Multilateral Organizations Research Articles

Políticas públicas de educação financeira: do processo histórico às ações práticas em Instituições de Ensino Superior

Abstract In current times, the importance of financial education has gained prominence in discussions held within multilateral organizations and governments around the world, with the purpose of building a society that is aware of the impact of their actions as individual financial agents in global society, through education. In this environment, the general objective of this article is to discuss the conception of financial education as public in Brazil, tracing a mapping of the main practical actions in higher education, after the implementation of the National Strategy for Financial Education (ENEF). As for the methodology, a bibliographical survey is carried out of the scientific works published and made available on the Capes Portal and SciELO-Brasil platforms, in the period between 2011 and 2021, which address financial education as a public policy in the context of higher education. As a result, it is perceived that higher education students have largely been excluded from public policies related to this topic and Universities have acted timidly as disseminators of financial literacy and production of scientific knowledge, through academic publications that can contribute to the enhancement and expansion of ENEF's reach.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold? The War in Ukraine and the UN Security Council

ABSTRACT: The UN Security Council's divisions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 have captured international headlines. There has been less attention on the implications of the war for the Security Council's primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security. This paper examines the ways in which the Security Council has addressed conflict between states as well as civil wars and the continuities reflected in its approach to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It then explores some of the ways in which the Council's management of conflict-related crises might evolve in light of the Ukraine war and the implications these may have for the legitimacy and effectiveness of the Council, as well as the role of other multilateral organisations. This paper builds on remarks provided at a Royal Irish Academy seminar, 'Ireland on the Security Council', on 23 November 2022.

From Grassroots to the UN — The Role of Faith in Climate Action

The role of faith-based organizations, as well as secular organizations engaging with faith actors, has gained significant momentum. Faith actors have been not only internalizing the spiritual connections to the environment, but also contributing to policy discussions at international conventions through the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral organizations. Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the world today, and it is an issue that requires a global response. While governments and policymakers have a crucial role to play, the issue of climate change is also the one that touches on the values and beliefs of individuals, communities, and faith groups. In this paper, we will explore the role that faith and religion can play in addressing climate change at the grassroots level and within the UN, using the Faith for Earth Initiative as a global example and the Green Anglicans movement in Southern Africa at the local level. Both local and global actions are necessary to achieve the aspirations of the people in fighting climate change, adapting to its impact, and bringing the voices of ethics and values to environmental policymaking as these actions are inseparable. At the local level, impacts of global decisions are felt but also implemented and in turn such practices can inform global decision-making. This paper demonstrates the lessons learnt, challenges, and opportunities for such local and global engagements.

Transformation of the post-cold war order and the global and regional powers policy in the South Caucasus after the 2020 Karabakh war

The end of the Cold War ushered in a Unipolar world characterized by the US hegemony. In 1990s and early 2000s the US was realizing the strategy of “liberal hegemony” with emphasis on democracy promotion in the former socialist camp. The NATO enlargement and the support to the EU extension were key pillars of this strategy. There was a perception among pundits and policymakers that the “liberal democracy” will spread all over the world, bringing a new era of peace and stability. However, the Unipolar moment was short lived. The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 marked the beginning of the transformation of the post-Сold War order. The reasons behind this transformation are numerous - the relative decline of the US, the rise of others, most notably China, and the launch of the new multilateral organizations such as BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The transformation of the post-cold war order brings back the notion of multipolar world and the “great power competition”. The emergence of the "multi-polar world order" will inevitably trigger regional instability and the rivalry for regional hegemony. The absence of the world hegemon or the "world policeman" means that the second-tier states will be more inclined to use coercion as the primary tool to push forward their national interests. The world is facing the unraveling of the global world order with very few clues on what the new emerging order may look like. One pattern is obvious - states are putting more emphasis on the coercion, force and hybrid warfare as a key element of their foreign policy. Meanwhile, the absence of global hegemon triggers the tough and often violent struggle for dominance among regional powers. The South Caucasus was an arena of overlapping interests of many actors - Russia, the US, the EU, Turkey, and Iran. While in 1990s and 2000s the geopolitical configuration of the region was based on the competition between Turkey - Azerbaijan - Georgia partnership supported by the US, and Russia - Armenia alliance, the situation has changed in recent years. Turkey’s quest for independent foreign policy and growing tensions between Turkey and the US have resulted in a establishment of competitive/cooperative relations between Russia and Turkey. Ankara and Moscow are still competitors but they are able to manage their contradictions. The 2020 Karabakh war was a harbinger of upcoming changes in the regional balance of power. Azerbaijan won the war receiving significant military support from Turkey, Armenia suffered significant losses, while Russia deployed its peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh. As South Caucasus faces the growing competition between external actors vying for influence, and as Russia - West relations were completely ruined after the February 2022, the region has become another arena for Russia - West competition. The US and the EU are interested to push Russian peacekeepers out from Nagorno Karabakh after the end of the initial five-year term, viewing this as a significant step in reducing Russian influence in the region. Meanwhile, Russia seeks to stabilize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, meanwhile keeping its military presence in Nagorno Karabakh. Despite the growing tensions between Turkey and the US, Ankara still remains main tool for the US in its efforts to decrease Russian power in South Caucasus.

