Title: COVID-19 impacts on multilateralism and diplomacy: the potential of business diplomacy

Authors: Sergio Caballero; Iñigo Arbiol

Addresses: Department of IR, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain ' Department of IR, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain

Abstract: This article begins by analysing the pandemic as an 'accelerator' of previous trends. The international context from which these trends emerged was one of a 'crisis in globalisation', in conjunction with an increase in protectionism and heightened tensions between Donald Trump's USA and Xi Jinping's China. After analysing how multilateralism has been questioned and eroded, the present article turns its attention to currently unfolding developments: from transregionalism á la carte to minilateralism, as encapsulated by the notion of 'multipolarity without multilateralism'. However, one strategic tool in particular has the potential to serve as a vital component of a formula to revive multilateralism in a context of crisis: business diplomacy. This sphere of knowledge, strategically applied, may serve as a roadmap to internationalise and promote multilateralism, while attributing due recognition to the role of business as an actor capable of shaping the ecosystem and, specifically, redesigning aspects of the great contemporary political consensus, from the rules of business internationalisation to the 2030 Agenda.

Keywords: business diplomacy; multilateralism; pandemic; US-China tensions; business internationalisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDIPE.2022.125220

International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy, 2022 Vol.8 No.1, pp.6 - 20

Received: 04 May 2021
Accepted: 20 Aug 2021
Published online: 02 Sep 2022 *

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