Going beyond multilateralism

The world is on the cusp of a profound geopolitical restructuring, as escalating great-power rivalries erode the multilateral structures that have supported the global order since the mid-20th century.

- JAVIER SOLANA ANGEL SAZ-CARRANZA

To prevent the international system from sliding into chaos and conflict, those unwilling to accept a world governed solely by raw power must find ways to reinforce today's debilitated multilateral institutions through informal arrangements and bilateral agreements.

From the end of WWII to the early 2010s, multilateralism provided the framework for international cooperation. Though imperfect and often inconsistent, it was the most effective model of global governance ever created. But after more than a decade of continuous erosion, it is clear that the multilateral system as we know it can no longer facilitate collective action.

Without a framework capable of coordinating relations among countries, the alternatives are stark: a world government — an unfeasible prospect — or a steady drift towards anarchy. Multilateralism emerged as the pragmatic middle ground: collective decision-making and binding rules, rather than a single global authority or none at all.

Born of unique historical circumstances, this model took shape as the United States — the dominant postwar global power — promoted a treaty-based system guided by enlightened self-interest. That vision was realised at the Bretton Woods and San Francisco conferences, which led to the establishment of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, as well as its successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO).