ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the fate of a great and indispensable political ideal that is in danger of failing as it runs up against the reality of power politics, fragmentation, and competition. It provides the organization a more binding coordinating role at both the regional and global levels. The book presents new and updated arguments demonstrating that it is both necessary and feasible for states and social actors to address the paradox detailed and jointly enter a new era of global multilateralism. It offers evidence that new forms of cultural dialogue and pluralistic, many-layered multilateral cooperation are emerging at the global, regional, and interregional levels, focused on traditional challenges and humanity’s newly recognized collective goods. The book provides a discussion of two key interrelated aspects of the post–Cold War global liberal order: multilateralism and the international human rights regime.
