to intensify cooperation take into account the principle of inclusiveness, and promote a system interests compatibility between members. Taking into consideration the relatively vague and "blurred" forms of cooperation between the member states, an increase in the SCO membership can create both new challenges and contribute to the emergence of new formats of interaction. Thus, the introduction of new forms of small multilateralism may become relevant for increasing the effectiveness of the SCO. Cooperation within the framework of new formats of small multilateralism should be established in accordance with the political preferences and readiness of the SCO Member States in order to increase the effectiveness of intra-organizational interaction. Institutional flexibility in pragmatic cooperation brings mutually beneficial results and has great potential for extending the format of such cooperation to a wide range of issues. An inclusive approach and multilateral cooperation within the framework of the SCO helps to strengthen cooperation in various fields and contribute to the creation of a democratic and fair political and economic environment. It seems that China and Russia, as the leading powers in the SCO, will be interested in promoting new formats of cooperation and reforming the regional system of interaction. The combination of classical large-scale multilateralism with small forms of multilateral cooperation within the SCO will help to deal with the current difficulties in regional governance and improve the effectiveness of the organization.

Role of the CSTO in Promotion of Collective Security

This article presented to the attention of readers is dedicated to the analysis of history, present condition and development prospects of inter-state relations on national and regional security between former Soviet republics, now new sovereign Eurasian states, as well as to the examination of organization forms of such relations. Having formulated basic principles of cooperation on these issues and underlying the need of collective and coordinated activities against threats to their security and stability in new geopolitical realities stipulated by the collapse of the USSR nine post-Soviet states concluded the Collective Security Treaty which came into force in 1994. Five years later, in April 1999, presidents of six these countries, namely Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, signed the protocol on prolongation of the Collective Security Treaty for the next five years while Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to extend their membership in the Treaty and left it. It happened since due to a number of various domestic and external reasons the formation of national statehood of new sovereign states began to differ substantially from each other as to their strategic goals, aspirations and orientations which subsequently caused serious changes in their approaches to building relations with their foreign partners in bilateral and multilateral forms. In this connection in May 2002 those countries that retained their membership in the Collective Security Treaty decided to reorganize it into a new alliance with a higher degree of integration of its members in order to increase its role in promoting national and regional security – the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The present article examines basic events connected with the Collective Security Treaty Organization formation over the next 20 years, evolution of its goals and tasks, as well as requirements of making concrete directions of its activities more precise because of fundamental changes in the international environment. In the course of the undertaken analysis most important achievements of the Collective Security Treaty Organization during these years were singled out as well as concrete shortcomings in its activities were noted. Also, alternative variants of further development of this international security organization including those that may exceed the post-Soviet space were mentioned.

The Limit of American Public Support for Military Intervention

Under what conditions is the American public supportive of U.S. military intervention in foreign crises? We argue that the public assesses three key dimensions of an intervention: the motivation for an intervention, the form an intervention can take, and the tasks an intervention may be mandated to fulfill. Through a survey experiment, we test several hypotheses in the context of a potential U.S. military intervention in a civil war. Comparing different motivations, we find that the strategies (forms and mandates) matter much more for public support. Regardless of motivation, the American public is generally more supportive of multilateral forms of intervention and prefers mandates that focus on the protection of civilians and peaceful conflict resolution.

Between détente and the shock of the global. The late Franco regime and its meaning for transatlantic relations (1975)

This article examines how the Franco regime influenced transatlantic relations in 1975. The imminent death of General Francisco Franco, seen as part of the transnational Southern Flank crisis, represented an intellectual challenge for the West. As such, it forced US and Western European policymakers to test their divergent understandings of détente. Yet this new divide did not strain transatlantic relations. Happening in parallel to the world recession and the international energy crisis, it instead served to highlight transatlantic interdependency during a time of major global transformations. Thus, the Spanish dictatorship contributed to moving Western countries towards new forms of multilateralism.

