US-China Relations and Global Indicators Quiz

Analysing International Relations

• The current lecture series is about the changing global governance and international order.

Crisis and Reform of Intergovernmentalism

• Traditional global governance, based on formal intergovernmentalism, is facing a crisis.
• Assumptions of this model center on cooperation among states for problem-solving.
• The goal of this model is to constrain state behavior through international rules and regulations.
• The organizing principle is multilateralism, where relations among three or more states are coordinated based on generalized principles.
• Intergovernmental treaties and formal organizations are instruments of formal intergovernmentalism.
• Issues with this model include inflexibility (power shifts and new problems emerge faster than treaties can be reformed), irrelevance (many global issues involve private actors), and illegitimacy (public opinion mistrusts IGOs and other stakeholders are often excluded).

UN-Based Governance in Crisis?

• The Multilateralism Index (2024) from the International Peace Institute and Institute for Economics and Peace shows trends in participation, inclusivity, and performance across multiple UN-related issue areas.
• Participation in the UN system is generally improving, except for trade.
• Inclusivity (considerations of NGOs, gender, and geography) shows improvement across all areas.
• Performance (fulfilling UN goals) is declining in all areas, according to the index.

Paradoxes of the Multilateralism Crisis

• Global issues increase the need for global governance but multilateral institutions are losing legitimacy and effectiveness.
• Financial aid through multilateral institutions is increasing but insufficient to address growing economic inequality.
• Multilateral institutions are central to global politics but lack legitimacy and sufficient funding for effectiveness.
• The weaknesses of these institutions drive demands for "minilateral" solutions, making true global institution reform less probable.

2023 UN General Assembly

• Key leaders of major global powers were absent during the 2023 UN General Assembly; those present were Brazil, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa and the USA.
• China, France, India, Indonesia, Russia, and UK were notably absent.

Reaction to 2023 UNGA

• Reform of the UN is stalled, causing other political clubs to gain importance. (Richard Gowan, International Crisis Group).
• The UN will continue largely unchanged, focusing on secondary issues, just as it did during the Cold War. (Mark Malloch-Brown, former UN deputy secretary general).

Possible Sources of the Multilateralism Crisis

• Lack of hegemonic leadership.
• Power politics.
• Globalization and backlash.

Lack of Hegemonic Leadership

• Hegemonic stability theory posits that cooperation depends on a hegemon's willingness and ability to provide public goods (buyer-of-last-resort functions, lender-of-last-resort functions, and enforcer of rules).
• The inability of the UK or the US to act as hegemon in the decades after the 1929 Depression hindered international cooperation.

Power Politics

• G-7 states resist reforming old institutions suitable to new power distributions.
• Emerging and developing economies have resisted yielding special privileges in trade and climate negotiations.
• Rivalry among great powers polarizes the UN, hindering its ability to address contemporary issues.
• This power imbalance results in the loss of trust in global governance institutions.

Globalization and Backlash

• Global trade, foreign investment and preferential trade agreements increased considerably between 1970 and 2007.
• Then, global trade dropped sharply and FDI declined after 2007.
• Subsequently, fewer preferential trade agreements were established after 2010.
• Nationalism and pro-national autonomy gained momentum in political party platforms worldwide by 2004.

New Forms of Intergovernmentalism

• New Roles for IGOs: Collaboration & Orchestration
• New Types of IGO: Informal Intergovernmentalism
• Sub-Global Multilateralism: Minilateralism
• Temporary Multilateralism: Ad Hoc Coalitions

New Roles for IGOs

• Collaborative initiatives by IGOs and target actors to drive policy change and self-regulation.
• IGOs are now orchestrating actions to push states, firms, and individuals towards compliance in various issue areas.

Sustainable Development Goals

• 17 goals, 169 targets, 232 indicators negotiated and approved by states.
• Achievement of the goals is voluntary, not legally-binding.
• States are solely or jointly responsible for achieving the listed goals.

