A special edition of the annual Munich Security Conference took place on 19 February 2021, with presentations from US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron and other speakers.
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Tag: Multilateralism
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala appointed WTO head on promise of reform
Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s anticipated appointment to head the World Trade Organization has been confirmed. Dr Okonjo-Iweala becomes the first woman and first African to take on the role. She is committed to pursuing reform of the troubled organisation.
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UN Security Council calls for release of Aung San Suu Kyi
On 3 February 2021, the 15-member United Nations Security Council issued a statement agreed by consensus that called for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained by Myanmar’s military, and stressed the need to uphold democracy.
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US withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty: undermining military mutual trust and transparency, says China
The United States has officially withdrawn from the Open Skies treaty, with effect 22 November 2020, blaming the withdrawal on Russia’s transgression of the Treaty.
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Economic diplomacy in the era of great powers (Linda Yueh)
The inability of the major powers to set new global rules has had a detrimental impact on an international system under significant strain. Linda Yueh argues for a new approach to economic diplomacy that considers not just economic considerations, but also broader foreign policy aims, greater transparency, and a pluralistic approach to global rules to strengthen the multilateral system.
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The UN at 75: a real declaration of intent, or multilateral virtue signalling?
An atmosphere of unreality is building in advance of the virtual meeting of world leaders on 21 September 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN). Nothing demonstrates this more than the proposed draft declaration. Rather than reaffirming the UN’s centrality, the draft declaration’s faux earnestness jars amid the current international reality. Additionally, it ignores the biggest challenge to multilateralism.
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The future of multilateralism and strategic partnerships (Elena Lazarou)
The current European Commission has set the defence and reform of multilateralism as one of its key priorities. In this ideas paper from the EU Parliament’s Research Service, Elena Lazarou tackles the question of how to achieve the EU’s objective in an environment where coronavirus has exacerbated the struggle to uphold multilateralism in a climate of growing nationalism, protectionism and rising great power competition.
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