Book VI International Organizations, 22 Theory of Multilateral Diplomacy

22.1 As well as the legal aspects of multilateral diplomacy, dealt with in the preceding chapter, theories about its role—shaping the public perceptions of its institutions—merit consideration. The multilateral approach to diplomacy became increasingly common post 1945. It was partly a generic consequence of the modern state system, and partly a response to the challenges of the postwar period when the Bretton Woods institutions and the United Nations were finding their place. United States leadership was influential as a means of addressing economic, financial,...