Photo: Future of Globalisation

The section Future of Globalisation in this blog provides a platform for debates on current world economic issues, global power shifts and views on the roles of formal and informal global governance institutions. It is an initiative of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). The blog posts, appearing on every first and third Wednesday each month, are written by researchers from IDOS and our international partners, amongst them numerous prestigious think tanks from rising powers. In this blog, the authors of the contributions represent only their personal opinion. While aiming at cutting-edge research content, the blog intends to reach a broader audience of researchers, government officials and journalists. With this blog we carry on discussions that had initially been launched in 2016 as part of the Think20 process during the German G20 presidency. In 2018, we aim at continuing the debate about the role of the G20 broadening the focus of discussion to institutional and thematic matters of global economic governance.

If you are interested to contribute, get in touch with Axel Berger and Sven Grimm of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) via futureofglobalisation@idos-research.de.

Promoting a green and just recovery – Leveraging the potential of G20 and G7 cooperation

City of rome by night

By Nimrod Oren on Pixabay

Club governance formats such as the G20 and G7 have an important role to play in raising the level of ambition to effectively combat climate change and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This was the key message that came out of a virtual expert conference organised by the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) in cooperation with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Indonesia, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Europe (SDSN Europe). The conference brought together key experts and policy makers from G7 and G20 countries, assessed the outcomes of the G7 Carbis Bay summit and looked ahead not only to the upcoming G20 summit in Rome but also the G7 and G20 presidencies in 2022 chaired by Germany and Indonesia respectively.

Mexico’s back-tracking on energy policy, the European Union and the COP26

Photo: Solar Panels in Mexico

As the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow approaches (31 October to 12 November 2021), Mexico’s Congress discusses a controversial proposal to modify the Constitution in the electricity sector. This legislative change would give primacy to the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), a state-owned company, effectively crowding out private producers and eliminating independent regulators. …

Learning from the Afghanistan debacle – But what exactly?

Photo: Military Plane about to start from an airbase in Afghanistan

With the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban only a few weeks after the withdrawal of international troops, the mission failed to leave behind stable functioning state structures which would be resilient enough to withstand military pressure from the Taliban, care for the population and be respected by it.

Germany’s Role in EU Development Policy: From Broker to Agenda-Setter

Photo: helical treetop path

Germany is the world’s second largest development donor after the US, and the European Union’s (EU) largest aid provider. And yet its financial heft is not commensurate with its positioning on development in the EU. For the second time, Germany reached the aid target of 0.7 percent of gross national income (GNI) in 2020 (the first being in 2016, albeit in part due to its response to the high influx of refugees into the country), making significant contributions to the global pandemic response, including through the EU, COVAX, and the WHO. With a new government taking over the helm of the country and building on its financial firepower, Germany now has the opportunity to fully embrace a leadership role in the EU as an agenda-setter in development, driving forward innovative ideas, rather than as a mere broker.

Change or Crumble! Germany Needs to Reposition its International Cooperation

Image: Tracks going to the horizon

©Brigitte makes custom works from your photos, thanks a lot on Pixabay

As Angela Merkel’s 16 years at the helm of the German government come to a close, Germany’s international cooperation for sustainable development seems, at first sight, to be in good shape. During her tenure, German official development assistance (ODA) more than tripled, reaching $28 billion in 2020 and putting Germany second only to the United States ($34 billion) and well ahead of the United Kingdom ($19 billion) and the EU Institutions ($17 billion).