Multilateral Action Research Articles

Border Carbon Adjustment and International Trade: A Literature Review

An important source of political opposition to measures aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) arises from concerns over their negative effects on the competitiveness of domestic firms, especially those that are energy-intensive and exposed to competition from foreign producers. Politicians and industry representatives alike fear that imports from countries without similar regulations can gain cost-of-production advantages over domestic goods. With many of the major economies of the world contemplating unilateral action to restrict their carbon emissions (while continuing to pursue co-ordinated multilateral action), the parallel concern of carbon leakage — whereby domestic reductions in emissions are partially or wholly counterbalanced by increased emissions elsewhere in the world — has also arisen. Various adjustments have been proposed, both in the academic literature and in draft climate legislation, including levying a border tax or requiring importers to surrender a quantity of carbon permits. Collectively, these kinds of adjustments are often referred to as border carbon adjustments, or BCAs. This note reviews the existing literature on BCAs and alternatives to BCAs and discusses what various researchers have concluded about the efficacy of BCAs from both a trade and an environmental perspective.

Multilateral action to harmonise migrant health data in the WHO European region

Abstract Member states in the WHO European region have made significant progress towards the implementation of the Regional Strategy and Action plan. The presentation includes the regional situation analysis on migration health data collection and results of the second survey on implementation of the Strategy WHO EURO Member States. It will also cover the policy landscape vis a vis migration health data in WHO EURO region and current gaps in migrant health data collection. Challenges and barriers for migrant health data collection and sharing will also be explored. Country examples for possible way forward including strengthening of national systems and coordination; harmonization of markers and definitions; mutual exchange between states & relevant stakeholders; strengthen data linkages in health information systems and provision of technical guidance will be presented.

The 2014 Global Health Security Agenda

Abstract The Global Health Security Agenda is a comprehensive and multilateral action plan that is designed to “achieve a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberately released.” The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) involves various organizations spanning across over 50 nations. Many of these nations also have multiple agencies that have a role in furthering the objectives of the GHSA.

Headwinds and tailwinds to the rights-based approach to development: A regime theory perspective

The rights-based approach (RBA) to development is now accepted practice among experts in the United Nations (UN) development machinery, as well as key bilateral aid agencies and many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). That development should be informed by rights represents a new human rights norm in world affairs, and the machinery around it forms a regime. However, RBA remains contested, and implementation has been stuttering and incomplete. This article examines the forces working against, and for, the implementation of RBA. It argues, in particular, that although RBA is a norm well institutionalized as a regime, it is not nearly as accepted by states themselves, and thus remains only imperfectly implemented. This, in turn, shows us how various factors affecting norm acceptance—state interests, transnational NGOs, and multilateral actors, among others—interact in norm evolution. The gap between a strong regime and a weak norm helps give insight into the future of RBA: It seems robust due to its institutionalization, but it is much more tenuous than it appears. This can also have implications in other similar situations, such as responsibility to protect or climate change, in which strong regimes belie the weakness of the underlying norm.

Dancing with Legitimacy: Globalisation, Educational Decentralisation, and the State in Indonesia

Dancing with Legitimacy: Globalisation, Educational Decentralisation, and the State in Indonesia

Competing Climate Change Responses: Reflections on EU Unilateral Regulation of International Transport Emissions in Light of Multilateral Developments

In 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) made important strides towards the regulation of emissions from international aviation and maritime transport. This was partially catalysed by the ‘ultimatum strategy’ of the European Union (EU), where the Union persistently threatened to take unilateral steps in the absence of multilateral action. As this article analyses, it appears that the Union is reluctant to relinquish its unilateral approach and align fully with both the ICAO Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme and the IMO Global Data Collection Scheme. This raises questions under public international law as to the relationships between these competing measures. Amidst rising political pressures, this article considers the extent to which the unfolding multilateral policies of the ICAO and IMO may limit the regulatory competence of the EU. While the EU is an independent legal entity, it has been conferred far-reaching competences by its Member States who are themselves members of these other international organisations. Given the lack of clarity on clear hierarchical rules, an important role remains for the customary law of state jurisdiction in governing regulatory competence more generally. The final part of this article engages with recent discussions on the existence of an obligation to exercise jurisdictional self-restraint. It reflects on the tensions arising between respect for states’ regulatory autonomy and the prevention of ‘dangerous’ anthropogenic climate change.

