Read more about the event in Washington, D.C., and visit The Asia Foundation’s website to watch a live webcast of the discussion starting at 9 a.m. EST.

This story of Myanmar also illustrates a fifth key element in this new consensual cluster of norms: multilateralism. It is one of the fastest-growing sunrise industries in our world. This rapid growth is demonstrated by the increasing number of multilateral conferences and multilateral agreements that are entwining a larger and larger number of countries in thicker and thicker webs of organizations. This surge toward multilateralism goes against the deeply rooted unilateral instincts of the American body politic. American policymakers’ disdain for multilateralism manifested itself when John Bolton, who notoriously stated that there was “no such thing” as the UN, was appointed the American ambassador to the UN in 2005.

Fortunately, this American distrust of multilateralism is not shared by the rest of the world. Tony Blair has proposed a blueprint for what he calls “muscular multilateralism,” arguing that the only solution to deep-seated global problems is stronger multilateral institutions and a willingness to confront issues such as security, peacekeeping, and poverty.65 Blair’s explicit call for a stronger rules-based multilateral institution echoes Bill Clinton’s implicit call for a rules-based global order, which was mentioned in the Introduction. Most reasonable people understand that the rising multilateralism is now irreversible. There is a good reason why other Western leaders do not advocate multilateralism. He or she would be greeted with derision.

Just as we have failed to notice that war among great powers has become a sunset industry, we may also have failed to notice that there may be a correlation between diminishing wars and rising multilateralism. Figures 1.7 and 1.8 suggest a correlation between multilateralism and declining war deaths.

The obvious question to ask is, why should there be a correlation between the two trends or between trade and war fatalities? The simple answer is that wars happen when two countries fail to communicate with each other. The lack of contact also allows each country to demonize the other. Multilateralism does the opposite. It brings people together and increases both communication and understanding. And it is particularly helpful when leaders meet face to face. This is why the proliferation of leaders’ meetings is a positive global phenomenon that should be encouraged. In the Cold War, American and Soviet leaders rarely met each other even though a miscalculation by either could have destroyed the world. By contrast, the leaders of America and China meet regularly, especially in forums like the UN, the G-20, and the East Asian Summit. Neither the G-20 nor the East Asian Summit existed a decade ago.

I have served twice as ambassador from Singapore to the UN, from 1984 to 1989 and from 1998 to 2004. I experienced firsthand how a sense of community could develop among people coming from all over the world. Hence, I could develop close friendships with the ambassadors of Brazil and Saudi Arabia, Mongolia and Namibia, to name just four very different countries. The skeptic will immediately retort that ambassadors are functionally designed to make friends across borders. That is true. But it is equally true that these friendships produce benefits for the world.

The Law of the Sea Treaty is a case study showing how a sense of community developed among more than 180 ambassadors from all over the world can bring global benefits. The treaty defines the rights and responsibilities of all nations in their use of the world’s oceans. It sets rules for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources. It was one of the most difficult treaties to negotiate. It took nine years from start to finish. There were bitter divisions between the coastal states, which wanted to claim most of the oceans for themselves, and the landlocked and geopolitically disadvantaged states, which felt that they were being deprived of the “common heritage of mankind” in the oceans. Differences seemed irresolvable. Yet over time a sense of community developed, even between the adversarial sides. Distrust diminished. Finally in 1982 the negotiations were concluded. Even though America failed to fulfill its obligations and ratify the treaty in the final instance (in what was seen as an act of betrayal by the rest of the world), America has respected the provisions of the treaty ever since. The oceans have become safer. The world has become more civilized.

Oceans cover 71 percent of the surface of the earth. If we can negotiate a good Law of the Sea Treaty, there is no reason that we cannot negotiate a Law of Planet Earth Treaty that spells out the obligations and benefits to each nation-state in taking good care of the remaining 29 percent of the planet, its minerals and raw material resources. If we succeed, it will be because of multilateralism in action.

From the book The Great Convergence by Kishore Mahbubani. Reprinted by arrangement with PublicAffairs, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2012. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

Read more on this topic in a recent conversation with ADB Managing Director General Rajat M. Nag, or learn about The Asia Foundation’s work in economic development and the region’s conflict-affected areas.

