Rising Powers and Multilateral Institutions

The rise of new powers such as China and India is sending shockwaves through the global multilateral system. Yet, not every multilateral institution is affected in the same way and many institutions have developed different responses to the global power shift. This volume is the first to systematically examine these different responses. It looks in detail at 13 multilateral institutions ranging from exclusive Western clubs (NATO, OECD, IEA, IASB, and G8) over global institutions in which rising powers are deprived of equal decision-making power (UN Security Council, IMF, and World Bank) to global institutions in which rising powers have equal decision-making power (WTO, WIPO, UNFCCC, CBD, and the G20). The contributors offer an interpretation of why some institutions are proving highly resilient thanks to the innovative outreach and reform activities they deploy, while others have more troubles to adapt as they become paralyzed by gridlock or even retreat from the global scene.

Dries Lesage is Professor of Globalization and Global Governance at the Ghent Institute for International Studies at Ghent University, Belgium. His research interests include the architecture of global governance, the G8/G20, and international taxation.

Thijs Van de Graaf is Assistant Professor the Ghent Institute for International Studies at Ghent University, Belgium. His research focuses on international energy politics.