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Global Tables on the Future of Multilateralism and Global Governance

At the core of the Digital Global Solutions Summit are Global Tables, each tackling the T20 and G20 agenda as well as generating policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Global Tables are filled with keynotes, discussions, interviews and impulse statements by high-ranking representatives from research, politics, business and civil society.

Over the last 75 years, multilateralism has been a strong driver and pillar of global peace and prosperity. At the same time, and especially more recently, globalization and current forms of global governance have been viewed as infringing on national sovereignty and constraining democratic decision-making. With populism, protectionism and nationalism on the march, a growing number of governments lack the commitment, or the domestic backing, required to forge stronger multilateral ties. The narrative of multilateralism as a means to enhance the well-being of all nations and people has been overtaken by a narrative of disempowerment over national social prosperity and experimentation with new public policy choices. Unfortunately, while politicians debate the merits of global cooperation, the window of opportunity to address inherently globalized problems such as pandemics and climate change is closing. A new rules-based multilateral order fit for the 21st century ought to accommodate legitimate institutional diversity and demands for policy autonomy, while ensuring adherence to universal values, prevention of beggar-thy-neighbor policies, provision of global public goods, and management of the global commons. All too often treated as an end in itself, multilateralism must be reimagined as a means to empowering citizens and enhancing social prosperity. What are the major normative gaps today related to the global governance system and its role? Should countries be granted more policy space by reducing the scope of multilateral action? If so, what essential traffic rules or general principles are needed to ensure a minimum level of cooperation and coordination? Given the desirability of subsidiarity, what is the role of subnational actors and plurilateral clubs in this framework? Should non-state actors (including civil society and corporations) be mobilized in order to advance global normative change and catalyze collective action? Which existing institutions have the necessary legitimacy to redefine the rules of multilateral engagement? Can the G20 play a leadership role to advance a reform of the international institutional system?

Danilo Türk
Former President of Slovenia

Julia Pomares
CIPPEC, Argentina

Panel

Blair Sheppard
Global Leader Strategy and Leadership, PwC

Panel

Ngaire Woods
University of Oxford

Panel

Moderator:
Homi Kharas
Brookings, USA

Peter Eigen
Transparency International

How is it possible to avoid the emergence of another bipolar competitive era?
Partner Global Table: Curated and produced by the China-West Dialogue

The Future of Multilateralism and Global Governance, for better or worse, hinges on the relationship between the United States and China. The growing rivalry is being driven by conflicting narratives in each country about the other. This spiraling dynamic is out of control. What can be done?
The China-West Dialogue was founded to address this challenge to global governance. The CWD group of thought leaders has insisted that there are alternative ways to reframe, rebalance and reconceptualize the US-China relationship. Doing so requires focusing on China-West relations. We have brought together experts and former officials including Europeans, Canadians, Chinese, Americans and others all in an effort to pluralize the narratives, the relationships, the tone of the global discourse of the global order.
Through this Global Table, we are inviting you to participate in an effort to involve more China related issues and more China, international relations and economic experts in our own deliberations and in preparations for the fifth Global Solutions Summit in Berlin in 2021. It has been curated and produced by the China-West Dialogue principals Colin Bradford, Yves Tiberghien and Alan Alexandroff and our technical support from Centennial College, Akrit Michael, Meredith Omstead, and Chi An Phoon.

Colin Bradford
Brookings Institution

Kerry Brown
King’s College London

Panel

Chen Dongxiao
Shanghai Institutes for International Studies

Panel

Susan Thornton
Yale University

Panel

Moderator:
Yves Tiberghien
University of British Columbia

Mobilizing Multilateral Cultural Values
Partner Global Table: Curated and produced by George Mason University, Robert Bosch Academy, and Stanford University Press

Global cultural anxieties are shaping responses to multilateralism at the deepest possible level and reported in daily headlines. 

This keynote and panel address the viability and need for mobilizing multilateral values from a cultural perspective. The keynote and the panelists have recently contributed to a book on this subject “Cultural Values in Political Economy” (Stanford University Press, July 2020). Members of the panel have advised international organizations such as UNESCO, the World Bank, and the WTO and serve in distinguished capacities for foreign relations in the United States, Canada, and Australia. 