On January 24, Ambassador Eikenberry joins Asia Foundation President David Arnold in conversation at the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles to discuss this chance for a better future, the 2014 transition, and political, economic, and security challenges ahead as the country works toward becoming a peaceful and stable society. Prior to his current position as the Payne Distinguished Lecturer at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, Ambassador Eikenberry spent 35 years in the United States Army holding two command posts in Afghanistan. As U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from May 2009 to June 2011, he led President Obama’s civilian surge, in order to set the conditions for transition to full Afghan sovereignty. Read recent coverage in the blog of Afghanistan and analysis of the 2012 Survey.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with Asia Foundation President David D. Arnold during a Q&A session. Photo/Whitney Legge

The event, which was one of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s main stops on her historic 2-week visit to the United States, marked her first public remarks in the Bay Area. The Asia Foundation’s president, David D. Arnold, led a lively and intimate Q&A session after her remarks, where she spoke candidly on democratic reforms in Burma, her own leadership aspirations, time in house arrest, and other insights on Burma’s political, economic, and social transitions. In his introduction, President Arnold said:  “To all of us here and to millions of people around the world, our guest today has truly been an inspiration. She has inspired us with her personal sacrifice, her incredible courage, and her unwavering commitment to the values of human rights, freedom, and democracy.”

On the reforms underway in her country, she said: “Democratization must be beneficial to all. This is the challenge:  a unified approach to the democratization process, a unified approach between the executive, legislature, and as yet almost non-existent judiciary, and the armed forces. We must work together to ensure that democratic institutions gather strength day to day. We are all impatient as we have waited 50 years for change to come.”

She continued later: “I don’t think anything unbelievable has happened yet, because we have not quite gotten to the point where it’s unbelievable. When we have gotten to the point when we can say that Burma has put down strong democratic roots, then perhaps I’d think this is unbelievable, but so far I don’t think anything is unbelievable, and certainly I never doubted that our cause would prevail.”

The Asia Foundation first opened an office in Burma in 1954, and since 2007 has donated more than 80,000 books to organizations in Burma. To ensure that Burma’s social, political, and economic reforms are durable, the Foundation is undertaking an expanded program of development assistance, including: strengthening core institutions of democratic governance; enhancing the country’s foreign affairs capabilities, especially as Burma prepares to chair ASEAN in 2014; supporting the management of sub-national conflict; ensuring free, fair, and credible elections; ensuring access to information and informed public debate; and assisting with economic reforms for broad-based growth and increased opportunities for all.

Watch a full video and a slideshow of images from the event on The Asia Foundation’s website, and read more in-depth analysis on Burma written by the Foundation’s experts in this blog.

On October 20, Cheng will speak at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club on challenges to rebalancing China’s economy. He continues to Silicon Valley to meet with William Perry, former secretary of defense, and Stanford University faculty and students. Cheng will also present at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, the World Affairs Council in Boston, Harvard University, and the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., among others.

On October 25, he will join Arianna Huffington, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, economist Niall Ferguson, George W. Bush, former U.S. senate majority leader Tom Daschle, journalist Katie Couric, and others as a featured speaker at the 2011 Global Financial Leadership Conference in Naples, Florida.

The Chang-Lin Tien Distinguished Visiting Fellow Award is named for the late Dr. Chang-Lin Tien, renowned thermal scientist, chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, and chairman of The Asia Foundation Board of Trustees.

Stay tuned for an exclusive interview in next week’s In Asia with Mr. Cheng.

The Banyan conference is a preeminent forum where global and Asian leaders discussed perspectives and ideas on the political, cultural, economic, social and technological future of Asia. Attendees and speakers came from the worlds of government, multilateral organizations, private sector, and international NGOs. Read more about the Banyan conference.

Wang Zhenyao, dean of Beijing Normal University One Foundation Philanthropy Research Institute and an Asia Foundation partner, is leading the delegation, which includes editors from China Business News, IFENG, Sohu.com, China Philanthropy Times, and others. Representatives from the Hua Min Charity Foundation, the Lao Niu Foundation, the Tencent Foundation, and several other foundations are also participating. While in San Francisco, the delegation will also meet with Half the Sky, the Google Foundation, Facebook, Twitter, and more. Earlier in their visit, they met with organizations and news outlets such as the Ford Foundation, Time Magazine, The New York Times, and the Clinton Foundation in New York.

Now, citizens and pundits alike are watching how her administration moves forward on critical issues such as public services allocation, debate around her brother’s involvement in decision-making, reconciliation, the conflict in the South, and more. In this context, The Asia Foundation’s Thailand country representative, Kim McQuay, visiting from Bangkok, will lead a breakfast discussion at the Foundation’s D.C. office tomorrow about the aftermath of the election, perceptions of the new government’s performance so far, and prospects for reconciliation in the country overall. The Foundation’s director of International Relations Programs, John Brandon, will moderate.

During Thailand’s elections, In Asia featured extensive, on-the-ground election coverage and analysis from Asia Foundation experts. Watch a slideshow that captures campaign season fervor and election-day activities, taken by Asia Foundation photographers.