In the past several decades, especially after the Cold War, we have lived in the world of globalization where multilateralism is one of the prerogatives of international relations and actions, not only to achieve cooperation, but also to address various challenges and threats.

In this new pattern all the actors of international relations, be it states or other entities, are strongly oriented towards each other and are highly interdependent. And this is something that certainly never existed in earlier periods of human history.

It is quite logical that in such circumstances multilateralism has become a standard of communication and action in the modern world. And It is also logical that it has created “new rules of the game” that must be respected by all. But in reality this is not always the case which leads to the situation where multilateral structures become a tool or an instrument for realizing the interests and selfish goals of small number of countries who possess superior economic, political or military power.

And let’s be honest to say that some major crises in the world have occured due to the inability of multilateralism to solve accumulated regional or global problems.

The policy of power or force on one side and the policy of democratic multilateralism, on the other one, represent two opposite mutually irreconcilable poles.  

We have learned so far that functional multilateralism cannot exist without a proper environment = that is a system of multipolar balance of power, where no actor or group of actors will be able to impose their own rules and attitudes on others and where the level of mutual respect and communication is much higher than is the case nowadays.

Therefore, in this globalized world, it is necessary to more sincerely return to a wider universal platform, while at the same time nourishing all regional forms of cooperation.

But evidently, the UN as the global platform has encountered numerous problems in fulfilling its own mission and basic function.Now it is more obvious than ever that there is no "International community" as a real collective category. The atmosphere within the global or international frame is too divisive for it to be seen as a uniform collective body.

But if we really want to consolidate the collective multilateral structures then it is necessary for certain actors to give up the policy of force. Obviously international relations are militarized and in order to overcome such a situation the concept of dialogue and diplomatic efforts needs to be revitalized .

This means indivuidual states must not use or misuse the regional or global structures to impose their own interests on the others.

I come from a country which is a perfect example of how multilateral structures have been misused by some countries in order to manipulate the implementation of an international treaty that established peace and constitutional order in BiH.

Following the war in BiH (1992 – 1995) and based on the above treaty the OHR was established to facilitate and coordinate some aspects of the post war processes. Contrary to the initial purpose and by acting beyond their mandate these foreign diplomats acting as HRs have turned into rulers who have usurped the competencies of our domestic institutions and have imposed numerous pieces of legislation, amended entities constitutions and even dismissed elected officials from office all by decree and without any due process. Their continued presence and the powers they illegaly excercise have created a situation where BiH is treated as a colony.

Therefore international structures and organizations must not serve as a playground of the “big ones”. If we speak about partnership then it should be partnership for all not partnership for one or several at the expense of all the others.

In the past decades we have seen many situations where one actor or a group of actors have tried to format the whole world in accordance with their own interests and goals. Great powers, as a rule, behave as superior and act from the position of dominance.

Thus, the key responsibility for the current state of affairs in the world, and for the fate of multilateralism, lies with those who act from the position of power. By doing so they may endanger and eventually completely ruin the major principles of multilateralism.   On the other side, small or less powerful countries are far more ready for dialogue.

What we can see within the multilateral structures nowadays is far from shared values or common interests.

That is why the international structures and organizations must be redesigned in such a way that they ensure equality of all actors.

Sadly, double standards and hypocrisy are part of many multilateral processes of today.

The evident failure of the multilateral geopolitical concept does not necessarily mean that we should give up all the forms of multilateralism. It would be very dangerous even to think that international cooperation and multilateral approaches are no longer needed. On the contrary they are very much needed, but the current multilateral system should be rehauled and re-energized in order to address the complexities of a rapidly changing world.

Obviously a new rational and realistic agenda is needed to gather all the actors together within multilateral structures of the future otherwise multilateralism will end up in complete anarchy. And this is exactly what we need to avoid.