Strengthening multilateralism in challenging times

To discuss this pressing issue deeper, FBA invited researchers from around the world to a three-day exchange of knowledge and expertise. The workshop’s first part focused on researchers presenting their individual papers, with a special focus on the UN, EU, and NATO. The last day featured an interesting research-practitioner dialogue, to give the participants better tools to strengthen multilateralism in practice, now and for the future. Most of the participating researchers were part of FBA's Research Working Groups, spanning expertise in peace operations and dialogue, peace mediation and peace processes.

Challenges to multilateralism

The three-day interactions confirmed how complex and urgent current challenges are, discussing the effects of e.g. increasing disagreement from member states on global norms like gender equality and protection of civilians; the increased focus on hard security over peace in the conflict resolution and management field; and membership questions, with e.g. the UN no longer reflecting the global power dynamics in terms of representation from regional middle powers in the Global South.

However, positive developments were also highlighted. Reflections pointed to how greater conceptual awareness of different understandings of mediation and dialogue, can help safeguard a plurality of approaches to the same; the development of successful future peace operations relate increasingly to the role of middle powers through their legitimacy, capabilities and political will; more established instruments such as UN peacekeeping missions are effective for reducing violence; and how cooperation and division of labour between global and regional organisations can help reduce some of the identified complexities and give more room for benefits due to the organisations’ complementary profiles.

Some takeaways from research-practitioners’ discussions:

On the UN’s role:

(Senior Researcher Corinne Bara, Postdoctoral Researcher Sara Lindberg Bromley, Assistant Professor Yvan Ilunga)

• There is a need to reutilize the full toolbox of the UN system, specifically in creating UN peacekeeping missions and Special Political Missions that are cost effective, with better use for smaller missions.
• Even though not all contexts are suited for UN peacekeeping, peacekeeping can do a lot of good and there is a great deal of faith in the instrument, which is a cause for optimism.

On the EU’s role:

(Associate Researcher Calle Håkansson, Senior Researcher Timo Smit)

• The EU should focus more on hybrid and security threats and think more strategically about the real purpose of a civilian mission.
• In the future, the EU needs to use several instruments in order to maintain a role of relevance in peace and security. It is thus not only leveraging political, economic and cultural influence, but also developing various military capabilities, as seen in relation to Ukraine. Especially since the EU may come to deal with more military actions in the future, with uncertainty related to the commitment from for example the US.

On NATO’s response to hybrid threats:

(Associate Fellow Minna Åhlander, Researcher & Director Roderick Parkes (PhD))

• Hybrid threats are changing, and maritime objects and infrastructure are specifically being targeted. Hybrid threats have been on NATO’s agenda for some time, the challenge is how to respond in the most efficient way. The internal dynamics within NATO offer both disadvantages and opportunities for meeting external threats. Mutual distrust and competition challenge internal cohesion, but also seem to offer incentives to more effectively address urgent issues, such as hybrid threats.

The  scientific workshop The future of multilateralism in peace, security and development was arranged at the FBA premises 14-16 January.
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