As a result, the global financial safety net has expanded beyond the walls of the IMF with limited coordination across its different layers. In short, the multilateral system has given way to a new decentralised and fragmented system, more prone to bilateral conflicts and managed by informal, non-binding commitments. Reform is possible It should come as no surprise that without reform, the current system will be unable to provide satisfactory answers to global problems, to address externalities caused by unilateral actions, to ensure the enforcement of international (non-binding) agreements or to confront free-rider concerns. In other words, in the current context of new powers, new economic and geopolitical equilibria, and new challenges, multilateralism has to be adapted to ensure its survival.6 These reforms should be pragmatic. Viable solutions should first aim to establish frameworks that ensure the best feasible agreements are reached, implemented and enforced. The idea would be to support collective action in specific fields through various existing multilateral fora that are already working effectively. There are good examples of this course of action in the financial stability arena as shown by the work of the Financial Stability Board7 or the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. A similar model of collaboration could perhaps be tailored to the trade arena to unblock the WTO.8 That should allow progress on multilateral agreements, despite blocking positions in the current institutions.

This led to the endorsement of the G20 as "the first forum for international economic cooperation".2  1  Anne Krueger (2007), “An enduring need: multilateralism in the twenty-first century”, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Volume 23, Number 3, 2007, pp.335–346. 2 G20 Pittsburgh Declaration, September 2009. 4/8  Indeed, the new framework proved to be key in containing the effects of the global financial crisis, through multilateral and coordinated actions on the monetary and fiscal fronts. The protectionist response to the crisis was significantly smaller than during the Great Depression. In addition, since 2009, the G20 has promoted a range of policies to enhance the resilience of the global financial sector, including stricter prudential requirements for internationally active banks and, particularly, for systemically important institutions. However, after the initial impetus provided by the G20-multilateralism, finding consensus at international level has become increasingly difficult over time and the initial hopes that the G20 could become an effective mechanism for coordinating national policies have faded somewhat. Against this backdrop, it seems clear to me that the way in which international cooperation is defined and multilateral institutions work need to be revised. The system of global trade is a paradigmatic case, given the broad consensus on the need to reform and revitalise its backbone, the WTO.3 While some western economies raise concerns about China’s trading practices, as well as the effects of its industrial and technology policies on the level-playing field, many emerging countries complain about western countries’ policies in areas such as agriculture.