How do cultural values affect the political economy of multilateralism and global governance? How can global civil society and states understand and mobilize cultural values that affect issues such as international trade, environmental sustainability, and international cultural flows such as through arts, migration, and education? 

The goal of the session is to highlight the importance of cultural values and to operationalize them for global governance. Solutions proposed include shifting the discourse from environmental accountability to responsibility, including norms of cultural diversity in global governance, managing the cultural obstacles to international trade, and fashioning new cultural narratives of multilateralism and cosmopolitanism.

Technical support by Paul Nooney, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University.

J.P. Singh
George Mason University

Kristen Hopewell
University of British Columbia

Moderator:
J.P. Singh
George Mason University

Panel

Miles Kahler
American University

Panel

David Throsby
Macquarie University

Panel

Irene Wu
Federal Communications Commission, USA

The current pandemic has led to a dramatic contraction in global trade. Lockdowns and travel restrictions have disrupted international supply chains and the movement of people. It has also exposed national vulnerabilities that governments will need to address and has advanced the rise of anti-globalist sentiments. We are looking at a shift in the balance of national autonomy and globalization.

At the same time, there is no doubt that the pandemic is a global challenge that requires a multilateral response. This Global Table will provide insights on the effects this crisis will have on globalization. Which parts of the economy will experience a rebalancing of efficiency and resilience? Which sectors might see an increase in globalization? How to strengthen multilateralism in order to better address future crises? And how does this crisis affect climate action?

This Global Table was part of a two-day workshop on the economic impact of the Corona pandemic, organized by Forum New Economy, a Berlin-based platform promoting innovative concepts to make economic and societal trends more sustainable.

Ian Goldin
University of Oxford

Panel

Harold James
Princeton University

Panel

Pascal Lamy
Jacques Delors Institute

Panel

Laurence Tubiana
European Climate Foundation

Ian Goldin
University of Oxford

Panel

Harold James
Princeton University

Panel

Pascal Lamy
Jacques Delors Institute

Panel

Laurence Tubiana
European Climate Foundation

Panel

Moderator:
Simon Tilford
Forum New Economy

Europe’s global role in response to the COVID-19 economic crisis
Partner Global Table: Curated and produced by Dahrendorf Forum, a joint initiative by the Hertie School and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Despite being of comparable economic weight to the US and China, its most prominent global competitors, Europe has not been as influential as a power in global governance. Lacking the ‘hard power’ derived from military capabilities, it has laid claim to a ‘soft power’ of normative influence externally. Nor, despite some successes, has Europe been able to exercise the power to coerce – ‘sharp power’ – as systematically as its global rivals. Yet, it should be recalled not only are five European countries members of the G20, but also the EU is a member in its own right. 

In light of the current COVID-19 crisis and against the backdrop of the severe global economic downturn authors and commentators of a Dahrendorf Forum scenario report will build on the analytic approach in these scenarios to debate questions like: As in 2008/9, a coordinated response to the economic crisis is required, how well placed is Europe to lead in the G20?, Is a more internationalised euro still a realistic ambition and can it, too, become a tool for a better coordinated response?, What is next for the WTO in the face of US intransigence?

Iain Begg
Dahrendorf Forum, LSE

Panel

Marco Buti
European Commission, Brussels

Panel

Jayati Ghosh
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Panel

Sahoko Kaji
Keio University, Tokyo

Panel

Moderator:
Christine Ockrent
France Culture Radio, Paris

Creating Compliance with G7 and G20 Summit Commitments
Partner Global Table: Curated and produced by the G7 and G20 Research Groups

When G7 and G20 leaders gather at their summit table, they agree on a plethora of commitments that affect most aspects of global governance, and affect the daily lives of people not only in their own countries but well beyond. Never before has compliance with those commitments mattered more than it does today — with the world struggling to contain the still escalating COVID-19 pandemic, and the consequent economic, social and ecological crises. 

Even as G7 and G20 members work to implement their commitments their leaders made last summer at Osaka and Biarritz, they must do so for the ones from the emergency summits called to confront these proliferating crises this spring. How well are they doing? The panellists in this discussion look at the need for compliance, the effectiveness of the G7 and G20’s efforts, and what the most recent research shows about the performance of the 2019 Osaka and Biarritz Summits.