Международные транспортные коридоры как фактор формирования Большого Евразийского партнерства

In 2015 a Greater Eurasian Partnership initiative was announced, but disputes regarding its conceptual content and institutional design are still ongoing. According to the author the Greater Eurasian Partnership should be formed in two key areas. Firstly, through the establishment of permanent links between key multilateral organizations in the Greater Eurasia (EAEU, SCO, ASEAN) which can synchronize their agenda and achieve a synergistic effect. Secondly, through the practical implementation of global projects in which several participants will be interested. One of the most promising areas of such cooperation is the creation and development of international transport corridors (ITCs). Following the creation of the ITC the accompanying infrastructure, industrial production in the neighboring areas, customs regulation begin to develop – such corridors are a powerful impetus for the development of a number of industries. In addition, effective and mutually beneficial joint infrastructure projects are a significant guarantee for maintaining friendly relations among the participants implementing these projects. The goal of almost all trans-regional integration projects announced since the 2010s is the formation of optimal transport corridors, the creation of sustainable and cost-effective supply chains and the development of related infrastructure. And the Greater Eurasian Partnership is no exception. It is the launch and uninterrupted operation of international transport corridors that can become a driver for expanding cooperation in the format of the Greater Eurasian Partnership and deepening cooperation of all interested participants in priority sectors of the economy.

The Future of Multilateralism and Global Development: Opportunities for Constitutive and Functional Reform

In response to the numerous challenges facing contemporary multilateral organizations, and indeed the very idea of multilateralism itself, many have called for “wholesale change” yet few have provided specific details on substance or articulated how any such reforms might be supported (politically, financially) or implemented. We summarize key insights from a recent global initiative that sought to both provide a critical assessment of multilateralism at different units of analysis and offer credible corresponding responses, doing so within a basic framework distinguishing between multilateralism’s constitutive elements (e.g., the creation, organization, and collective understandings of the UN system) and its functional components (everyday activities such as budgets and hiring practices). This collection of fourteen papers and six commentaries highlights specific ways in which different kinds of political, policy, and procedural challenges might be addressed, including strategies to adopt more adaptive management practices, ensure compliance with dues-paying rules, and diffuse secession threats; enact difficult trade-offs between imperatives for transparency, accountability, and confidentiality; learn from regulatory innovations in trade and investment rules to strengthen labor, human rights, and the environment; formulate workable domestic and global rules for multilateral cooperation; enhance data on, studies of, and policy responses to rising inequalities; implement potential technical fixes to redress debilitating “binding constraints”; promote greater staff diversity (geographically, demographically, ideologically); forge greater complementarity between regional, “new” (Southern-based) and “established” multilateral organizations; secure the substantive contributions of small states; and respond proactively to the shifting contours of geopolitical rivalries, opportunities, and imperatives.

