All together now to restore faith in international cooperation

In an explicit attempt to counter the rise of nationalism across the globe, French President Emmanual Macron has initiated the establishment of a ‘Davos for global governance’. The first edition of the “Paris Peace Forum” was held in Paris, 11-13 November 2018, as part of the international commemorations the centenary of the end of World War I.

Bringing together actors from all parts of the world and all spheres of life - government, business, civil society and international organisations - the forum reflects the wider trend towards ‘multistakeholderism’ that has been shaping debates on global developments for the past years. Applying this model to stimulate debate on the interlinkages between peace and global governance seems only natural, especially as it becoming increasingly clear that existing state-centric structures are unable to respond adequately to old and new transnational issues including climate change, extreme inequality, technological disruption, and persistent violent conflicts or humanitarian crises in places like Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Myanmar.

Underneath the niceties of inclusion and the value of bringing in as many voices, perspectives, and resources as possible, however, multistakeholderism comes with its own downsides, which begs the question of whether the Paris Peace Forum is as much a part of the problem as it is of the solution to the growing crisis of international cooperation.

In this analysis for the Global Observatory, DIIS senior researcher Louise Riis Andersen warns of ‘inclusion’ that effectively twists the debate in favor of corporate interests and inadvertently provide the heads of state and government an easy way out of their political responsibilities: If corporate funding, technology, and market-based solutions can help save the world, why invest political resources and public funding in genuinely bolstering and reforming multilateral institutions?