This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Geopolitical rivalry, conflict, authoritarian nationalism and the systematic erosion of rules-based politics are reshaping the global order and putting cooperation under growing pressure. Yet the picture is more nuanced: While disruptive trends dominate the headlines, reforms are taking shape at the same time.
This is the central message of a new report titled "Disruption and Reform: Sustainable Futures at Stake? The Case for Politics of Cooperation and Perseverance," by the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). Drawing on research, policy advice and knowledge cooperation at IDOS and within its partner networks, the volume examines where cooperation is already being adapted and rebuilt—and which actors can help drive these reforms.
The authors argue that Germany and Europe should not respond to a changing world by retreating from international cooperation. Instead, they should invest in politics of cooperation and perseverance. This means adapting institutions, building new partnerships and deepening existing ones, as well as finding practical ways for countries to work together even when consensus is difficult to reach.
The publication highlights transition, middle-power coalitions, new forms of plurilateral cooperation, institutional adaptation, reconfigured partnership and financing architectures, as well as new cultures of cooperation and political leadership. The future of the World Trade Organization (WTO) illustrates this tension. The multilateral trading system is facing serious challenges, including unilateral tariffs, geopolitical competition and the continuing paralysis of its dispute-settlement system.
However, disruption and reform are unfolding simultaneously. For example, 66 WTO members, representing roughly 70% of global trade, have moved forward with plans to implement the E-Commerce Agreement on an interim basis outside the formal WTO framework, with the explicit aim of integrating it at a later stage. Other groups of WTO members are also advancing agreements on issues such as services and investment facilitation.
The publication sees these developments as evidence that disruption and reform can unfold in parallel. Rather than waiting for a comprehensive agreement among all WTO members, groups of countries are experimenting with new forms of cooperation. The authors argue that such initiatives could contribute to a more flexible, hybrid trading architecture, while cautioning that long-term reliance on arrangements outside the WTO could further weaken the multilateral system.
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