Western RBO vs China’s True Multilateralism: Implications for Serbia

Mitić, Aleksandar (2025) Western RBO vs China’s True Multilateralism: Implications for Serbia. In: 80 Years Since the End of World War II: Changes in International Relations 1945–2025. Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade, pp. 93-103. ISBN 978-86-7067-351-9

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Abstract

As the world marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the United Nations’ founding, a crucial global fault line sits in the rivalry between the Western “rules-based world order” (RBo) and its challengers in the East and Global South. During the Joseph Biden administration, the United States of America, the European Union, NATo, and the G7 called for the upholding of RBo as a resilience mechanism in preserving the Western-dominated post-Cold War order against what they consider “autocratic challengers”. on the other hand, critics have labeled the RBo as an instrument of the political West, which has used “double standards” and “unique cases” to interpret international law according to its needs and thus effectively undermine the UN system. Therefore, China’s President Xi Jinping contrasted the fallacies of the RBo with the concept of “true multilateralism”, calling for a return to the principles of the UN Charter, “shared benefits”, and “indivisible security”. The article contrasts the two concepts. It looks at four RBo cases with implications for the Republic of Serbia and concludes that it has been detrimental to Serbian national interests. In such circumstances, the appeal of “true multilateralism” stands to gain in Serbia’s foreign policy thinking.

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