This working group will devote itself to understanding the history, current nature, and potential future trajectories of the global order.
Comprising leading experts spanning multiple regions and disciplines, the group will examine diverse and often contested understandings of order and disorder, including how (dis)order manifests itself in specific global domains, as well as the preconditions for and expressions of fundamental changes in global order.
Based on these deliberations and findings, the working group will consider the state of the contemporary order, including major sources of division and conflict. It will explore means to address these divisions and to create a global order that works for all peoples and the planet.
Several sets of questions will guide this inquiry:
Understanding Global (Dis)order and Its Evolution
How has international (dis)order been understood, experienced, and contested across global regions and within societies?
How have the legacies of empire and decolonization, shifting distributions of power, the logic of global capitalism, the spread of international norms and law, and other forces affected global dis(order)?
How should we think about the spectrum between global order and disorder (and the turbulence in between), as well the relationship between order and justice?
Is it possible to conceive of distinct global (dis)orders existing simultaneously, either regionally or sectorally (e.g., a global “security” order vs. an “economic” one)?
What do we know about the dynamics of stasis and change in international (dis)orders?
Is it helpful to conceive of “(re)ordering moments,” or instances of profound structural transformation or disintegration of global order?
Are such benchmark moments only understood in historical retrospect, as stories we tell ourselves?
Can we draw lessons from such moments, as well as from moments when changes fail to occur?
Historically, what actors have been the primary agents of global (dis)orders?
To what extent is the global diffusion of agency and power, including to private corporations and civil society networks, changing that?
What has been the interplay between domestic and global orders historically?
How has the spread and deepening of international institutions and law influenced the resilience of global order, as well as determined its capacity for change?
Exploring Reform Possibilities
How does the contemporary global order compare to previous ones?
How are “order” and “disorder” manifesting themselves?
What are major forces of change (e.g., geopolitical conflict, economic dislocation, environmental crisis, transformational technology) imposing stresses on global order that causes it to be remade?
Are we in a potential reordering moment today? If so, what are likely to be the main driving forces for such a change?
Where do states (and other prominent actors) converge on contemporary questions of global (dis)order?
Where do they diverge and what are the main international fault lines? These might include contested rules of sovereign state conduct, inequities of power and privilege, and other flashpoints?
What are the implications of these divisions for multilateral cooperation and the health and vitality of international institutions, ranging from the United Nations to the G20?
Is it possible to bridge differences between North and South, East and West, to make tangible progress on shared global challenges, or even a modicum of global governance?
What alternative scenarios for global order and disorder might one envision for 2050?
Is it possible to identify alternative futures, of various degrees of desirability and plausibility, as well as the factors likely to shape these outcomes?
What sort of normative considerations should inform the actions of those seeking to build a better global order?
How can political power be harnessed to create a more inclusive, equitable, resilient, and sustainable world?
What new international institutions, as well adjustments to conceptions of sovereignty, would be required to bring such a global order about?