Ensayo sobre algunas implicaciones de la política exterior America First en el multilateralismo

Estados Unidos de América fue el principal impulsor del multilateralismo y del desarrollo del derecho internacional durante el siglo XX, el ejemplo por excelencia, fue la creación del Sistema de las Naciones Unidas. Sin embargo, la llegada de Donald Trump a la presidencia ha revelado algunos desafíos para el ámbito multilateral. Si bien las acciones recientes de política exterior de su administración ponen a prueba el sistema de gobernanza global, se ha demostrado que la acción multilateral es todavía la mejor manera de enfrentar los grandes problemas de la humanidad. Frente a esos desafíos, diversos temas de la agenda internacional y normas jurídicas deberán demostrar su resiliencia para enfrentar el alejamiento de Estados Unidos de América al sistema del que fue arquitecto.

Genaro Estrada y la incursión de México en el escenario multilateral de entreguerras

Many of the keys to understanding the international performance of Mexico in the interwar period involve organizations established in Geneva at the end of the First World War. These new scenarios of multilateral action supposed a revolutionary reconfiguration of the international system, endowed through them of a new dimension, attributions and responsibilities. Mexico would not take part in this important project as a result of its exclusion in 1919. However, the growing need of the postrevolutionary regime to regularize its external situation, but especially the determination and work of the Foreign Ministry in the hands of Genaro Estrada (1930-1932) to conclude definitively with this process, would lead to a full reinsertion of Mexico into the international system.

Place product in the promotion of communes – the case of the Milicz carp and the Barycz Valley

The constant competitiveness for the interest of entrepreneurs, tourists, students makes that local government units put effort into creating their image. However, the limited capital and organizational resources make that these units initiate multilateral promotion actions. Preparing its offer they repeatedly use attractive place products.
 The main aim of the article is to answer the question whether, if so in what ways, the Milicz carp, treated as a place product, is used in the promotion of the Local Action Group “Partnership for the Barycz Valley” created by the eight communes of Lower Silesia and Wielkopolskie province. Especially while taking into account two elements: first, the premises of the official strategic documents adopted within ‘the Barycz Valley’, second, the conducted in practice promotion actions. The use of two methods: content analysis and comparative analysis allows to state that the Milicz carp, against the goals in the given documents, plays a significant role in the promotion of the cooperating communes. Actions in the field of public relations have the greatest importance. On the other hand, the actions concerning the promotion of the Milicz carp do not accompany all the enterprises shaping the image of ‘the Barycz Valley’.

Plant sciences, public policies and food security

Food security was a major global concern in the second half of the 20th century. A positive feedback loop between public policy and technological innovation created abundant food supplies that averted predictions of famine and social chaos. Following the successful global effort to combat hunger, policy attention turned to problems of the environmental footprint of agriculture and other nutrition and diet-related health problems. Policies are developed in response to challenges presented by technology-induced change. As the rate of technological change accelerates, policy makers struggle to keep up and policies risk becoming irrelevant or stymying positive impact of innovation. Public or philanthropic investments created the foundation for private investment in technologies that have been widely adopted. As the public sector reduces its investments in research and development, it is not clear that the private sector has the appetite or means to make the needed investments. Examples of challenges facing agriculture and food security include access to and use of genetic resources, genetically modified crops and the global community’s ability to respond to and mitigate human-induced climate change. Proposed solutions to the world’s many serious challenges almost invariably involve some kind of coordinated and coherent multilateral institutional actions. Yet, today, global political trends appear to be shifting to more unilateral, bilateral and nationalistic perspectives hampering our capacity to respond effectively.

Academic Writing in Russia: The Urge for Interdisciplinary Studies

Debates over academic writing as a new discipline, or rather trend, started in the jour­nal seven years ago and initially involved academics from different fields. However, when the focus shifted towards teaching writing in English, the discussion narrowed and lost its urge. The analysis of the first papers shows that the importance of developing academic writing skills is understood by the Russian academic community, but most academics have limited awareness of academic writing as a discipline and field of research aimed at solving major problems in education and science. The paper focuses on the theoretical and methodological issues of academic writing and gives a brief overview of how it emerged into a well-developed discipline in Western, mostly US, universities. To achieve the goal of introducing academic writing into the higher education, Russian academics need to collaborate and get involved into multilateral action and interdisciplinary research. The paper concludes that disciplinary divides can be overcome through developing theoretical and conceptual issues of academic writing as rhetoric and composition studies.

