Whither Multilateralism? International Security Institutions and Informal Groups of States

January 2007 – December 2009

At the beginning of the 21^st Century, we live in an era of global interdependence where threats and challenges are interconnected, and where members of international society share the interest and the responsibility to address problems collectively and effectively. Multilateral security institutions, regional or global, are in high demand as they provide platforms to mobilise and coordinate collective action. Yet, the problem-solving capacity of formal international institutions is rather limited and, hence, their effectiveness in global governance is sub-optimal. The proliferation of multilateral institutions has therefore been accompanied by the growing importance of informal groupings of states – ‘contact groups,’ ‘core groups,’ ‘groups of friends’ – that act in and around formal institutions. Such groupings have come to play a range of critical roles in international politics and occupy a vital space between multilateral governance on the one hand and traditional major power diplomacy on the other. However they have not been subjected to sustained or rigorous analysis. If we want to adapt multilateral institutions successfully in order to meet the multi-faceted security challenges of the 21^st Century, then we need to know much more about the roles of informal groups in global governance and how they impact on the working of international organizations such as the European Union, NATO, and the United Nations.

This project seeks to uncover and explain the roles, functions and limits of such groupings of states, especially the conditions under which the relationship between international security institutions and informal groups of states may be mutually reinforcing: how can we facilitate a productive trade-off between the competing demands of inclusiveness, efficiency, informality, transparency, and accountability? The project allows opening up and developing a new research agenda involving cross-institutional and cross-regional comparison of the dynamic relationship between informal groups of states and multilateral security institutions in the management of risk and conflict. One of the main objectives is to draw some lessons of how we can enhance the performance of multilateral institutions in addressing the threats and security challenges of the 21^st Century. The project highlights the implications of those findings for our understanding of power, legitimacy and change within theories of global governance. Although this project is focused on a particular range of cases, the implications are broader and wider. The tension between new forms of institutionalized governance and older forms of diplomatic action, especially involving major powers, represents a general feature of the contemporary international system.

Contact:

Centre for International Studies

Department of Politics and International Relations

University of Oxford

Manor Road

UK - Oxford OX1 3UQ

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	Whither Multilateralism? International Security Institutions and Informal Groups of States/Project Summary
Project Summary Principal Investigator Workshop I Conference I	Whither Multilateralism? International Security Institutions and Informal Groups of States January 2007 – December 2009 At the beginning of the 21^st Century, we live in an era of global interdependence where threats and challenges are interconnected, and where members of international society share the interest and the responsibility to address problems collectively and effectively. Multilateral security institutions, regional or global, are in high demand as they provide platforms to mobilise and coordinate collective action. Yet, the problem-solving capacity of formal international institutions is rather limited and, hence, their effectiveness in global governance is sub-optimal. The proliferation of multilateral institutions has therefore been accompanied by the growing importance of informal groupings of states – ‘contact groups,’ ‘core groups,’ ‘groups of friends’ – that act in and around formal institutions. Such groupings have come to play a range of critical roles in international politics and occupy a vital space between multilateral governance on the one hand and traditional major power diplomacy on the other. However they have not been subjected to sustained or rigorous analysis. If we want to adapt multilateral institutions successfully in order to meet the multi-faceted security challenges of the 21^st Century, then we need to know much more about the roles of informal groups in global governance and how they impact on the working of international organizations such as the European Union, NATO, and the United Nations. This project seeks to uncover and explain the roles, functions and limits of such groupings of states, especially the conditions under which the relationship between international security institutions and informal groups of states may be mutually reinforcing: how can we facilitate a productive trade-off between the competing demands of inclusiveness, efficiency, informality, transparency, and accountability? The project allows opening up and developing a new research agenda involving cross-institutional and cross-regional comparison of the dynamic relationship between informal groups of states and multilateral security institutions in the management of risk and conflict. One of the main objectives is to draw some lessons of how we can enhance the performance of multilateral institutions in addressing the threats and security challenges of the 21^st Century. The project highlights the implications of those findings for our understanding of power, legitimacy and change within theories of global governance. Although this project is focused on a particular range of cases, the implications are broader and wider. The tension between new forms of institutionalized governance and older forms of diplomatic action, especially involving major powers, represents a general feature of the contemporary international system. Contact: Centre for International Studies Department of Politics and International Relations University of Oxford Manor Road UK - Oxford OX1 3UQ
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