Designing Multilateralism 3.0

Designing the next era of international cooperation.

The post-1945 multilateral order has delivered extraordinary achievements. But its effectiveness rested on more than institutions, rules and legal frameworks.

It also depended on powerful states willing and able to underwrite the system’s functioning.

That political foundation is becoming less reliable.

The risk is not necessarily the collapse of existing institutions, but their progressive loss of authority, capacity and relevance as the political conditions underpinning them change.

This creates a challenge that cannot be resolved through incremental institutional reform alone.

How can international cooperation be sustained when the political arrangements on which the existing system was built can no longer be taken for granted?

Designing Multilateralism 3.0 is an initiative originated by the Global Strategic Initiatives Group to explore that question.

It proposes a structured process combining strategic foresight, institutional design and policy analysis to examine the future of multilateral cooperation and identify credible pathways for reform.

Why Multilateralism 3.0?

Multilateralism 1.0 emerged after the First World War, most visibly through the League of Nations.

Multilateralism 2.0 took shape after the Second World War, through the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions and the broader architecture of international cooperation.

Both reflected the political conditions of their time.

Designing Multilateralism 3.0 asks what international cooperation might need to look like under today’s political realities.

It does not presume that existing institutions should be abandoned or replaced. Instead, it examines how cooperation could be organised differently, including through changes within existing arrangements.

Functions before forms

Much of the debate about multilateral reform begins with existing institutions: their mandates, financing, governance and decision-making arrangements.

These questions matter. But Designing Multilateralism 3.0 begins one step earlier.

What are the essential functions that any effective multilateral system must perform?

These include maintaining international peace and security, managing global public goods, establishing international rules, resolving disputes and mobilising resources for collective action.

The initiative will examine how these functions can be sustained in a world where political power is more diffuse, legitimacy is increasingly contested and the enforcement of collective decisions cannot be taken for granted.

By starting with functions rather than existing institutional structures, the process aims to open up possibilities that conventional reform discussions might overlook.

The proposed process

Designing Multilateralism 3.0 is conceived as a three-phase initiative. Each phase would produce substantive outputs in its own right, with decisions about subsequent phases informed by the findings of earlier work.

Phase One: Diagnose systemic vulnerabilities

The initial phase will use strategic foresight to examine how the multilateral system might perform under different plausible future conditions.

Drawing on preparatory research and a structured expert workshop, participants would develop scenarios for the coming decade and assess how effectively the system’s essential functions could be performed under each.

The purpose is not to predict the future, but to identify structural vulnerabilities, examine the potential consequences of inaction and clarify where reform is most urgently needed.

The intended output is a public report presenting the scenarios, their implications and the case for anticipatory reform.

Phase Two: Design new approaches to cooperation

Building on the findings of Phase One, a second phase would bring together diverse expertise to develop and evaluate alternative ways of organising multilateral cooperation.

Using collaborative design methods, participants would consider questions of authority, legitimacy, decision-making, financing and enforcement.

The objective would be to develop credible models and design principles for multilateral cooperation under changing geopolitical conditions, rather than prescribe a single institutional blueprint.

Phase Three: Identify pathways for reform

The final proposed phase would examine how elements of these models could be advanced in practice.

This would involve assessing political feasibility, identifying potential institutional entry points, examining opportunities for experimentation and considering the coalitions and sequences of action that meaningful reform might require.

The intended outcome would be a set of practical strategic options through which elements of a renewed multilateralism could begin to emerge.

Help shape what comes next

Designing Multilateralism 3.0 is currently in development, with an initial focus on establishing the partnerships and resources needed to undertake Phase One.

We are interested in engaging governments, international and regional organisations, research institutions, civil society, philanthropy and other actors concerned with the future of international cooperation.

We particularly welcome conversations with potential institutional partners and funders, as well as researchers and practitioners who could contribute relevant expertise and perspectives.

To request the initiative brief, discuss a potential collaboration or contribute to the developing proposition, please get in touch.