EU to the rescue: Priorities for a positive multilateralism

Photo: EU FlagsWe are a long way from 2015. That year, the world committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate – promising to end extreme poverty, address corrosive inequality, boost peace and prosperity, and stop climate change.

Now in 2018, we already look back at 2015 with nostalgia. This was the high water mark of multilateralism, brought low by the rise of populism and ‘illiberal democracy’. Suddenly, it seems, we are forced to find ways of rescuing the global rules-based order.

Where is global trade and investment governance headed? A Tour d’Horizon

Photo: Trump Towers

Since the US created the post-World War Two liberal international order and is still the pre-eminent global power notwithstanding the growing Chinese challenge, it is uniquely placed to determine the trade and investment system’s fortunes. The answer to the question posed in the title, therefore, depends fundamentally on the medium-term trajectory of US politics, and the resultant US position in the world. Accordingly, in this blog I put forward my analysis of where the US political system is headed under President Donald J. Trump, how key countries are responding, and the ensuing implications for the global trade and investment system.

T20 must Rediscover before becoming Irrelevant

Photo: Centro Cultural Kirchner
Almost a year-long T20 process concluded last week, setting the stage for the Argentinean Presidency of G20 hosting the Summit. The process of T20 was led by the Argentinean Council for International Relations (CARI) and the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC). On the lines of the excellent precedence set up by the T20 during the German G20 Presidency in 2017, T20 Argentina also organised its work around 10 Task Forces with participation of more than 150 think-tanks. The process brought out 80 Policy Briefs. Unlike earlier, the T20 Co-Chairs could also present the final communiqué from T20 to the President of Argentina.

Can think tanks save the world – and should they?

Photo: Centro Cultural Kirchner
In mid-September, Buenos Aires hosted an interesting and innovative event, organized by a variety of think tanks: the Think20 Summit. A total of about one thousand participants from almost 70 countries dealt with the topics of the G20 summit, which will take place in Buenos Aires at the end of November. The Argentine government has made the future of work, sustainable food supply, infrastructure and gender justice its priorities.

T20 – Cooperation to overcome the challenges to multilateralism?

Photo: Buenos Aires Skyline

The T20 summit assembled 1000 researchers from 68 countries during the past two days in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to present policy recommendations on issues such as future of work, climate action, trade and social inclusion. A joint communique was handed over to G20 Chair and Argentinean President Mauricio Macri that called for more engagement to overcome the challenges faced by multilateral cooperation in all these areas.