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The probable transition from a bipolar to a multipolar international system has inspired divergent predictions about the likely consequences for global stability. This article places two recent exemplary deductive models under examination, in order to evaluate the validity of their conclusions about the alleged stability of the cold war's bipolar competitive world relative to that of multipolar systems. A review of the empirical evidence generated by inductive investigations of this relationship suggests that acceptance of the pessimistic thesis that multipolar systems are inherently unstable would be premature, and that, if intervening variables are considered, a rival, more pacific image of a future multipolar world is equally plausible.

"Since the creation of the United Nations in 1945, international law has sought to configure itself as a universal system. And yet, despite the best efforts of international institutions, scholars and others to assert the universal application of international law, its relevance and applicability has been influenced, if not directed, by political power. Over the past decade, discourse has tended to focus on the implications for international law of a unipolar world, characterised by US hegemony. However, that the international system may now be experiencing a tendency towards multipolarity, with various sites of power able to exert a telling influence on international relations and international law. Recent events such as Russia's excursion into Georgia, the breakdown of the Doha round of trade negotiations, the USA's questionable actions in the War on Terror, the prominence of emerging nuclear powers, China's assertions of its own interests on a global scale, and the rise of regional trading blocs, all pose significant questions for international law and the international legal order. International Law in a Multipolar World features contributions from a range of contributors including Nigel White, Michael Schmitt, Richard Burchill, Alexander Orakhelashvili and Christian Pippan, addressing some of the questions that multipolarity poses for the international legal system. The contributions to the volume explore issues including the use of force, governance, sovereign equality, regionalism and the relevance of the United Nations in a multipolar world, considering the overarching theme of the relationship between power and law"--

"This paper assesses the future of the world trading system in the face of diminishing returns
from current multilateral trade negotiations and the proliferation of bilateral and regional
trade agreements (RTAs). It traces the evolution of the postwar trading regime from
the early decades of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that were dominated
by the United States and the European Communities to the new World Trade Organization
(WTO) in which developing countries have begun to play a more important
role, especially in the current Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTNs).
The paper discusses the substantive and tactical reasons why the Doha Round has progressed
so grudgingly and is unlikely to achieve its ambitious objectives. It then examines
why developing countries increasingly have turned to RTAs to complement WTO talks,
whether these pacts benefit or hinder MTNs, and how RTAs affect the influence of developing
countries in the WTO.
The final section of the paper looks at the WTO going forward and posits that, after the
Doha Round, the trading system in the 21st century requires substantial reform. The problems
of the Doha Round and the proliferation of regionalism confront WTO members with
three central challenges:
First, multilateralize multilateralism. There are a vast number of exceptions that take the
WTO far away from the ideal of a universal system with a single set of rules. The paper
suggests that officials focus on the broad exceptions to most-favored nation (MFN) and
national treatment in Articles XX and XXI, especially the provisions covering border security
and environmental issues.
Second, multilateralize regionalism. The challenge is to make the design and implementation
of RTAs more WTO-friendly. The paper calls for greater transparency of RTAs
through more frequent and rigorous WTO reporting requirements, and new disciplines on
discriminatory rules of origin. The paper offers two correctives: cut MFN tariffs and thus
reduce the margin of preference for RTA members; or, alternatively, require that RTA
members harmonize and lower the MFN tariffs down to the level of the lowest rate applied
by any of the RTA members.
Third, modernize multilateralism. The WTO agenda needs to be refocused on the problems
of international commerce in the 21st century. WTO rules on taxes and subsidies
need to be recast to cover concerns about currency manipulation, regulatory abuse or neglect,
and labor market practices as well as to meet the new challenges of climate change
initiatives. In addition, WTO members will have to address trade and security linkages
before pre-shipment inspection and visa requirements become major obstacles to international
flows of goods, services, and people. To do so, the WTO will have to collaborate
more effectively with other international economic organizations." [author's abstract]