GEOPOLITICAL FOUNDATIONS OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY STRATEGY ON ESTABLISHING THE NEW WORLD ORDER

Academic and political establishment in the United States traditionally abides by two approaches towards the implementation of foreign policy. That is isolationism, on the one hand, and globalism (internationalism), on the other. These approaches are based on different principles of foreign policy actions, namely, non-involvement in the affairs of Eurasia and those of the world in general (isolationism) and, on the contrary, active geopolitical and geo-economic expansion (globalism). Despite certain contradictions in choosing foreign policy instruments, in particular, the concepts of “soft power” or “hard power”, unilateral or multilateral actions, representatives of each of these schools of thought adhere to the main fundamental principle of the U.S. foreign policy, that is, the defense of U.S. national interests in the face of the “image of enemy”. Therefore, globalists and isolationists, “realists” and “idealists”, the so-called “hawks” and “doves” in the American foreign policy establishment are jointly countering the “external threat”. Since the Cold War period, such a “threat” has been traditionally identified in the face of Russia. Around her, first and foremost, “the image of enemy” is being formed. The article deals with geopolitical concepts of U.S. foreign policy, which preconditioned global expansion of that country on the international arena, such as the moving “Frontier” concept, the “Anaconda” concept, the “Heartland” concept, the “Rimland” concept and etc. Considering the aggressive nature of the U.S. foreign policy, the analysis of the above concepts allows to considering the latter as being the geostrategy, which is aimed at establishing the new world order. The analysis of its geopolitical foundations allows us to reveal fundamental processes in world politics and to predict possible scenarios of the coming world order. The research of the geopolitical foundations of the U.S. strategy also makes it possible understanding of the true reasons for the U.S. opposing the Eurasian integration process.

The politics of preventing violent extremism: the case of Uganda

Multilateral development actors have recently embraced the ‘PVE’ (preventing violent extremism) agenda. This includes consideration of PVE measures in countries like Uganda, where interpretations of non-state violence are contested and where the government has a history of strategic rent-seeking behaviour regarding counter-terrorism assistance. This article assesses the threat of terrorism and violent extremism in Uganda. We argue against a strategic reorientation towards PVE among development actors. Current and emerging threats do not justify a departure from existing development priorities. Importantly, consideration of the political context pertaining to PVE in Uganda commends a cautious approach.

Remunicipalization: The future of water services?

After three decades of privatization, the world is witnessing dramatic reversals in the water sector. Cities around the world are ‘remunicipalizing’ their water services by taking them back into public control, and the pace appears to be growing. But there are also forces which may slow this trend. Private water companies appear concerned about its impact on profits, austerity has forced some governments to abandon plans for remunicipalization, and legal barriers are multiplying. There are also diverse motivations for remunicipalization, putting into question its status as a coherent political trend. This paper develops a typology of different ideological forms of remunicipalization, identifying key stakeholders and the nature of their support, as well as indicating prevalent formats and regional trends. My hypothesis is that remunicipalization will continue in the medium term due to widespread dissatisfaction with privatization, but that differences within the remunicipalization movement, combined with resistance from powerful multilateral actors, may make it difficult to sustain.

Transnational Advocacy Without Northern NGO Partners: Vietnamese NGOs in the HIV/AIDS Sector

Existing scholarship on transnational advocacy can give the impression that low- and middle-income country (“Southern”) nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) require high-income country (“Northern”) NGO partners to effectively engage actors outside their own state. However, Vietnamese NGOs (VNGOs) have had significant success in their efforts to change the policies and practices of bilateral and multilateral actors toward Vietnam without significant Northern NGO partnership. This article asks how VNGOs have achieved such influence and whether their advocacy effectiveness is likely to be mirrored elsewhere. Drawing on a novel case study of VNGOs in the HIV/AIDS sector, it finds that expertise, credibility, and high organizational capacity have allowed VNGOs to successfully adopt Northern NGOs’ insider lobbying strategies and implement them independently. While the development of VNGO capacity has been accelerated by the unusual legal environment in Vietnam, we predict that as Southern NGO capacity increases elsewhere, reliance on Northern partners will decrease.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: Tapping Potential to Achieve the 2030 Agenda in Pakistan

The year 2015 marked the deadline for finishing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as the United Nations (UN) member states launched the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN 2030 Agenda encompassing 17 goals and 169 targets aims at eradicating global poverty, combating inequalities and utilizing natural resources in a sustainable manner so that “no one is left behind.” All stakeholders have committed to proceeding with the incomplete agenda of the MDGs and achieve the SDGs by 2030. Also in 2015, China initiated the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a collection of projects to develop energy, industry and communication infrastructure costing US$46 billion as a key part of the “Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).” This paper examines different components of the CPEC and explores the extensive convergence between the main goals envisioned under the CPEC and the universally accepted SDGs. It posits that if successfully implemented, the CPEC will contribute to achievement of various SDGs in Pakistan. While it is expected that the CPEC will enable the country to move forward on a number of SDGs, three goals are particularly relevant to the construction of the CPEC. The paper argues that there is immense potential for convergence, commonality, and division of labor for a host of bilateral and multilateral actors to enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development (SDG17), resolve political differences, participate in the CPEC, and contribute to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda even beyond Pakistan in the broader South Asian region.

