The international landscape in mid-2025 is characterized by a retreat from liberal institutionalism, as seen by the U.S. withdrawal from the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and its adoption of transactional, power-based international relations. This shift has profound implications for international cooperation, particularly in the fields of development, climate, and global public goods.
In this shifting landscape, a new mode of cooperation is taking shape: like-minded internationalism. This approach champions flexible coalitions of countries and groups bound by shared values and interests — not by allegiance to formal multilateral structures or reliance on authoritarian leadership.
In a world that is increasingly multipolar and unpredictable, like-minded internationalism may be one of the few credible responses still capable of delivering meaningful global development outcomes.
About the authors
Len Ishmael
Len Ishmael is a former U.N. diplomat and ambassador to the EU, a professor of geopolitics at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco, and a senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South and the German Marshall Fund. She is an international speaker and author on subjects related to the global south, BRICS, and evolving power dynamics in a multipolar world.
Dr. Stephan Klingebiel
Dr. Stephan Klingebiel is head of inter- and transnational cooperation at IDOS. He holds academic roles in Seoul, Bonn, Turin, and India. He previously led the UNDP Global Policy Centre in Seoul and founded KfW's Kigali office. His work focuses on global governance, development policy, and international cooperation.
Andy Sumner
Andy Sumner is professor of international development at King’s College, London, and president of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes. He is also a senior fellow at the United Nations University, WIDER, Helsinki, and the Center for Global Development, Washington, D.C. His research focuses on questions of global inequality, economic development, and development cooperation.
