Editing Multilateralism (section)

== History ==
One modern instance of multilateralism occurred in the nineteenth century in Europe after the end of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], where the great powers met to redraw the map of Europe at the [[Congress of Vienna]] (November 1814 to June 1815). The [[Concert of Europe]], as it became known, was a group of great and lesser powers that would meet to resolve issues peacefully. Conferences such as the [[Conference of Berlin]] in 1884 helped reduce power conflicts during this period, and the 19th century was one of Europe's most peaceful.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Adogame|first1=Afe|title=The Berlin-Congo Conference 1884: The Partition of Africa and Implications for Christian Mission Today|journal=Journal of Religion in Africa|date=2004|volume=34|issue=1/2|page=188|doi=10.1163/157006604323056778}}</ref>

Industrial and colonial competition, combined with shifts in the balance of power after the creation - by diplomacy and conquest - of Germany by Prussia meant cracks were appearing in this system by the turn of the 20th century. The concert system was utterly destroyed by the [[World War I|First World War]]. After that conflict, world leaders created the [[League of Nations]] (which became the precursor of the [[United Nations]]) in an attempt to prevent a similar conflict.<ref>"The United Nations: An Introduction for Students." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/unintro/unintro3.htm>.</ref>  Although the League of Nations failed in its security mission, it initiated a variety of specialized organizations that continue to operate today.  Moreover, although the US did not join, it did provide a degree of support from individual Americans and American philanthropies that started a tradition of public and private participation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The League of Nations|last=Ostrower|first=Gary B.|publisher=Avery Publishing Group|year=1996|isbn=0-89529-636-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/leagueofnationsf00ostr}}</ref>

After the Second World War the victors, drawing upon experience from the League's failure, created the United Nations in 1945. Since then, the "breadth and diversity" of multilateral arrangements have escalated.<ref name="John Ruggie 1992, pp 561-598"/> Unlike the League, the UN had the active participation of the United States and the [[Soviet Union]], the world's then greatest contemporary powers. Along with the political institutions of the UN, the post-war years also saw the development of organizations such as the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] (GATT) (now the [[World Trade Organization]]), the [[World Bank]], and the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) (the so-called '[[Bretton Woods system|Bretton Woods]]' institutions), and other technical institutions that were part of the UN system—including the [[World Health Organization]]. Formation of these and other subsequent bodies under the United Nations made the new system more powerful than the old League system.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Swords into plowshares: the problems and progress of international organization|last=Claude, Inis L.|date=1984|publisher=Random House|isbn=0-394-34053-1|oclc=11425625}}</ref> Moreover, United Nations [[peacekeeping|peacekeepers]] stationed around the world became a visible symbol of multilateralism.  Later, the [[NATO|North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO) was formed as a defensive alliance that used the multilateral form to promote [[collective security]] in the postwar era.

Multilateral institutions of varying scope and subject matter range from the [[International Telecommunication Union]] (ITU) to the [[World Intellectual Property Organization]] (WIPO) and [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]] (OPCW)