Multilateralism Post COVID­19

Context: The COVID­19 outbreak has placed all international institutions under a magnifying glass. India should neither permit capsizing of the order nor allow it to be captured by any superpower.

Reverting to Multilateralism 0.1: Capsizing of the order

• Belied ability to update swiftly: For E.g. unanimously adopted Resolution 50/52 to initiate deletion of clause related to ‘’enemy state’, still awaits action 25 years later. 
• No objection procedures: in passing the resolutions have been adopted by the General Assembly.
• Reduced to video playback session: as can be seen in 75th session’s ‘leaders’ week’.
• Rising stakes of stakeholders: More emphasis on sovereign decision making due to pandemic, on myriads issues demands of – ‘nothing about us without us’ are likely to increase.

Capture of Multilateralism: A case against China’s ability and intentions to head multilateral institutions.

• Failed campaigns: Unable to provide leadership in UNESCO and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 
• Voluntary contributions to be taken a pinch of salt: as many others contribute much more if all the bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral channels are considered.
• Yet to become An Agenda Setter: that dominates the discourse on issues just like what the U.S did.

E.g. China’s ?agship venture, the Belt and Road initiative, remains only on the fringes of multilateral fora.

• Anti-thesis to multilateralism: Capture of the existing multilateral order by a new hegemon is antithetical to the ethos of multilateralism.

Significance of Multilateralism:

• Inherent Resilience: Post second world war, it has survived the pursuit of departure which led to the demise of League of Nations in the pre-war era. The following organized survived the departure of US

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
• World Health Organization (WHO)

• Reinforced global cooperation: has been necessitated due to pandemic.

• Not binary choices: Between collapse and capture there are other pathways.
• Places premium on structures over functions, processes over substance: This delays the process and militates against a takeover in the future.
• No meaningless meandering: The ‘Pluri-laterals’, and the emerging ‘mini-laterals’ each have their place in terms of international agenda-setting.

Way Forward:

• Adapt to new realities: The functioning of multilateral institutions requires reforms in light of new changes just like their staff has quickly adapted to work from home.
• Issue-specific ‘coalitions of willing’: can act as catalysts. India can avail of such avenues.
• Convening all stakeholders: to come together on different issues for holistic solutions will earn India the imprimatur to act on behalf of the global community.
• Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: should remain the primary pursuit in our support of multilateralism.
• Patient reforms: In multilateral diplomacy incrementalism pays a dividend
• To unseat a permanent member from the International Court of justice took us 7 decades.
• To get Masood Azhar designated as terrorist took us a decade