Global Multilateralism Research Articles

Natural Products and Traditional Medicine: Investigating the Role of Natural Products and Traditional Medicine in Modern Pharmacology

Natural products and Traditional medicines have been in the use for effective management of diseases and care of human suffering for the last thousands of years and are depicted to contain a vast database of Bioactive molecules of immense therapeutic significance. The following paper’s purpose is to reflect on these practice in arts of pharmacology with regards to their history, origin, operation, and challenges in the modern world. These are plant compounds, animal, and minerals and how they have been used in former time and even in this 21st century. Modern trends and novel approaches suggest that new technologies in the genomics, proteomics and metabolomics will change the direction of the natural products research emphasizing molecular targeting as well as the individual approach towards patient treatment. It also talks about the problems of standardization and quality of the work done; therefore there is a great emphasis on the clinical trial they also go further to address rules that govern the application of such technologies. Secondly, the expansion in the usage of complementary medicine and integrative approach with natural substances in treating diseases, as well as attempts to educate doctors and other healthcare practitioners on the merits of traditional medicine. Hence, the focus of future prospects continues to be laid on advanced technologies and the role of global multilateralism in progress and regulation. The author has demonstrated a lot more about modern pharmacology within this review and is making a call for assimilation of the modern discovery with native knowledge for the benefit of mankind.

The Concept of Middle Power's Theory to Reality: Prospect of Vietnam

The middle power is playing an important role in the order of international relations. Its voice is being identified in global issues from security cooperation, political, economic to environmental and humanity protection, and the trend of cooperation with peaceful, stable and mutual development. Although the concept of middle power has been discussed very early and received a great concern from many theorists and foreign policy makers, there has not been a unified definition, which becomes a limitation in explaining the behaviors of some countries towards global multilateralism. This article clarifies the theoretical framework of the concept, approach, and analysis of the middle power in the current international relation context as well as gives some comments about power shift, development trend to generalize these into characteristics and comparison tools for the case in Vietnam, serving Vietnam’s foreign policy implementing process in the year to come.

Regionalism, Multilateralism, and Sovereign Debt: Observations from a Latin Americanist

The paper posits a powerful mutuality of interests between global multilateralism and independent regionalism in the global South. The more-or-less liberal international order established following the Second World War struggles to retain political and financial support from advanced industrial countries. Since the underlying source of this tension reflects a structural shift in the interstate distribution of power capabilities toward rising global multipolarity, the only viable medium-term solution for peak multilateralism is achieving greater legitimacy among a wider field of countries. Greater innovativeness is a second benefit to central multilateralism of expanded regional access: important international policy challenges are not “seen” until those who experience them have sufficient voice. The counterpart challenge within the global South is the frustration of policy entrepreneurs from small and intermediate powers. Most recognize the need for prior interest-aggregation to exercise influence in peak international organizations where great powers dominate. However, effective regionalism, a perennial and obvious choice for non-great powers, in practice has been difficult, especially in Latin America. Yes, one explanation is vicious partisan squabbling in the neighborhood, but subtle, structural factors also undermine cooperation, as a quick comparison with Europe demonstrates. In this context, “regionalism” is best conceptualized as a mix of formal organizations and regionally-based transnational epistemic communities or activist networks. A case study of Latin America-focused policy entrepreneurship over several decades around the global financial governance of currency and sovereign debt illustrates these observations.

Multilateralism and Human Security: Situating the Nature and Scope of 'Global Health Diplomacy' (GHD) in the context of COVID19

COVID19 has yielded serious consequences globally, including severe damages to the economic, social, and health sectors around the world. The ensuing global crisis has created a strong realization among states that non-traditional security (NTS) threats such as pandemics and diseases do not discriminate between territorial boundaries. Hence, they cannot be dealt with in isolation, but rather by creating a mutual ground and impetus for coordination and collaboration within the international system. This research paper outlines the revival of global health diplomacy (GHD) as grounds for reforming multilateral global governance institutions under the umbrella of ‘human security.’ In doing so, it lists out key GHD initiatives during COVID19 by both state and non-state actors, while highlighting the need for continued collaboration in the post-pandemic recovery phase. Additionally, the present study takes the case of Pakistan, a developing state with extremely fragile health and economic infrastructure, so as to showcase the importance of humanitarian and developmental assistance in ensuing ‘human security.’ Thus, the role of international actors and multilateral global governance institutions is presented as a key to determining the nature of Pakistan’s response to managing COVID19, with implications for the impact of GHD in prioritizing ‘human security’ under the umbrella of global multilateralism.

