The world’s multilateral institutions were created nearly seven decades ago. They need rethinking.
As countries grappled with the economic fallout of COVID-19, many turned to global financial agencies for support, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. But in some cases, at least, the agencies’ playbook of reforms and austerity in exchange for loans no longer seemed suitable.
The IMF and World Bank—along with the United Nations and other dominant international organizations—were created after World War II to serve the global order at the time. In the decades since, that order had changed dramatically. Are these institutions serving the world in the best possible way?
To answer that question, Foreign Policy’s editor in chief, Ravi Agrawal, sat down with Mark Malloch Brown, who spent years at the World Bank and United Nations Development Program thinking through these very issues. Malloch Brown is now president of the Open Society Foundations.
We’re featuring their conversation in the latest episode of our podcast Global Reboot. The show is produced by Foreign Policy in partnership with the Doha Forum.
About Global Reboot: Global Reboot explores how to rebuild a world upended by disruptive international events. FP’s editor in chief Ravi Agrawal engages with world leaders and policy experts to identify solutions to our greatest challenges. Global Reboot is a FP Partner Podcast with the Doha Forum. See All Episodes
More Global Reboot episodes:
Should the United States Step Up or Back Off?
Shifting global alignments pose a quandary for U.S. foreign policy.
Human Rights Are in Decline Around the World. What Can Be Done About it?
Even wealthier countries are regressing.
The Democracy Deficit
What accounts for the backslide, and how can it be reversed?