Security Implications of Fake News and Disinformation in Nato Member and Partner Countries

Misuse of digital platforms for the dissemination of fake news and disinformation online is becoming an increasingly serious problem both for individual states and multilateral organizations. Alternative facts presented under the veil of awakening critical thinking, or false and purported information placed in the social media environment by state and non-state actors for their own purposes, have been disturbing the credibility of traditional fact-checking media outlets to present actual information to the public. Grasping the notion of parrhesia as part of the democratic free expression in a liberal society via social networks is now seriously questioning the common objective standards of truth. Deliberate interference with fake news and disinformation in contemporary democracies, especially during election campaigns, the use of anti-NATO narrative, particularly in countries with former communist regimes, and recent promotion of a false sense of security or insecurity about the Covid-19 pandemic, became an issue of major concern for the entire Alliance and its field work. Although in essence being a military organization with the aim to secure peace and stability in its wider area and promote its values globally, what the NATO has witnessed in the last decade is that peace and security in the traditional sense cannot be taken for granted. The emergence of modern non-military tactics by adversaries to destabilize member and partner countries require specific methods and approaches for deterrence and defense. This paper will analyze how these alternative facts affect both state and overall Alliance stability, possible implications on the diminishing public trust in state institutions, and actions needed to mitigate their effects.

Trump’s Legacy and the Liberal International Order: Why Trump Failed to Institutionalise an Anti-global Agenda

ABSTRACT Donald Trump was expected to repeal the internationalist approach that had dominated US foreign policy since the end of the Second World War, but his impact was narrower than is commonly supposed. On the one hand, the problems of the liberal international order predate Trump and probably will outlive his presidency. He was more a symptom than the cause of those difficulties, thus his responsibilities should not be overstated. On the other hand, despite several renegotiations and accusations against its partners, the US involvement in multilateral organisations remains solid and its engagement overseas remarkable. Overall, Trump’s performance in shifting US foreign policy toward an anti-globalist stance was quite poor. Contrary to mainstream accounts of Trump’s foreign policy, the president’s revisionism has arguably been thwarted less by the internationalist approach within the foreign policy establishment than by his own personality and his policy-making attitudes.

HUKUM ADAT DALAM PERKEMBANGAN: PARADIGMA SENTRALISME HUKUM DAN PARADIGMA PLURALISME HUKUM

The paradigm of understanding customary law and its development must be placed in a large space, by examining extensively: a) Studies that no longer look at the legal system of a country in the form of state law, but also customary law, religious law and customary law; b) Understanding of law (adat) not only understands customary law in traditional communities- rural communities, but also the laws that apply in certain environmental communities (hybrid law or unnamed law); c) Understanding the phenomenon of trans-national law as the law made by multilateral organizations, then there is an interdependence relationship between international law, national law and local law. With a holistic and integrative understanding, the development and position of customary law will be adequately understood. Positively means that customary law is seen as law that comes from the thoughts and ideals of the people. Negatively, customary law is seen from the outside, from its relationship with other laws, both strengthening and weakening and the interaction of state political developments. Positive legal developments mean that customary law will be recognized in society in doctrine, legislation, in jurisprudence and in everyday life. On the other hand, the negative development is how customary law is sidelined and displaced or completely invalidated by their existence positive law represented by the State both in legislation and in court decisions.

Tracking development assistance for health from India to low- and middle-income countries, 2009-2020.

Development assistance for health (DAH) is an important source of financing for health for many low-income and some middle-income countries. Most DAH has predominantly been contributed by high-income countries. However, in the context of economic progress and changing global priorities, DAH contributions from countries of the Global South such as India have gained importance. In this paper, we estimate DAH contributed by India between 2009 and 2020. We leveraged data from budgetary documents, databases, and financial reports of the Ministry of External Affairs and multilateral organizations to estimate DAH contributions. The proportions of development assistance that go towards health in major recipient countries were estimated and reported by recipient country and year. Between 2009 and 2020, DAH contributed by India to bilateral and multilateral partners totaled $206.0 million. South Asian countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar received the most DAH from India. DAH contributed relative to DAH received ranged from 1.42% in 2009 to 5.26% in 2018, the latest year with country-level data. Health focus areas prioritized by India included technical training and innovation, health care infrastructure support, and supply of medications and medical equipment. India is an important development partner to many countries-particularly to those in the South Asian region. India's DAH allocation strategy prioritizes contributions toward neighboring countries in the South Asia region in several health focus areas. Detailed project-level data are needed to estimate DAH contributions from India with greater precision and accuracy.