Improving the governance of information technology: Insights from the history of Internet governance

Governance of the Internet is a matter of global importance and concern. The multi-stakeholder (MS) and multilateral (ML) forms have been presented as two competing and plausible models of Internet governance. Drawing on actor–network theory (ANT) and building on an interpretive case study of rich archival data, this paper examines how the focal actor’s (i.e. the U.S. government’s) beliefs influence the choice of Internet governance form. It further explores the strategies of the focal actor to translate the interests of the ML network’s supporters, with a view to enrolling them in the MS governance network. The analysis shows how the focal actor has established the MS governance form through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as an Obligatory Passage Point to keep the Internet successfully operational. The analysis also illuminates the combination of structural and collaborative strategies employed to allay the growing dissatisfaction with the MS governance form. The paper suggests that whilst the protocols and technical standards of the Internet are increasingly relegated to the background, the social and political network that Internet artefacts draw together in a meta-form has grown in prominence. It also argues that there may be a hierarchy of beliefs, which influence how actors enact their translation strategies. Finally, the paper discusses parallels between the MS/ML forms of Internet governance and IT governance in organizational contexts.

A Post-WTO International Legal Order: Utopian, Dystopian and Other Scenarios

In their Preface, the editors explain how the 16 chapters of this excellent book resulted from a series of conferences on what might be the consequences or potential responses if the World Trade Organization (WTO) collapsed or became largely irrelevant. The book project ‘was premised on the view (i) that the WTO and its commitment to a rule-of-law form of multilateralism is worth saving, even if it is not perfect and even if it needs some substantial reform and (ii) that the insights generated by exploring a post-WTO world, in both dystopian and utopian perspectives, would likely be helpful in trying to save the WTO from potential collapse or stagnation’ (p. v). The Introduction by J. Nakagawa and C.B. Picker explains these conference objectives in more detail, for instance, by listing what some observers might view as ‘fundamental negative features of the WTO’, ‘successful aspects of the WTO’, the ‘horrors...

Uticaj zajedničke bezbednosne i odbrambene politike Evropske unije na bezbednost Republike Srbije

The answer to transnational and asymmetric threats that are a topical issue on the world geopolitical stage can be found in the integration of national security systems, strengthening multilateral forms of security and the collective system of international security, as the key factors in providing peace, stability and democratic development of modern countries. In such circumstances, the need for a cooperative approach in preserving and improving security, based on cooperation and pooling of security capacities of nation states, is strengthening. This paper views the current achievements of the European Union (hereinafter EU) in terms of implementing its own security policy, primarily in the Western Balkans, in a broader sense, and the specific impact of such a policy on the security of the Republic of Serbia, in a narrower sense. Having in mind the extensive and complex context of the discussed topic, the paper considers, in the authors' opinion, an essential part of this issue, through the analysis of the position of the Republic of Serbia in such context, reviewing the genesis of the EU-Serbia relations and identifying current issues in these relations, and also through the possibilities of progress of cooperation and greater involvement of the capacities of our country in the current EU security policy in this region and beyond.

Potential of Integration Structures for Standardization of Regional Economic Cooperation

The article examines the complexity of multilateral forms of interaction of integration structures, as well as their potential in the field of standardization of regional economic cooperation. The author emphasizes that in order to reduce the risks associated with the imposition of sanctions, it is necessary to activate the potential of union structures in the field of standardization of regional economic cooperation. The article explores the dependence of the effects of integration on the degree of assistance to interstate, interregional, local contacts in the private sector. One of the results of such interaction are international ratings and standards of various kinds. Such ratings are based on economic, political, social and other information. It is noted that integration structures have great potential and are gaining importance in the field of rating creation.

