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Multilateralism / Comment

Considering the future of the international system

09/04/2008 By Gelson Fonseca

Making predictions about the future of the international system is a high risk activity. There is a long list of mistakes made by experienced analysts, ranging from affirmations in the 1980s regarding the decline of the United States and the unalterable rigidity of the Cold War, to optimistic predictions about the triumph of multilateralism after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

With this in mind, rather than making concrete predictions with regard to how the world will develop, this article seeks to shed some light on the factors that should be considered when thinking about the future of the international system. What are the forces driving change and in what direction to they seem to be moving?

In this Comment article Gelson Fonseca, of the Brazilian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, explores the opportunities and challenges that face those engaged in international politics in a rapidly changing environment.

He examines the increasing multipolarity of the global system and asks how international institutions and civil society alike can learn from past successes and failures in order to create a more secure and prosperous future.


Download the full version of this publication, available in Spanish (67 kB)

Keywords

Civil society Cold War International organisations International relations Multilateralism

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Bio author: Gelson Fonseca

Gelson Fonseca is a professional diplomat, since 1970. He is currently the consul of Brazil in Madrid (since 2006). Gelson Fonseca is member of the board of directors of the Brasilian Council of International Relations (Conselho Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais) and of the Institute of International Relations of the University of São Paulo. He is also a member of the editorial section of the journals "Politica Externa" and "Contexto Internacional".