Marina Larionova
Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration

Meagan Byrd
G7 Research Group

Panel

Alessandra Cicci
G20 Research Group 

Panel

Ella Kokotsis
G7 and G20 Research Groups

Panel

Moderator: John Kirton
G7 and G20 Research Groups

Policy Recommendations, Policy Briefs and Articles

Policy Briefs on the Future of Multilateralism and Global Governance

Policy Briefs contain recommendations and visions and cover policy ares that are of interest to G20 policymakers. The majority of the Policy Briefs has been developed by a corresponding T20 Task Force.

T20 Recommendations Report: Global Governance and the Future of International Institutions

Compiled by Dennis Görlich (IfW Kiel) and Juliane Stein-Zalai (IfW Kiel)

Coordinating Committee for the Governance of Artificial Intelligence

By T. Jelinek (Taihe Institute), W. Wallach (Yale Center for Bioethics), D. Kerimi (World Economic Forum)

Towards a Responsible Globalization that Empowers Citizens and Leaves No One Behind 

By Dennis J. Snower (Global Solutions), Sebastian Strauss (Brookings), Homi Kharas (Brookings)

The China-West Dialogue:  Toward a Global Order for All

Background Note for Global Solutions Summit “Global Table on the Global Order”

Message to the G20 on EU’s Coronavirus Global Response Online Pledging Event

By Danilo Türk, President of World Leadership Alliance – Club de Madrid

Letter to EU Presidents

By Danilo Türk, President of World Leadership Alliance – Club de Madrid; Former President of Slovenia

Letter to International Monetary Fund and World Bank

By Danilo Türk, President of World Leadership Alliance – Club de Madrid; Former President of Slovenia

Geopolitical symptoms of COVID-19: Narrative battles within the Eastern Partnership

By Mihai-Razvan Corman (Bertelsmann Stiftung) and Eliana Coraci (Bertelsmann Stiftung)

Will COVID-19 Remake the World?

By Dani Rodrik (Harvard University – Kennedy School of Government)

A Letter to G20 Governments

By Erik Berglöf, Gordon Brown & Jeremy Farrar (Project Syndicate)

Toward “effective multilateralism” in turbulent times – Global Solutions Journal

The future of multilateralism – Global Solutions Journal

The economic causes of populism – Global Solutions Journal

China and its Long March: End in sight? Not yet – Global Solutions Journal

Contributions by the Young Global Changers

Ninety young people from around the world were selected to participate in the Global Solutions Summit as Young Global Changers. These young changemakers from academica, business and civil society will contribute and debate in their various working groups on the Summit topics.

Statement Video on Multilateralism by the 2020 YGCs

Take a look at the video with statements and questions by the YGC Working Group on the Future of Multilateralism and Global Governance.

Related Projects by the 2020 YGCs

The Young Global Changers work on projects and initiatives that are pushing for change.

Explore the Digital Global Solutions Summit 2020

You can navigate to content related to the Global Solutions Summit here. Discover the T20 agenda, an overview of all Global Tables, meet the speakers and read the latest issue of the Global Solutions Journal. Also navigate to the G20 Insights Platform offers policy proposals to the G20: The Policy Briefs, produced by Task Forces from the Think20 (T20) Group and other sources, are clustered in policy areas and describe either recommendations or visions.

Themes

Sessions focus on the G20 and T20 agenda and also address the political response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Underlying all topics is the narrative on Recoupling.

Overview »

Program

Global Tables shape the program of this Summit. With a specific focus within a topic area they consist of keynotes and panel discussions, supplemented by vision statements. Participants are invited to contribute to the contents. 

All Global Tables »

Speakers

The Global Solutions Summit is a meeting of global problem solvers, including thought leaders and decision-makers from research, politics, business and civil society.

All Speakers »

Journal

The Journal for this Summit provides a bridge between visions, recommend­ations and action. Find articles from academics as well as from implementers.

Previous issues »

Policy Briefs

The G20 Insights Platform offers policy proposals to the G20. It is  an initiative of the T20 Engagement Group. 

G20 Insights »

Any Questions?

If you have any questions about the Digital Global Solutions Summit 2020 and its program, please contact us at contact@global-solutions-initiative.org.

As a media representative please contact press@global-solutions-initiative.org for more information. Please also note our press kitpress releases and comments published on the Digital Global Solutions Summit 2020.

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