Defining Multilateralism

Multilateralism refers to efforts to coordinate behavior between three or more actors.

Historical Overview

Multilateralism in US foreign policy

• For the most part, US foreign policy is mostly characterized by unilateralism through World War I

• World War I marks a slight turn towards multilateralism, but there's a lot of resistance

• After World War II multilateralism becomes a central component of US foreign policy

Historical Overview

Multilateralism in security, diplomatic, and economic affairs

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

• United Nations (UN)

• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

• International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• World Bank

Costs and Benefits

Multilateralism has a range of shorter-term benefits

• Pooling resources

• Distribute costs

• Enhanced legitimacy

But there are also costs

• Decreased autonomy/constraints on behavior

• Possible costs via side payments

• More diffuse policy benefits

Costs and Benefits

But even short-term tradeoffs can have long-term benefits

The US was the dominant military and economic power following the War, but how best to wield that power?

• A retreat from engagement to unilateralism like after World War I?

• Assert dominant power to control other countries?

• Something else?

Liberal Hegemony: A term coined by John Ikenberry to describe the nature of the international order that obtained following World War II where the US acted as the dominant power presiding over a rules-based international system to which it subordinated itself (at least in part).

Costs and Benefits

Multilateralism was part of a strategy to balance and advance multiple objectives

• Secure Western allies

• Deter Soviet aggression

• Perpetuate the United States' dominant position for the long-term

Liberal Hegemony entailed a few key components

• US sacrificed some autonomy, binding itself to a set of rules-based arrangements in different policy areas

• By binding itself the US obtained the buy-in from other countries, increasing the legitimacy and long-term viability of US-led projects

Why Multilateralism?

Lots of different and important issues, but what do they have in common?

Well, there's a shared, fundamental problem underlying these issues

Collective action and coordination problems

Basic problems

Collective Action Problems: Interactions where individuals/groups would all benefit from cooperating to produce some good, but where individual players have an incentive to defect.

Coordination Problems: Coordination therefore, is the orderly arrangement of group effort, to provide unity of action in the pursuit of a common purpose. (Mooney 1947)

ALSO

[A] coordination problem exists if achievement of a particular organizational goal requires that each actor select the appropriate action, and the goal is not fully achieved if all members of the group do not select goal-fulfilling actions. (Camerer and Knez 1997)

Why Multilateralism?

1. Responding to adversaries

2. Trade and investment policy

3. Peacekeeping

4. Human rights and trafficking

5. Global climate change