Multilateralism, Developmental Regionalism, and the African Development Bank

Promoting development in Africa has faced significant challenges partly because of the continent’s peripheral access to global markets as well as its internal geographical limitations on the movement of people, goods, and services. However, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and its “developmental” role has emerged as a practical and tailored approach to Pan-African development, especially in the midst of a growing crisis in global multilateralism. This article argues that the AfDB can be a significant promoter of African development given its unique characteristics, focus areas, and lending style that are different from other multilateral institutions. Using a case-study approach, and by analysing literature on the AfDB, policy papers, and government reports, this study explores the developmental role of the bank and demonstrates its comparative advantage to other multilateral institutions in Africa.

Cooperative counter-hegemony, interregionalism and 'diminished multilateralism': the Belt and Road Initiative and China's relations with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

This article examines the institutional rationale of China’s Belt and Road Initiative for Sino-Latin American interregionalism and global multilateralism. Applying Pedersen’s ideational-institutional realism approach and research on interregionalism, we provide a more nuanced analysis than mainstream realist theorising dominating research on China’s foreign policies. We argue that China’s interregional relations with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) entail a cooperative strategy to counter US hegemony in its own ‘backyard’. At a cognitive level, we show that the worldviews of Chinese foreign policy elites are informed by the tenets of realism. At an institutional level, interregionalism serves as a soft balancing device. In the power dimension, China uses cooperative relations with LAC to create soft power, enhancing access to raw materials, and promoting Chinese values, worldviews, and policies to the region. Hence, China-LAC interregionalism qualifies as ‘diminished multilateralism’, a pragmatic variant of multilateralism that favours particularistic interests while hampering collective problem solving.

Science, Innovation, and Society in the Age of Pandemics: Reflections From the Inaugural Sir Alasdair Breckenridge Lecture.

Science, Innovation, and Society in the Age of Pandemics: Reflections From the Inaugural Sir Alasdair Breckenridge Lecture.

THE US–CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: A MACROPERSPECTIVE

Declining global multilateralism has brought numerous trade disputes, most notably between the US and China. Here, a new global model featuring monetary policy and revenue reassignment are used to examine the effects of this conflict and this macroeconomic perspective proves to be important. The emergent results provide additional insight and complement other “trade-focused” general equilibrium studies. We find that, with capacity adjustment, US unilateral protection emerges as “beggar thy neighbor” policy. China’s proportional losses are large, little mitigated by its retaliation, which nonetheless constrains US net gains. Third regions trading with China and the US suffer losses only partly offset by trade diversion and greatly enhanced if, to avoid leakage, protection is extended to all sources.

Australia the ‘good international citizen’? The limits of a traditional middle power

ABSTRACT Australia is often described as a ‘good international citizen’ (GIC), which is intertwined to its status of ‘quintessential’ middle power. However, a number of elements might undermine both notions. This research reviews the concept of GIC and contributes to this niche of IR theory by providing a dedicated definitional framework, which consists of: i) the respect of the international law; ii) multilateralism; iii) the pursuing of humanitarian and idealist objectives; iv) an active support for the rules-based order; and v) a congruous identity matched by consistent domestic policies. After assessing the country’s foreign and domestic policies against this, it finds that Australia has damaged its GIC credentials due to a number of reasons, including: the hard-line policies against seaborne asylum seekers; the participation in missions that are not sanctioned by the UN; the transformation of its global multilateralism into a selective regionalism; the budget cuts to foreign aid; a controversial attitude towards climate change mitigation; and a preference for the US-led global order over a rules-based international society. Far from criticising the country’s foreign policy in its entirety, it argues that in the 21st century Australia behaves as a ‘neutral international citizen’, and a traditional but not ‘quintessential’ middle power.

