FAO.org

“Pure” conflict defined as the existence of competing interests between parties in absence of interests that are shared, is an anomaly in international relations where the defining feature of the relationship between states is mutual dependence. Such was the observation of Thomas Schelling, noted international economist, during the height of the Cold War. In the decades that have since transpired, globalizing developments in technology, communications, finance and trade have given rise to a world in which citizens, organizations and governments engage in millions of trans-national interactions on a daily basis. In the modern age, the need for developing mechanisms and skills to manage daily exchanges has grown, as [...]

The focus of this issue paper is on the global decision-making process, which can be seen as the development over time of a pattern of multilateral negotiations resulting in decisions, agreements and commitments which have implications for national policy making. Major socio-political and economic changes during the past decades set that context and had far-reaching effects for policy discourse and process. The surrounding political context influenced the evolution of the policy processes, what it produced and how these outputs were received. Part of this external influence has also affected the endogenous drivers operating in the process. This paper is an annotated [...]