Revisionist States’ Strategies and Encounters with Their Counterparts

This chapter argues that the current literature’s emphasis on revisionist attempts to challenge the existing international order by means of war and conquest is misplaced due to the changed nature of international relations. In contrast to “hard” revisionism, “soft” revisionism, intended to promote institutional change, has become more relevant to today’s world. Four “soft” revisionist strategies are introduced to show how a revisionist state is likely to pursue its agenda. They are institutional reform, institutional competition, institutional obstruction, and institutional exit, with illustrations from Chinese and US conduct toward different multilateral organizations. The choice among these strategies is hypothesized to depend on a state’s comparative advantage and the benefits it receives from a specific institution.

Africa and the Commonwealth: What Relationship Since 1994?

The Commonwealth is a global organisation with some unique and important characteristics that complement other global multilateral organizations. Its peculiarities, most especially its networking and informal qualities, have endeared the organization until recently to her members. In this age of internet in which smartness and alertness are highly valued, some of its traits are now becoming a thing of an anathema, regarded as a cog in the wheel of progress. African continent alone has over thirty percent of Commonwealth membership. This paper examines Commonwealth relations with Africa since 1994 when apartheid ended in South Africa and Africans had a renewed relationship with the organization after both parties had endured a tenuous relationship in the preceding years. The study has the objective of assessing the economic and political gains Africa has derived from membership of the Commonwealth as well as to ascertain whether or not the relationship is mutually beneficial. The essay is qualitative and adopts the historical research methodology, detailing the evolution and progression in Commonwealth’s relationship with Africa during the period of study. The essay complements the use of secondary sources with primary sources. Data was therefore composed of official documents from the |Commonwealth Secretariat as well as documents from some African countries. The study concludes that Africa has benefitted immensely from the Commonwealth since 1994, despite some aspects of its relationship needing improvements. It recommends, therefore, that both parties will have to work towards a symbiotic relationship in order to enjoy a more robust partnership that is effective and impactful in the interest of all.

Internationalization and interaction in the time of covid 19.

The Covid-19 pandemic has made interdependence globally relevant. Communication channels provide us with technological advances; they can make our lives easier, but they can also bring us viruses. In this session, we aim to explore the impact of Covid-19 on relationships between states and other global actors. To what extent will the pandemic affect international relations? What role will emerging actors such as large corporations, pressure groups or multilateral organizations take on? What impact will the possible reconfiguration of global relations have on Europe, but also on the world? This article aims to analyze the consequences of Covid-19 in our societies.

Reducing Trade Inequality: A Network-Based Assessment

International trade, the network that underpins globalization, shows an extreme inequality. Despite efforts of multilateral organizations to foster a more fair world through trade agreements, it is hard to assess the effect of these changes on such a complex system. We have measured, using numerical simulation on a recently published network model, the impact of simple policies to boost trade chances among the weakest economies. Results suggest that global inequality may be reduced improving trade among low-income economies.

Global Governance After the COVID-19 Crisis

Assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on international institutions and international relations is essential for shaping global governance for the post COVID crisis world. The authors review the actions of the key international institutions in response to the pandemic undertaken in January-March 2020 reflecting on three questions. First, were the actions undertaken by the international institutions adequate, coordinated and timely? Second, could the outbreak have been contained if the global governance system was not in a state of severe strain, with many of the gaps exposed and reforms promised in the wake of the 2009 financial and economic crisis unfulfilled, its key causes unaddressed and unilateralism rising among its key members? In addition, was the COVID-19 crisis exacerbated by the crisis of multilateralism? Third, and most difficult, what is the future of global governance after the COVID-19 crisis ends? The analysis of international institutions performance three months into the crisis leads to authors to conclude that there have been inadequate actions to produce a timely, coordinated international response from all the major multilateral organizations and from the newer plurilateral summit institutions of the BRICS, G7 and G20. The failure of these global governance institutions was due not only to the severe strains from leading members’ unilateralism and competition, but from the very architecture designed in 1945 that now poorly matches intensely globalized world. Global governance in the post COVID world should not descend into the old war-prone balance of power, nor flow from a new Bretton Woods-San Francisco as in 1944–1945 but from an intensification and expansion of G20 governance that will generate and coordinate more comprehensive, stronger multilateral organizations for the benefit of all.

Diplomatic Negotiation at the Crossroads?

While interstate negotiation is becoming more important than ever in guiding the course of world affairs, it is in danger of being weakened as a consequence of the erosion of multilateral diplomacy. Multilateral organizations and cooperation between states has opened new pathways for negotiation, stabilized the world, and served to equalize power distribution. Growing multilateralism has protected negotiation processes and offered smaller powers more of a say in world affairs. However, with the current trend for powerful countries to undermine multilateral negotiation processes in favor of bilateral and minilateral power-based negotiations, global political gaps are widening. This will undermine small countries and middle powers that want to use diplomatic negotiation as their main tool to influence others. The consequence could be a process of diplomatic negotiation used by hegemonic powers to further their interests to the detriment of the less powerful.

India´'s Place in the Foreign Policy of Brazil: the multilateral nexus

Cooperation between Brazil and India in multilateral organizations goes back to the 1960s, with common positions in several United Nations´ agencies and in the GATT. In the current period, post-Cold War, it has been the strongest characteristic of the relation among both countries, with partnerships in many global fora, such as BRICS, G4, G20, BASIC, and IBSA, with common goals of reforming the international system in order to attend the demands of emerging nations. This affinity – the multilateral nexus - creates possibilities for Brazilian foreign policy regarding an Asia on the rise, including the opportunity for some balancing for the growing influence of China. Recebido em: janeiro/2019. Aprovado em: dezembro/2019.

The role of multilateral organizations and governments in advancing social innovation in health care delivery

Background Despite great medical advances and scientific progress over the past century, one billion people globally still lack access to basic health care services. In the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development social innovation models aim to provide effective solutions that bridge the health care delivery gap, address equity and create social value. This commentary highlights the roles of multilateral organizations and governments in creating an enabling environment where social innovations can more effectively integrate into health systems to maximize their impact on beneficiaries. Main text The integration of social innovations into health systems is essential to ensure their sustainability and the wide dissemination of their impact. Effective partnerships, strong engagement with and endorsement by governments and communities, regulations, trust and sometimes willingness are key factors to enhance system integration, replication and dissemination of the models. Three examples of social innovations selected by the Social Innovation in Health Initiative illustrate the importance of engaging with governments and communities in order to link, integrate and synergize their efforts. Key challenges that they encountered, and lessons learnt are highlighted. Multilateral organizations and governments increasingly engage in promoting and supporting the development, testing and dissemination of social innovations to address the health care delivery gap. They play an important role in creating an enabling environment. This includes promoting the concept of social innovation in health care delivery, spreading social innovation approach and lessons learnt, fostering partnerships and leveraging resources, convening communities, health system actors and various stakeholders to work together across disciplines and sectors, and nurturing capacity in countries. Conclusions Multilateral organizations and local and national governments have a critical role to play in creating an enabling environment where social innovations can flourish. In supporting and disseminating social innovation approach, multilateral organizations and governments have a great opportunity to accelerate Universal Health Coverage and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.