Title: Revitalizing International Collaboration: A New Approach for Today's World
In the current climate, the world confronts a host of pressing environmental, economic, and security challenges, with time ticking away to tackle them effectively. Global insecurity stands at a critical juncture, marked by the highest number of conflicts since World War II's conclusion. Moreover, the global economy in 2025 is projected to grow steadily yet underwhelmingly at 3.2%, with only 17% of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals being on track. Health and wellness face a precarious balance, with global disability-adjusted life years indicators flattening out after recent progress. The energy transition towards a net-zero future is still in its early stages, with only approximately 10% of required low-emissions technologies being deployed in most regions.
While dealing with the potential benefits and risks of boundary-pushing technologies poised to redefine economies and societies, companies and nations find themselves grappling with cutting-edge innovations like generative artificial intelligence. This technology exhibits the potential to contribute between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy. However, the question of how to equitably distribute this benefit and prevent the misuse of the technology remains unanswered.
A vital question emerges from this context: what form of global collaboration is essential to address the challenges of this new era? While the geopolitical landscape will not revert to the order of yesteryears, there is a clear need for nations and companies to discover new modes of cooperation to thrive in this newly shaped world.
The World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company's recent second annual Global Cooperation Barometer sheds light on these challenges and proposes possible solutions. The barometer assesses levels of cooperation based on 41 metrics across five pillars: Trade and Capital; Climate and Nature; Innovation and Technology; Health and Wellness; and Peace and Security. Insights from these pillars offer leaders an opportunity to better grasp the challenges of various cooperative activities, monitor trends, and map out a new course for cooperative success, thereby uplifting both businesses and society.
The 2025 barometer finds global cooperation levels exceeding pre-pandemic ratings but stable since the last three years. As the broader picture indicates stability, examinations of individual pillars and metrics reveal both upward and downward movements, reflecting shifts in the global order. Deterioration in global peace and security serves as a crucial factor in the flatlining of the overall measurement over the past year. Increased conflicts and the high number of displaced individuals have been long-lasting issues.
Trade and capital cooperation has also experienced a slight decline, primarily due to a decrease in goods trade, declining shares of developing countries' manufacturing exports, and shares of foreign direct investment (FDI). Interestingly, the barometer recognizes the presence of growing capital, services, and people flows, showing that not all cooperation metrics are subject to decline.
Some positive progress for the cooperation agenda emerges from the picture. For instance, in September 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the ambitious Pact of the Future, a result of nine months of negotiation, aiming to 'bring multilateralism back from the brink'.
Cooperation around climate and natural capital presents a more positive outlook across the five pillars. Yet, broader and swifter progress is required to meet environmental targets. Furthermore, health outcomes, such as life expectancy, continue to improve post-pandemic, but cross-border assistance is dwindling.
Digital transformation of the global economy is driving increased cooperation in the innovation and technology sector. However, global fragmentation of emerging technologies may jeopardize global productivity growth.
In the current context, leaders must devise new mechanisms for addressing key priorities, even in the face of disagreements. Recent developments suggest that cooperation is possible across different issues, requiring an openness to innovative approaches.
Future leaders should leverage opportunities for collaboration thoroughly, remain conscious of emerging trends, and be mindful of new partnership opportunities, which could lead to stable, safe growth. In essence, the age-old mechanisms of cooperation are in need of an update to accommodate the changing world. Both public and private sector organizations will need to devise new methods for partnership with adversaries, working together to address shared challenges.
In light of these global challenges, effective strategic planning becomes crucial for leadership roles. Innovative leadership strategies are needed to navigate the complexities and ensure cooperation among nations and companies.
Leveraging cutting-edge technologies like generative artificial intelligence requires a collective leadership approach, addressing equitable distribution and misuse concerns.