LA DEFENSA COLECTIVA DE LA DEMOCRACIA EN AMÉRICA LATINA: ¿POR QUÉ?, ¿CÓMO?, ¿CUÁNDO?

Este artículo explora los factores que incentivan a las organizaciones regionales a sancionar países que experimentan retrocesos autoritarios en su proceso político. Tomando como caso de estudio las respuestas diplomáticas de la Organización de los Estados Americanos a nueve crisis políticas entre 1990 y 2017, el documento profundiza en las variables determinantes que han permitido la aplicación y efectividad de los distintos mecanismos de protección de la democracia en el hemisferio. El artículo formula tres aportes. Primero, que a mayor número de países democráticos al interior de la Organización, más probable es la aplicación de las sanciones. Segundo, que una conducta multilateral de Estados Unidos es mucho más efectiva que la conducta unilateral para restaurar la democracia. Tercero, que los países con coaliciones de golpe sólidas harán menos efectivas las sanciones.

The New (Fragmented) Geography of Carbon Market Mechanisms: Governance Challenges from Thailand and Vietnam

Countries in the Global South—which are contributing an increasing share of global greenhouse gas emissions—are actively developing carbon market mechanisms, including emissions trading systems and (voluntary) offset mechanisms. This article analyzes past and emerging experiments with carbon market mechanisms in Thailand and Vietnam, in the context of their domestic political economies and the shifting dynamics of the global climate governance regime. Drawing from thirty-three in-depth interviews and document analysis, I show the changing roles of government, the private sector, civil society, and donor and multilateral actors in these countries. Moreover, the article identifies key factors that may play roles in the further—and more synergistic—development of carbon market mechanisms: the generation of domestic demand for carbon credits; building and keeping human capacity and adequate data; creating space for civil society; ensuring coordination within the government and between sectors, notably the energy sector; and establishing further linkages with regional (Asian) and global carbon market mechanisms, such as those in China, Japan, and South Korea. These findings suggest that market-based mechanisms with high social and environmental integrity are one of the options that countries in the Global South have to achieve low-carbon development in the post-Paris climate change regime.

Revisiting the Linkage: PDD 25, Genocide in Rwanda and the US Peacekeeping Experience of the 1990s

ABSTRACTAfter the successful US–UN action in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, by the mid-1990s Washington's enthusiasm for multilateral action had already faded away. This was evident after the ‘Black Hawk Down’ disaster of the US Mission in Somalia in October 1993 and the release of a much more restrictive peacekeeping policy in May 1994 (PDD-25). The US inaction during the following Rwandan genocide in spring 1994 was then seen as the obvious consequence of the American ‘trauma’ in Somalia, as well as the symbol of Washington's withdrawal from peacekeeping commitments. However, in the light of new archival documents a different scenario emerges. This article shows that the consequential link, often stressed by the literature, between the Somali disaster, the release of PDD-25 and American inaction in Rwanda is much less straightforward. This suggests that the policy in Rwanda was not just a consequence of the Somali debacle and that the reasons for US inaction toward the genocide must be gauged within a broader set of factors. The study of Washington's policy in Rwanda thus becomes a significant case to investigate some broader patterns of post-Cold War American foreign policy and to re-evaluate the US peacekeeping experience of the 1990s.

What the NATO Alliance Is Currently Advocating and Delivering in the Counter Terrorism Arena

The fight against terrorism is still based on the nation-state framework, but international organizations have a greater focus on the prevention of terrorist acts. The European Union is not a military organization, it is involved mainly in prevention and combating crime and terrorism financing operations, and to resolve the consequences of an attack. In contrast, NATO is mainly focused on the fight against terrorism from a military perspective. It is important to emphasize that the fight against global terrorism can only be successful if comprehensive, international, multilateral action is taken, which includes military operations, in addition to political, economic, legal, diplomatic and social tools.This analysis will seek to determine how those facts influence the NATO Counter Terrorism (CT) task and whether they are sufficient to justify making it a NATO core responsibility.