Global Governance: Emerging Challenges

Global Governance: Emerging Challenges

The rise of multiple centers of power and the growing influence of non-state actors has brought about a transformation of the international system. Yet traditional international organizations, such as the United Nations and its Security Council, have shown themselves to be increasingly unable to respond to unforeseen events. As our existing mechanisms of global governance fall short, national policymakers find themselves improvising rather than developing a long-term strategic approach to regulating global crises. In this context, CGI’s Global Governance program reexamines the foundations of the post-WWII international system and explores new ways in which states could work together to respond more effectively to 21st-century challenges.

Publications

Russia’s Expulsion from the G8

Russia’s de-facto expulsion from the Group of 8, made extraordinary by the fact that it occurred while Russia held the group’s rotating presidency, became one of the main political fallouts of the Ukraine crisis. But a closer look at Russia’s time in the G8—beginning with the original motivations for inviting it into the club—suggests that events had been headed this way for some time.

To coincide with what would have been the June 2014 G8 Sochi Summit in Russia, CGI released the report “Back to the G7: Russia’s Expulsion from the G8 and the End of the Post-Cold War World.” Author E. Wayne Merry, Senior Fellow for Europe and Eurasia at the American Foreign Policy Council, examines why the G8 failed and what this failure means for the future of Western engagement with Russia.

Download the report below:

 

The Russian Presidency of the G20

Russia held the Presidency of the G20 and hosted the summit in St. Petersburg in September 2013. CGI’s expert task force met with top officials in Russia and internationally, coming up with ideas for how Russia could implement a practical and effective agenda. The task force examined Western expectations for Russia’s Presidency and possible reactions to the summit, searching for hidden agendas and stereotypes, identifying likely challenges, and putting it all on the table for discussion.

In the process, the task force took stock of how well the G20 functions as a wider international forum and asked how the G20 could become an organization that accomplishes more than simply creating photo opportunities for national officials. The resulting report was co-authored by Mark Medish, former Senior Director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council, and Daniel Lucich, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Trade and Investment in the U.S. Treasury Department. 

Download the report below:

 

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