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

• 31 guiding principles on the duties of states and businesses regarding the protection of human rights and access to remedies for business-related abuses
• Adopted by other IGOs.
• Used by lawyers in court cases regarding business-related human rights abuses.
• Some countries are now enacting human rights due diligence standards for businesses.
• A binding international treaty is under negotiation to better enforce these standards.

UN Global Compact

• A forum among stakeholders (15,000 companies in 162 countries) that drives dialogue and corporate responsibility regarding human rights, labor, environment, and corruption.
• Not a regulatory body.

Orchestration

• IGOs work indirectly (through intermediaries—other IGOs, states, firms, NGOs, and public-private partnerships—to push their targets—states, firms, and persons—toward desired behavior.
• IGO orchestrators shape preferences and beliefs to achieve compliance with IGO policies.
• IGOs use various strategies, including drafting legislation and lobbying member states, and working with NGOs.

Forms of IGO Orchestration

• Managing states: IGOs enlist intermediaries to influence state preferences and beliefs to achieve compliance with IGO policies and rules.
• By passing states: IGOs partner with intermediary actors (NGOs) to address issues that directly involve private actors without involving states.
• UNHCR: IGO that enlists NGOs to provide humanitarian aid, avoiding direct intervention by states.
• WHO: facilitates private & public-private partnerships to fight disease.

Informal Intergovernmentalism

• Cooperation via informal IGOs without formal structure or delegated authority, exemplified by bodies such as the G7, G20, G77, and BRICS+.
• Key traits of informal IGOs include shared expectations and explicit but non-legal memberships.

Minilateralism

• Cooperation among small groups of states with shared interests.
• Focuses on achieving the greatest possible impact with the fewest necessary states.
• Minilateralism works across single-issue and multiple-issue contexts.

Ad Hoc Coalitions

• Short-notice, task-specific arrangements for global cooperation
• Typically addresses specific issues without creating new rules or long-term structures.
• Useful when traditional mechanisms are insufficient or when speed and flexibility are required in reacting to an issue.

Non-state Actors in Global Governance

• Epistemic communities: transnational networks of professionals often engaging in research to raise awareness, propose solutions, and pressure governments & IGOs.
• Multistakeholderism: a decentralized, non-hierarchical governance model that involves multiple stakeholders in rulemaking and implementation.
• Different methods employed by multi-stakeholders, such as standards & indicators, affect outcomes.
• Global performance indicators: Private, NGO, and IGOs set international standards, assess state performance, and publicize results, influencing state behavior.
• Private enforcement (e.g., NGOs as private intelligence agencies, lawyers, or prosecutors): enforcing international law using intelligence, monitoring, legal action, and political pressure.

Power Shifts and International Order

• Why do great powers rise and fall? (The factors include domestic arrangements, technological stage, and economic growth rates that affect a state’s economic growth.)
• How do power transitions affect international institutions? (Shifting relationships can lead to instability and war, depending on whether existing institutions are modified or new ones are established)
• What international order do rising powers want? (They typically seek to renegotiate or establish a newer international order in a way that reflects their growing power.)
• What international order does the US want? (The US wants to maintain/strengthen the existing international order, given its perceived dominance, and that this order serves their national interests.)
• How do power transitions affect the risk of war? (These situations are often unstable, as the dominant power may use force to resist rising powers, often leading to war.)
• Is war between the US and China inevitable? (War is not necessarily inevitable but certainly possible in the context of power transition.)
• Why do power transitions affect the risk of war? (Fear of rising power's potential, and ambition to dominate their neighbors is a central factor.)
• During power transitions, two factors determine a state's preference for war or peace: position in the international power structure and the state's satisfaction with the current international order (states with fewer resources or less power are often dissatisfied)

Existing Power Institutions

• Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are playing crucial roles in international cooperation.

Test your knowledge on the dynamics of US-China relations and the implications of globalization. This quiz explores key concepts around great power interactions, governance outcomes, and international standards. Dive into the complexities of their intertwined relationships and the influence of performance indicators on global governance.