Misreading Nuclear Realities: Contextualizing South Asia’s Deterrence Dynamics
June 26, 2025
Diplomacy over Division
June 28, 2025
Muhammad Mehmood Khan
Once the foundation of international diplomacy, multilateralism is currently struggling under the influence of geopolitical tensions, surging the ideology of nationalism, and the differences of institutions created to maintain international peace. In a world that is more interconnected than ever, international cooperation is ironically in decline. The Kashmir issue remains unresolved under ruthless occupation, the Palestinian people have remained stateless despite decades of U.N. resolutions, and human rights abuses in authoritarian regimes go largely unaddressed, all while the institutions of multilateral governance stay conspicuously silent.
An article, “Multilateralism: Its Past, Present and Future,” written by David A. Chikvaidze, provides an in-depth assessment of multilateralism’s growth and its ongoing critical juncture. While highlighting its significance in history, Chikvaidze doesn’t avoid addressing the present issues directly: undermined institutions, frustrated member states, and a rising inclination for unilateralism. As a student of international relations, I argue that multilateralism is not only declining, but is being intentionally sidelined by the very powers entrusted with maintaining it.
Multilateralism emerged from the ashes of global warfare. The atrocities of World War II drove global leaders to envision a framework grounded on international law, negotiation, and collective security. The United Nations, the World Bank, the IMF, and subsequently the European Union became key components of this new vision. As Chikvaidze points out, this structure achieved significant success: it averted another world war, aided in decolonization, and promoted global economic integration.
However, currently, that system seems more symbolic than functional. Major global powers often pretend to be the liberal Ideals and profess their support for multilateralism while simultaneously undermining it through vetoes, strategic interventions, and political inaction. The disparity between the aspiration of cooperation and the reality of geopolitical self-interest has never been greater.
The faltering of the multilateral system is demonstrated by the recent escalation between India and Pakistan in June 2025. Following the Pahalgam terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accused by Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao of using the incident to gain an electoral edge in the upcoming Bihar elections, echoing the 2019 Pulwama attack helped him in Lok Sabha election and 2002 Godhra in Gujarat election. Moreover, India unilaterally breached the Bilateral Indus Water Treaty and launched a cross-border strike into Pakistan territory, violating Pakistan’s sovereignty, even though there was no evidence connecting Pakistan to the attack.
Pakistan demanded an unbiased international investigation and urged the UN or a Neutral third party to intervene. However, the United Nations remained silent, demonstrating how international institutions fail to act. Even though U.S. officials initially stated the conflict as “none of our business,” raising concerns over Pakistan’s successful use of Chinese weapons would affect the U.S arms industry, demonstrates that intervention was motivated more by strategic economic self-interest than by peace.
Furthermore, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine is the clearest evidence of multilateralism failure. More than 54,607 Palestinians, including over 18,000 children, have been killed since October 7, 2023; 125,341 have been injured, and nearly 2.1 million have been forcibly displaced. Gaza’s infrastructure is in ruins, over 87% educational institutes destroyed. The US vetoes of ceasefire resolutions and investigations have kept the UN paralyzed despite the killing of 137 journalists and 408 aid workers (284 UNRWA and 34 PRCS). Enforcement is lacking, even the International Court of Justice warns of possible genocide, demonstrating that multilateralism is a meaningless ideal rather than a universal norm when international law solely safeguards the wealthy and powerful.
Even so, multilateralism arose from the ashes of international conflicts, particularly after World War II. The recent COVID-19 pandemic, a non-traditional Security threat, revealed this fragmentation. Strong powers put their interest first, hoarding medical supplies and ignoring the vulnerable rather than promoting unity. In addition, climate change necessitates an immediate coordinated global response. Multilateralism hasn’t been able to provide a successful Global collective response, though. Consensus and collaboration have been hampered by the Global North and Global South’s ongoing divides. Furthermore, the Trump administration’s decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement, prioritizing industrial expansion over environmental implications, was indicative of the League of Nations’ fall in terms of institutional flaws and unilateralism.
This inaction is not due to a lack of awareness; it reflects a failure of political will. When influential states breach international norms, institutions like the UN become paralyzed, particularly when those states have the backing of veto-holding allies in the Security Council. As Chikvaidze points out, this kind of paralysis leads the idea of collective security to become “progressively meaningless.”
Despite of harsh reality, urgent reforms are needed to strengthen the multilateral framework. Global collaboration is still possible, as seen by new initiatives like G20, regional peacekeeping operations, and climate agreements. These initiatives, however, fall short in the absence of fundamental adjustment like enlarging the UN Security Council, guaranteeing accountability, and resolving the gap between the Global North and South.
The concept of Multilateralism is not out of date; it is being purposefully undermined by Global powers, poor leadership, and institutions with no enforcement mechanism. Strengthening an equitable multilateral system is urgently needed towards given the complexity of today’s international issues, from human rights disputes to global crises like climate change. If we do not address this dual face and self-interested structure, which threatens global governance, multilateralism won’t only decline, it will fall apart.
The writer has done BS IR from NUML Islamabad and is currently associated with Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI).