ECONOMIC MOTIVES OF COOPERATION OF CMEA COUNTRIES IN RAW MATERIAL PRODUCTION (1950s - 1980s)

On the basis of archival materials of the Russian State Geological Property and Economics, the article analyzes the economic incentives for cooperation between the countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance in the extraction of mineral resources. The course of the discussion on the possibility of standardizing the mutual investments of the socialist countries was reconstructed. Investment mechanisms are considered in the logic of the functioning of planned systems based on the Janos Kornai model. It was revealed that one of the key conditions for the successful implementation of projects was the possibility of increasing the inflow of hard currency for all parties involved. The individual nature of most of the implemented projects predetermined the failure of attempts to standardize this form of cooperation within the framework of the CMEA regulatory framework. Given the prevalence of bilateral relations over multilateral forms of cooperation of socialist countries, attempts to institutionalize individual forms within the CMEA framework only recorded the current situation.

Amerykańska polityka praw człowieka wobec Argentyny w czasie „brudnej wojny” 1976-1983

The U.S. Human Rights Policy Towards Argentina During the “Dirty War” 1976-1983 The paper aims to provide an analysis of the question of violations of human rights during the last military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983) and the impact of this problem on bilateral relations with the United States. The article will focus mostly on the presidency of James “Jimmy” Earl Carter. The political line adopted by him, known as “the Carter doctrine” or “human rights policy” was the basis of restrictive attitude towards the Argentine dictators. In order to provide a complete analysis, the topic of the paper was treated broadly, covering not only bilateral, American-Argentine issues, but also multilateral forms of exerting pressure on Argentina, mainly at the United Nations and Organization of American States. The article also provides an analysis of the human rights policy itself, as well as of the state terror introduced by the Argentine military, known as the “Dirty War””.

Toward Global Paradigm Change: Beyond the Crisis of the Liberal World Order

This vision brief may be summarized by the following points. First, the crisis of the liberal world order arises from a misalignment of our social, economic and political domains of activity, along with a resulting destabilization of our physical environment. The integration of the global economy has generated problems that extend beyond our current bounds of social and political cooperation. Second, extending our social cooperation - on which basis our political cooperation can be extended as well - requires the creation of the appropriate moral narratives. These narratives must guide business strategies, public policies and civic activities. Third, these narratives must be supplemented by multilevel governance structures that address challenges at the scale - micro, meso and macro - at which these chal-lenges arise. Finally, past human experience in developing moral narratives, supported by multilevel governance structures, suggests guidelines for a future form of multilateralism that enables us to meet this challenge.

Sectoral Cooperation of the BRICS Countries: Potential and Implementation Priorities

The BRICS countries are increasingly expanding multilateral forms of cooperation, moving beyond political areas to economic ones. This cooperation is based on their interest in using the resources and experience of other partners to the group to develop national economies and promote the export of goods, technologies and services for the benefit of national producers. The purpose of the study is to analyse the potential and identify the most promising areas of sectoral cooperation. It was carried out using the methods of comparative and statistical analysis, historical analogies, deductive and expert assessments. Agreed at BRICS summits, national economic strategies set the priorities of sectoral cooperation. Raising the competitive capacity of the BRICS economies is considered today in the context of productivity enhancement, including increasing energy efficiency, improving logistics, innovating technologies. The most promising areas are cooperation in offshore oil and gas production, nuclear power, construction of small hydropower stations, building transport corridors, including the high-speed networks and equipment of the Northern Sea Route. The sectoral priorities also highlight cooperation in the agriculture sector to address food security problems and in the digitisation of all sectors of the economy to take advantage of the opportunities provided by information and communication technologies.

Model of fuzzy estimation of mechanical stress concentration for aerospace and industrial flat structures with polygonal holes of uncertain curvature at rounded corner points

The problem of uncertainty factor management in the description of mechanical stress nearby hatchways of multilateral form with rounded corners of fuzzy curvature in stretch thin plate is considered. Numerical and analytic methodology based on heuristical principle application of extension to transition to fuzzy set arguments in special analytical representations for estimated factors of stress concentration is proposed. Algorithm of fuzzy interval parameter spread of curve in corner points is described. Usage of proposed methodology in theoretical and applied researches on integrity problems of multiply connected thin-walled structure elements is characterized.

