Multilateralism 2.0: Finding Some Evidence

Multilateralism is a poor, ugly duckling among concepts used to study International Relations. After defining the object of this study through a literature review, the paper selects a metaphor derived from the ICT world – multilateralism 2.0 – to describe its characteristics and highlight its recent transformation. The essay then proceeds to try to find evidence of the existence of mode 2.0 of multilateralism in practice. It seeks to achieve this by means of a set of criteria, based on the trends that are currently shaping international relations. The paper concludes that multilateralism 2.0 in practice has outpaced our understanding of its existence.