Does it matter how central banks accumulate reserves? Evidence from sovereign spreads

There has been substantial research on the benefits of accumulating foreign reserves, but less on the relative merits of how these reserves are accumulated. In this paper we explore whether the form of accumulation affects country risk. We first present a model of endogenous sovereign debt defaults, where we show that reserve accumulation through the issuance of debt contingent on local output reduces spreads in a way that reserve accumulation with foreign borrowing does not. We confirm this model prediction when taking the theory to the data. These results suggest that attention should be placed on the way reserves are accumulated, a distinction that has important practical implications. In particular, our results call into question the benefits of programs of reserves strengthening through external debt such as those typically implemented by multilateral organizations.

Artificial Intelligence in the Fourth Industrial Revolution to Educate for Sustainable Development

There has been increasing interest in the use of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as artificial intelligence to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Recently, multilateral organizations have sponsored initiatives to make countries aware of the benefits of using artificial intelligence for sustainable developm­ent and to educate citizens to improve quality of life. This paper explores aspects of employing artificial intelligence for sustainable development, with a focus on lifelong learning, and inclusive and equitable quality education. Data are drawn from a thematic review of 32 academic peer-reviewed journal articles and interviews with six international experts. Findings include examples of benefits and challenges of artificial intelligence to address sustainable development and education.

Between EU candidacy and independent diplomacy: third country alignment with EU positions at the OSCE

ABSTRACT This article considers differentiated cooperation between European Union (EU) member states and third countries in diplomatic statements at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Using a novel dataset on interventions in OSCE Permanent Council meetings, it analyzes when and why third countries align with the EU's positions. The observed alignment patterns underline the complexity of third country motivations to form part of the EU's diplomatic alliances, such as their institutional proximity to the organization, or their own involvement in regional conflicts. In so doing the article explores the limits of differentiated diplomatic cooperation with the EU in multilateral security organizations. It also points to the constraints the EU faces when trying to establish itself as a relevant player in European and international security through diplomatic acceptance and amplification of its own views by others.

Who funds the production of globally visible research in the Global South?

There exist large disparities globally when it comes to knowledge production with very small proportions of publications from the majority world penetrating the global science system. This paper examines the Scopus data on the funders of publications (co-)authored by individuals based in the Caucasus or Central Asia. The analysis shows that in the conditions of scarce local funding for research, research activity has been fuelled by international funding. The funding has been rather diverse and originated from 98 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Australia. The two countries most frequently mentioned in the funding acknowledgements are the United States and the Russian Federation, cumulatively accounting for approximately 20% of funding acknowledgements. Different types of organisations have funded globally visible research produced by authors based in the Caucasus and Central Asia, most notably bilateral agencies (68% of all funding acknowledgements), followed by philanthropies (7%), and multilateral organisations (5%). This paper offers evidence to question the viability of the narrative of North–South divisions in the global science system. While higher education and research are shaped within territorially bounded, self-contained, and discrete spaces of nation-states, the global science system rests on the extensive flows of funding and knowledge which extend well beyond the nation state.

Damages Awards in International Investment Arbitration and the Question of Fair Compensation

When an arbitral agreement freely entered into between a host nation and a financially stronger multilateral foreign organization breaks down, arbitration is the acceptable mode of settlement of the disagreement. This is in line with the Nigerian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, which makes applicable the convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards (New York Convention) on awards made in Nigeria arising out of international commercial arbitration. The objective of this paper is to seek a balance between protecting foreign investments and shielding the economies of host States from destruction through award of excessive damages. The doctrinal approach of qualitative research methodology was adopted, which enabled the interrogation of previous literature that deals with the issue of fair compensation and the role equity should play in international investment arbitration. This library-based research focused on analysing primary data such as cases, statutes and conventions and secondary data in text form. The research methodology adopted helped describe and contributed to the understanding of the concept of damages awards in international investment arbitration and the place of equity in awarding damages. The paper concludes that applying equitable principles will help arbitral tribunals arrive at more appropriate equitable damages based on fair compensation. The implication of the study is that international investment arbitration tribunals may intentionally take into account the actual amount of money invested or expended towards a project in quantifying damages thereby endeavouring not to cross the line of fair compensation. Keywords: Damages awards, Equitable principles, Fair compensation, International investment arbitration, Justice DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/81-02 Publication date: November 30 th 2022

In pursuit of the demographic dividend: the return of economic justifications for family planning in Africa

This article examines the resurgence of economic justifications for investment in family planning in Africa. In the Cold War period, population control programmes were at the forefront of the Northern development agenda for the Global South; rapid population growth was cast as the enemy of national economic advancement and modernisation. At the United Nations Conference on Population and Development in 1994, global leaders signed on to a Platform of Action that sidelined economic and environmental concerns with population growth in favour of a human rights approach to family planning. Over the past decade, key sectors of the development community have regained their enthusiasm about the economic and social benefits of reducing fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. A wide variety of multilateral organisations have joined forces with African governments in a common pursuit: lower fertility to achieve demographic transition and harness the demographic dividend. The article contends that efforts to catalyse the demographic dividend are problematic because pursuing dramatic reductions in fertility (rather than reproductive and contraceptive autonomy) violates human rights approaches to sexual and reproductive health.

