the pithy essence of international relations

"Another  fairly  safe  prediction  pertains  to  international  coordination  for   policies  on  global  public  goods,  especially  precautionary  measures  to  reduce  the  risk   of  catastrophic  climate  change  and  mitigate  its  consequences.  Reaching  and   implementing  agreements  will  remain  problematic.  Only  the  Germans  and  the   Scandinavians  will  make  promises  in  good  faith  and  strive  to  fulfill  them.  Britain  will   try  to  emulate  them  but  will  not  succeed.  America  will  be  honest  about  its  domestic   political  difficulties,  and  therefore  promise  little  or  nothing,  drawing  criticism  from   countries  like  France  and  Italy,  which  will  sign  anything  and  then  do  nothing.  China   and  India  will  repeatedly  declare  good  intentions,  but  their  main  priority  will  be   economic  growth,  and  they  will  be  too  distracted  by  their  internal  problems  to  do   much  about  the  environmental  impact  of  their  growth."

~Avinash Dixit (Full article here)