Multilateralism in the 21st century. Europe’s quest for effectiveness

This volume focuses on multilateralism in the 21st century and examines how, and how effectively, the EU delivers on its commitment to effective multilateralism.

Presenting results generated by MERCURY, an EU research programme into multilateralism, this book addresses a central research question: does the EU deliver on its commitment to effective multilateralism?

Globalisation has created powerful new incentives for states to cooperate and has generated renewed interest in multilateralism. While a large body of work exists on multilateralism as a concept, it continues to be ill-defined and poorly understood. This book sheds new light on 21st century multilateralism by exploring conceptual approaches as well as generating innovative, empirical knowledge on its practice.

Research on EU external relations has increasingly focused on the concept of ‘effective multilateralism’. Yet, the application of this concept as a guiding principle of EU foreign policy in non-security policy areas has rarely been examined. This book explores whether the EU is pursuing effective multilateralism in specific policy areas, including trade, climate change and conflict resolution, and distinct geographical and institutional settings, both internal to the EU and in specified regions, international organisations (IOs) and bilateral partnerships. This book offers evidence-based, actionable policy lessons from Europe’s experience in promoting multilateralism.

The European Union and Multilateralism in the 21st Century will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, international organizations, and European Union politics and foreign policy.

Contents:

1. Introduction: multilateralism in the twenty-first century - Caroline Bouchard, John Peterson & Nathalie Tocci

Part I: Mapping modes of multilateralism
2. Making multilateralism effective: modernising global governance - John Peterson & Caroline Bouchard
3. The evolving ‘doctrine’ of multilateralism in the twenty-first century - Elena Lazarou, Geoffrey Edwards, Christopher Hill & Julie Smith
4. Effective or defective? Europe’s experience of multilateralism - Christopher Hill & John Peterson

Part II: Multilateralism in EU policies
5. Assessing EU multilateral action: trade and foreign and security policy within a legal and living framework - Nadia Klein, Tobias Kunstein & Wulf Reiners
6. Market power Europe: externalisation and multilateralism - Chad Damro

Part III - Multilateralism in practice: key regions and partners
7. The energy and migration dimensions of the EU’s cooperation with the Mediterranean - Nur Abdelkhaliq & Silvia Colombo
8. Multilateral as envisaged? Assessing European Union’s engagement in conflict resolution in the neighbourhood - Tomáš Weiss, Nona Mikhelidze & Ivo Šlosarčík
9. The European Union development strategy in Africa: the economic partnership agreement as a case of ‘aggressive’ multilateralism? - Lorenzo Fioramonti
10. The EU’s engagement with China in climate governance - Bo Yan, Giulia C. Romano & Chen Zhimin

Part IV: The European Union in multilateral fora
11. The European Union and the reform of the United Nations: towards a more effective Security Council - Nicoletta Pirozzi with Hubertus Jürgenliemk & Yolanda Spies
12. All together now? The European Union’s contribution to fiscal multilateralism in the G20 - Charlotte Rommerskirchen
13. The EU and the Middle East Quartet: a case of (in)effective multilateralism - Nathalie Tocci

14. Conclusion: the EU and effective multilateralism - Caroline Bouchard, Nadia Klein, John Peterson & Wulf Reiners

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