This September, from New Delhi to New York, world leaders will gather at various summits from the G-20 to the United Nations. But are these organizations actually working as they should?
Foreign Policy’s Fall print issue, “The Alliances That Matter Now,” explores how paralysis in some of the world’s bigger multilateral organizations has led to the proliferation of smaller clubs that are more nimble, aligned, and effective. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has labeled the G-7 the “steering committee of the free world.” NATO is revitalized. But exclusionary clubs also lead to others feeling left out—and the creation of counter-alliances, such as the one between China and Russia.
How are alliances shaping geopolitics? Is the West correct in prioritizing like-minded clubs over reforming the postwar multilateral institutions it helped create?
Watch Princeton University scholar G. John Ikenberry, a contributor to FP’s Fall issue, in discussion with FP’s Ravi Agrawal. Ikenberry authored the issue’s lead essay on the growing significance of the G-7.
Princeton University professor G. John Ikenberry explains why the G-7 has become a significant alliance.
Ikenberry tells FP’s Ravi Agrawal that the Russia-Ukraine war has created a three-world system in which countries in the global south, also known as swing states, have more leverage over the United States and China.
Ikenberry explains that in the 21st century, rulemaking will be decided by small groups and coalitions.
G. John Ikenberry
Professor of politics & international affairs, Princeton University
John Ikenberry is a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University and the author of A World Safe for Democracy: Liberal Internationalism and the Crises of Global Order.
Host
Ravi Agrawal
Editor in chief, Foreign Policy
Ravi Agrawal is the editor in chief of Foreign Policy, the host of FP Live, and a regular world affairs analyst on TV and radio. Before joining FP in 2018, Agrawal worked at CNN for more than a decade in full-time roles spanning three continents, including as the network’s New Delhi bureau chief and correspondent. He is the author of India Connected: How the Smartphone Is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy.
