| Summary/Abstract |
While interstate negotiation is becoming more important than ever in guiding the course of world affairs, it is in danger of being weakened as a consequence of the erosion of multilateral diplomacy. Multilateral organizations and cooperation between states has opened new pathways for negotiation, stabilized the world, and served to equalize power distribution. Growing multilateralism has protected negotiation processes and offered smaller powers more of a say in world affairs. However, with the current trend for powerful countries to undermine multilateral negotiation processes in favor of bilateral and minilateral power-based negotiations, global political gaps are widening. This will undermine small countries and middle powers that want to use diplomatic negotiation as their main tool to influence others. The consequence could be a process of diplomatic negotiation used by hegemonic powers to further their interests to the detriment of the less powerful.
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