Journalism Safety from a Multilateral Organization Perspective

ABSTRACT The commentary highlights the analysis of an international organizations’ technocrat in charge of implementing multilateral policy designed to increase the safety of journalists by preventing, protecting, and prosecuting crimes against them. Being UNESCO the leading coordinating UN agency in the implementation of these policies, the lessons learnt from the first decade of the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity are the crosscutting element of this commentary, particularly aiming to suggest areas of research that could further support evidence-based policymaking.

Lessons from project-scale reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation: A case study in northern Lao People’s Democratic Republic

The reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) framework has been implemented over the past decade, and has led to a restructuring of forest governance systems in host countries. In the case of Lao People’s Democratic Republic, which is promoting REDD+, activities have been implemented at project, sub-national, and national scales. Project-scale REDD+ is assumed to be compatible with small-scale forestry, and usually targets local people to enhance participatory forest management through technology transfer. Such projects were also supported by foreign governments under bilateral cooperation or by private funding. In the case of sub-national- or national-scale REDD+, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic government aims to develop a system of forest monitoring, as well as related structures required by international REDD+ entities. These activities are supported by substantial funding from multilateral organizations. Lessons learned from project-scale REDD+ in northern Lao People’s Democratic Republic showed a gap in expectations among different donors and recipients regarding how to implement REDD+, in particular how to reduce dependency on forest resources in rural areas, and how to estimate and account for greenhouse gas emissions reductions with consistent methodologies at different scales. Such differences are related to the attitudes of local people toward participation, and those of the private entities that fund projects and ground-based activities. In future REDD+ schemes, the structural network or structural social capital among project-, sub- national-, and national-scale activities should be reconsidered to enhance the continued participation of stakeholders and make use of their accumulated experience and knowledge of small-scale forestry management.

Compensatory Layering and the Birth of the Multipurpose Multilateral IGO in the Americas

AbstractInternational organizations come in many shapes and sizes. Within this institutional gamut, the multipurpose multilateral intergovernmental organization (MMIGO) plays a central role. This institutional form is often traced to the creation of the League of Nations, but in fact the first MMIGO emerged in the Western Hemisphere at the close of the nineteenth century. Originally modeled on a single-issue European public international union, the Commercial Bureau of the American Republics evolved into the multipurpose, multilateral Pan American Union (PAU). Contrary to prominent explanations of institutional genesis, the PAU's design did not result from functional needs nor from the blueprints of a hegemonic power. Advancing a recent synthesis between historical and rational institutionalism, we argue that the first MMIGO arose through a process of compensatory layering: a mechanism whereby a sequence of bargains over control and scope leads to gradual but transformative institutional change. We expect compensatory layering to occur when an organization is focal, power asymmetries among members of that organization are large, and preferences over institutional design diverge. Our empirical and theoretical contributions demonstrate the value a more global international relations (IR) perspective can bring to the study of institutional design. international relations (IR) scholars have long noted that international organizations provide smaller states with voice opportunities; our account suggests those spaces may be of smaller states’ own making.

Mortality Statistics in India: Current Status and Future Prospects.

When plague epidemics swept India in the second half of the 19th century, there was an epidemiological need for mortality statistics; as a result, vital event registration systems were established. However, despite the existence of multiple sources of mortality statistics in many ministries/departments of the government, neither the number of deaths nor the causes of deaths reported annually are complete yet. Multilateral international organisations have supported modelling for the generation of mortality statistics in developing countries rather than supporting and funding the development of real-time mortality data. With specific initiatives for decentralising the registration process to primary health centres and sub-health centres, the civil registration system despite its flaws, can be improved for gathering accurate data on mortality, including the causes of deaths.