HIGH-PROFILE WITHDRAWAL FROM INTERNATIONAL TREATIES: RISK MANAGEMENT IN INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS AND STATES’ COMMITMENT TO MULTILATERALISM

The dissertation explores the current phenomenon of high profile withdrawal from multilateral agreements, understanding and enhancing commitment to multilateralism under the lens of international law and global governance.Withdrawals from multilateral treaties have unleashed a new period of upheaval in the world order. We are living in a time where counties are making high-profile withdrawals from multilateral agreements. Brexit, the Paris Agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and many others suggest a trend of countries disengaging from international cooperation as domestic conditions change. In the age of withdrawal, is there still any room for international law to regulate the rules of the game or will ex post facto decisions overturn the current architecture of a multilateral global order? The author aims to create a map for the phenomenon of withdrawal, in order to understand the reasons and the consequences of this emerging trend in foreign policy. Pictured in its socio-political milieu, withdrawal represents a way to reestablish the status quo in the world order, as it was ex ante globalization.The dissertation looks at the factors that give rise to long-term commitments and techniques to manage the risk of withdrawal. Based on quantitative and qualitative studies, it shed lights on the reasons that lead countries to exit, and identifies the conditions necessary to maintain commitment. Grounded on the principle pacta sunt servanda, the analysis demonstrates how States’ commitment vis-a-vis ex post facto decisions can make international law still matter.%%%%International law%%%%Commitment and compliance, Denunciation, International law of treaties, Multilateral treaties, Withdrawal%%%%Washington College of Law%%%%Degree Awarded: S.J.D. Washington College of Law. American University