From the UN Security Council and the European Union's Council of Ministers to obscure committees on food labelling or the scheduling of World Fairs, several thousand multilateral conferences are held each year. Why do governments deploy so much effort in these activities? What goes on behind the scenes at these meetings? How are their outcomes determined and what are the real-world consequences? Ronald A. Walker reveals the inner workings of such conferences, the result-oriented strategies that are pursued behind a façade of formal ritual and their impact on the behaviour of sovereign states. For participants in international conferences it is a practical guide to procedure and to achieving their objectives. For students of international relations, it analyses processes which are often misunderstood or overlooked.

Acknowledgements
Glossary of Acronyms and Jargon
Introduction
PART I: THE CONTEXT
Governments and Committees
The Purposes of Multilateralism
Influence on Governments
International Organizations
Multilateral Diplomacy
PART II: PROCESS AND STRATEGY
Purposes of Multilateral Conferences
Delegations
The Format of Multilateral Conferences
The Products of Multilateral Conferences
Decision-Making Processes
Negotiation
Delegation Management
Conference Management
National Styles
PART III: EVALUATION
The Worth of Multilateral Conferences
Notes

RONALD A.WALKER has participated in well over a hundred multilateral conferences during his 37 years as a diplomat, in every capacity from junior bag-carrier to presiding officer. He was twice Ambassador to the UN and was Chairman of the Board of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He now teaches Diplomacy and International Relations from a practitioner's perspective.