Toward global paradigm change: beyond the crisis of the liberal world order

Abstract This paper may be summarized by the following points. First, the crisis of the liberal world order arises from a misalignment of our social, economic and political domains of activity, along with a resulting destabilization of our physical environment. The integration of the global economy has generated problems that extend beyond our current bounds of social and political cooperation. Second, extending our social cooperation – on which basis our political cooperation can be extended as well – requires the creation of the appropriate moral narratives. These narratives must guide business strategies, public policies and civic activities. Third, these narratives must be supplemented by multilevel governance structures that address challenges at the scale – micro, meso and macro – at which these challenges arise. Finally, past human experience in developing moral narratives, supported by multilevel governance structures, suggests guidelines for a future form of multilateralism that enables us to meet this challenge.

China’s Approach to the Belt and Road Initiative: Scope, Character and Sustainability

As a new form of regional multilateralism, the Belt and Road Initiative is China’s most significant strategic move for external engagement in international economic law, following its World Trade Organization accession. This paper analyses China’s approach towards the Belt and Road Initiative from a legal perspective, focusing on three questions: first, what is the proper scope of the Belt and Road Initiative? Second, is there an identifiable approach that China adopts in the Belt and Road Initiative context, and, if so, what is its key legal characteristic? Third, is China’s Belt and Road Initiative approach sustainable? Employing a functional approach in defining the Belt and Road Initiative, the article identifies three qualities to China’s approach to the Belt and Road Initiative: (i) that it is a hub-and-spoke network, (ii) it adopts a three-track institutional and mechanism approach, and (iii) a dual- track normative approach. Compared with the US trade approach (particularly the US–Mexico–Canada Agreement), these qualities reveal the key characteristic underpinning China’s Belt and Road Initiative approach: maximised flexibility regarding institutions and norms to address uncertainties and challenges in the Belt and Road Initiative. Such flexibility will likely assist in ensuring that China’s Belt and Road Initiative approach is sustainable by enabling trial-and-error, if properly managed. However, it also gives rise to concerns around China’s Belt and Road Initiative approach, especially as to its predictability, coherence, and transparency.

Reshaping Cultural Heritage Protection Policies at a Time of Securitisation: France, Italy, and the United Kingdom

In the context of the increasing securitisation of cultural heritage, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom have reacted differently to the recent wave of iconoclasm perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and similar radical groups and terrorist organisations. With cultural heritage now discursively identified as a security concern, the three states enacted security practices to deal with the newly emerged security threats. All three cases show a tight association between the protection of cultural heritage, development and security policies. State-driven cultural heritage protection policies continue to be designed around the notion of multilateral cooperation, although innovative forms of public-private multilateralism and civil-military cooperation are increasingly being introduced.

Global Reordering and China’s Rise: Adoption, Adaptation and Reform

While much of the debate over the implications of China’s rise tends to dichotomise around either status quo or revisionist predictions, the reality seems to lie somewhere in between. In broad terms, China has embraced multilateral forms of cooperation and governance. This does not mean, however, that it is satisfied with the distribution of power in many international institutions, or some of the norms and principles that underpin them. This has resulted in a reformist position, with China increasingly willing to offer its own supplementary alternatives. China’s rise has also provided an important economic alternative to dealing with the West, and considerably undermined the ability of others to establish their preferences and world views. China’s lack of commitment to democracy and the external promotion of human rights remains a key reason why some analysts remain unconvinced about the long-term ambitions of an illiberal actor in a global liberal order.

Technological Innovation and Social Justice: In Dialogue with Catholic Social Teaching

Technological innovation is a major driver of wealth creation over the past 200 years. In the past 30 years, it has also become one of the major causes of increases in income inequality. In this paper, I identify three unintended consequences of the growth of technological innovation – the elimination of middle-class jobs at unprecedented rates, the appropriation of the wealth created by technological innovation by the wealthiest members of society, and weak corporate governance in high-tech industries that increase manager malfeasance. These problems are evaluated in light of Catholic Social Teaching, and solutions to address each problem including improved public legislation, private sector investment in socially valuable projects, increased access to education, and multilateral forms of corporate governance are considered.