Multilateral Diplomacy And The United Nations Today

Diplomacy has made a dramatic shift in emphasis toward its multilateral form since the end of the Cold War. The countervailing forces of globalization and fragmentation at work today and the uncertainties that attend them cannot be managed--let alone be resolved--through bilateral diplomatic intercourse. The post-Cold War political and economic environment is thrusting multilateral diplomacy and international organizations to center stage of international relations.This eclectic collection of essays explores key facets of multilateral diplomacy and the diplomatic regime at the end of the twentieth century. Students of all levels will learn how multilateral diplomacy is conducted and how it has adjusted and performed in the post-Cold War political and economic climate of the United Nations system. It is an essential supplemental text to any course on contemporary international relations, diplomacy, and international organizations, especially to Model UN programs.The contributors to this volume include diplomats, UN officials, scholars, and leaders of nongovernmental organizations from around the world and bring a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience to the examination of five areas of multilateral diplomacy: UN diplomacy, crisis diplomacy, international economic diplomacy, UN summits and "citizen diplomats," and nongovernmental diplomacy. The essays unveil what effect the complex conditions and incredible demands of today's international political and economic environment have on the functions and expectations for practitioners, as well as the character of diplomacy, underscoring the necessity and inevitability of change in the diplomatic profession.