The global economy is entering a more shock‑prone era, increasingly shaped by fragmentation and strategic bilateralism. Against this backdrop, global growth and stability depend on more, not less, international cooperation. 

In an era of more global uncertainty and disruption, pragmatic and flexible multilateralism is required to adapt to current political realities. Smaller coalitions of like‑minded countries can build shared understandings to limit systemic damage and make progress on specific issues. The multilateral institutions designed for crisis response and prevention will need to be strengthened to manage the growing number and intensity of the shocks in a world where domestic policy choices will continue to diverge. These plurilateral arrangements are not an end state, but an interim pathway toward rebuilding trust in broad-based cooperation.

Over time, the postwar Bretton Woods system—built on agreed rules, cooperation, and integration—has struggled to adequately manage internationally harmful spillovers generated by countries’ legitimate national policy choices. Despite delivering 80 years of unprecedented growth, the system failed to deliver consensus or workable solutions on core issues such as external imbalances, industrial subsidies, and inequality, contributing to an erosion of trust and a turn toward unilateral and bilateral approaches that are suboptimal for global growth and stability.

Launched by the Bretton Woods Committee, Rebuilding International Cooperation is a year‑long policy and convening initiative that seeks to develop a practical roadmap for renewed international cooperation.

The project focuses on four areas where the tension between domestic policy choices and global spillovers is most acute: two long‑standing challenges—external imbalances and industrial policy—and two emerging risks poised to follow the same destabilizing trajectory if left unmanaged—digital currencies and artificial intelligence. Across these issues, the project will apply the framework of flexible multilateralism and ask where agreement is possible on excessive or disruptive spillovers, and which institutional and political forums are best positioned to address them. By identifying realistic pathways forward, the project aims to demonstrate that cooperation is still achievable and essential, laying the groundwork for a more durable, trusted international economic system.

To launch this initiative, BWC hosted a panel at it’s Spring Summit 2026 with Arancha González Laya, John Lipsky, and Mari Pangestu on the evolving nature of multilateralism.