In this episode, Professor Miles Kahler discusses the future of global governance in an era of intensifying geopolitical rivalry, shifting power balances, and growing challenges to the post-1945 international order. Drawing on his recent paper, Global Governance in the Twenty-First Century: Sustain, Reform, Transform, he examines whether existing international institutions can still adapt or whether new forms of cooperation will be required.
Professor Miles Kahler is Research Professor-in-Residence and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the School of International Service, American University. He is also a Non-resident Scholar in the Global Order and Institutions Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His research focuses on international institutions, global governance, international political economy, regionalism, and the evolution of the international order. He has written extensively on global governance, international cooperation, and the political economy of globalisation, and is widely recognised as one of the leading scholars in the study of international institutions.
Selected Publications
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:58 When Are Institutional Reforms No Longer Enough?
05:16 Can Middle Powers Shape a New Global Order?
10:21 Consensus-Based Multilateralism vs. Plurilateral Cooperation
16:15 Why Is BRICS Less Coherent Than Expected in Global Governance?
22:20 Why Do Countries Join BRICS? Choice or Necessity?
29:19 How Technology and Supply Chains Are Redefining Spheres of Influence
34:30 The Future of Values and Interests in Global Governance
41:41 Does the Liberal International Order Need an Upgrade?
46:11 Strengthening Regional Governance: Rules, Norms, and Institutions
52:38 AI and the Future of Global Governance
59:59 Has International Relations Neglected Domestic Politics?
01:05:41 Underexplored Research Agendas in Global Governance
A clarifying note at 13:18: "COP 30 reached agreement on several issues, such as a work program on climate finance, but it was not able to reach consensus on a roadmap transitioning from fossil fuels. That issue that led to the Santa Marta Conference, a coalition of the willing that aimed to phase out fossil fuels."
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