The Trudeau government and the case for multilateralism in an uncertain world

ABSTRACT In an era when multilateral institutions and global cooperation are under attack from the United States and under threat around the world, should Canada restore and maintain its historical commitment to global multilateralism? This paper argues that it should for three reasons: 1) the greatest problems facing the world demand multilateral solutions; 2) multilateral commitments acknowledge and mirror the cosmopolitan nature of Canada; 3) recent NAFTA negotiations have proven the US to be an unreliable ally and dangerous to Canada’s economic well-being. Developing alternatives to the US market is imperative. The Liberal and Conservative parties’ approaches to multilateralism reflect the two parties’ divergent visions of Canada. The Conservatives favor an ethnocentric view of Canada that, increasingly, caters to the right-wing populism sweeping the Western world. The Liberal vision of Canada is more inclusive. This latter view is, ultimately, more sustainable and accepting of Canada’s diverse ethnic and religious reality.

THE G77+CHINA'S ROLE IN TRADE MULTILATERALISM: ADVOCATING FOR SOUTH AGENCY

The Group of Seventy-Seven (G77) plus China is positioned in global multilateralism as a platform for advancing the collective interests and issues of the global South in the United Nations (UN) system. For this reason, the organization has a special role to play in the multilateral trade negotiation system where groups, coalitions and alliances are crucial negotiation levers for individual countries. On this basis, the G77 seeks a fair, just and equitable international trade environment, an ideal linked directly to the pursuit of global reform towards a post-Western-led world. This article analyses critically the role of the G77 in exercising global South agency on international trade within the World Trade Organization (WTO) system and the efficacy of its role in promoting South-South trade co-operation. As the group is not without its challenges and its diverse membership has varied interests within the multilateral trade system, it is difficult to ascertain the group’s authority in advocating for reforms in the system. The G77’s advocacy for South agency, however, remains important.

Coordinating the Action of Regional and Global Players during the Shift from Bilateralism to Multilateralism in International Tax Law

The editor introduces this issue of the World Tax Journal with a contribution that welcomes the BEPS project as a significant step in the transition from bilateralism to multilateralism in international taxation. The broad-based consensus and participation in setting the BEPS standards make such project an enhanced form of multilateralism if compared with that which allowed the Global Forum on Fiscal Transparency to implement the standards developed by a more limited number of countries. The contribution of the editor also addresses how global multilateralism relates with regional multilateralism in some areas of the world, such as the European Union, calling for a stronger cooperation among the institutional players within a coordinated framework for the exercise of taxing powers in cross-border situations that could give rise to global international tax law.

Rising from Within: China’s Search for a Multilateral World and Its Implications for Sino-US Relations

What impact will the rise of China have on the existing international system? This article attempts to provide some clues for a better understanding of this issue by examining China's views on and policy toward international multilateralism in general and some of the newly emerging multilateral mechanisms in particular, including the Group of 20 and the BRICS. The article concludes that while China will become more proactive in its multilateral diplomacy, in many cases selectively, and increase its influence in global multilateral settings, various concerns and constraints will make it unlikely for China to completely overhaul or even dramatically reshape the multilateral architecture at the global level. China is likely to repeat its pattern of the past decade in East Asian regional multilateral-ism: participation, engagement, pushing for cooperation in areas that would serve Chinese interests, avoiding excessive responsibilities, blocking initiatives that would harm its interests, and refraining from making grand proposals. In addition, China is stuck in defining its identity, and caught up between posturing as a leader of the developing world on some issues and siding with the developed countries on other policy issues. Given all of these constraints, China's involvement in global multilateralism is likely to be guided by pragmatism rather than grand visions. The article also argues that China will most likely strive to rise from within the existing international order. Washington should be prepared to plan its China policy on this basis and Sino-US relations will be shaped largely by the dynamics of contentions for power and interest as well as cooperation and coordination between China and the United States in various multilateral institutions. KEYWORDS: China, multilateralism, BRICS, Group of 20, Sino-US relations, Chinese foreign policy. CHINA'S PHENOMENAL RISE IN RECENT DECADES HAS SPARKED AN INTENSE international debate on the impact of the reemergence of the Middle King-dom on the existing international system. An important dimension in ad-dressing this issue is China's policy toward multilateralism, particularly major global multilateral institutions. Scrutinizing China's perception and policy to-ward multilateral institutions and regimes may provide some useful clues for observers to ascertain whether it is rising as a status quo or as a revisionist power.' Understandably, most studies thus far have focused on the implica-tions of China's approach to multilateralism for Sino-US relations and US global leadership, heating up the debate on China's rise with a wide range of views. Generally speaking, there are three camps of thought in the debate, in-cluding those observers who believe that China will successfully integrate into the existing order, those who argue that China has been selectively participat-ing in and using multilateralism for other purposes, and those who believe that China will ultimately overhaul the system. Some scholars are unequivocally sanguine about the prospect of China becoming an integral part of the existing international order. This profuse op-timism, to a large extent, is built on a positive assessment of China's involve-ment in various international institutions.' Ann Kent, for instance, concludes that, as compared to its behaviors prior to the early 1980s, China's acceptance of, and integration into, the international system have been nothing short of extraordinary.3 Alastair Johnston observes that China has demonstrated a cooperative attitude toward international security regimes from 1980 to 2000 largely as a result of social learning.` Edward Steinfeld argues that China has continued to integrate itself into the Western economic order and adheres to the rules set and dominated by the West.5 Rosemary Foot posits that China has chosen accommodation to cope with a US-hegemonic global order while simultaneously attempting to hedge and dilute US supremacy by seeking to establish solid relations with other partners and attempting to push for a more egalitarian world system. …

China's Search for a Multilateral World: Dilemmas and Desires

While China will probably become more proactive in its multilateral diplomacy and increase its influence in global multilateral settings, various concerns and constraints make it unlikely that it will completely overhaul or even dramatically reshape the multilateral architecture at the global level. Stuck in defining its identity, China is caught up between posturing as a leader of the developing world on some policy issues and siding with the developed countries on others. China’s involvement in global multilateralism is likely to be guided by pragmatism rather than grand visions.

Cry sovereignty: South Africa and the UN Security Council in a hegemonic world, 2007–20081

ABSTRACT This article examines South Africa's role in the United Nations Security Council in 2007–2008. This issue is highlighted as a highpoint in post-apartheid South Africa's diplomacy, which developed from its role of peacemaking and institution building in Africa, as part of the continent's renewal. Faced with the constraints of a hegemonic world and declined global multilateralism, especially after 9/11, South Africa used its moral power to leverage its own sovereignty and that of weaker states. In doing so, it pushed hard for regionalism, devoting its presidential terms in the council in March 2007 and April 2008 to strengthening the linkages between the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) structures. However, from the outset South Africa's voting patterns in the council – from Myanmar to Zimbabwe – revealed the palpable tension between the politics of solidarity and sovereignty on the one hand, and human rights on the other. The article traces South Africa's quest for sovereignty to the struggle against apartheid in the UN and regional structures of the erstwhile Organisation of African Unity (OAU). It further examines South Africa's efforts to implement its vision of the world emerging from this legacy after 1994, culminating in the battle for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Although Pretoria failed to secure a permanent seat, its election to the council as a non-permanent member provided it with the opportunity to implement its vision. While the principled approach to UN diplomacy has expanded the space for its own sovereignty and that of Africa, it has at the same time increased tension with the world's superpower, particularly over the war on terror and Zimbabwe. Recent xenophobic attacks on African migrants in South Africa have, on the other hand, cast some dark clouds on President Thabo Mbeki's acknowledged leading advocacy for the African Renaissance project.

The Political Economy of Global Multilateralism

This paper offers a theory rooted in political economy to determine when global multilateralism is justified. Its criteria for justification are three. First, multilateral agreements ideally should offer mutual gains for all the nations that are parties to them. If the gains are not contingent on being part of the multilateral agreement, principles of subsidiarity militate against joining. Second, ideally multilateral treaties should help nations be governed by what Mancur Olson called their encompassing interest- their diffuse citizenry rather than special interests. One important way of achieving this goal is to increase jurisdictional competition among nations which is, in my view, the defining virtue of sovereignty. For instance, trade agreements can increase jurisdictional competition by making capital more mobile. Finally, multilateral agreements should not require a complex and intrusive international enforcement apparatus, because distant international bureaucracies are likely to be captured by special interests and thus reduce the power of encompassing interests in national governance.Using these criteria, the paper evaluates multilateralism in trade, human rights, regulation, criminal law, and military intervention. It concludes that trade multilateralism is currently the best form of global multilateralism because it can extend exchange through sustaining a global market and can empower encompassing interests. Other forms of global multilateralism may sometimes be necessary but even such instances will rarely have the cascading benefits of trade multilateralism.