WhenGovernmentsCannotActAlone:GlobalNeighboursandCIRSDCallforaNewArchitectureofMultilateralism

High-level discussion brings together leaders from diplomacy, politics, business and academia to explore how partnerships beyond government can help rebuild trust and turn multilateral ambition into action

VIENNA, AUSTRIA | 9 SEPTEMBER 2026

VIENNA, AUSTRIA — The institutions created eight decades ago to carry the weight of the world are under unprecedented strain. Yet the challenges confronting humanity—from conflict and geopolitical fragmentation to climate change, inequality and the unfinished Sustainable Development Goals—continue to grow.

From left: H.E. Vuk Jeremić, Ms. Jovanka Porsche, H.E. Prof. Dr. Igor Lukšić and Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee in dialogue on the future of multilateralism and global governance.

The central question emerging from a high-level discussion in Vienna was therefore not simply whether multilateralism is in crisis, but how it can be made fit for the world that is emerging.

Global Neighbours and the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) convened senior representatives from diplomacy, multilateral organisations, politics, business and academia on 9 September at Am Hof 8 – Private Members Club for the Vienna launch of Horizons Issue No. 35, The Unbearable Lightness of Global Governance.

The evening took as its starting point The Architecture of Survival: Why the World Cannot Wait for Governments Alone, an essay contributed to the issue by Ms. Jovanka Porsche, Founder and Chairwoman of Global Neighbours, and Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee, CEO of Global Neighbours and former United Nations Resident Coordinator in China.

From diagnosing the crisis to rebuilding the system

H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremić, President of CIRSD, Editor-in-Chief of Horizons and President of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, opened and moderated the discussion.

He was joined by Ms. Porsche, Mr. Chatterjee and H.E. Prof. Dr. Igor Lukšić, former Prime Minister of Montenegro and Visiting Fellow of Global Neighbours.

Introducing the issue, Mr. Jeremić reflected on the paradox at the heart of global governance: eight decades after the multilateral order was established, the institutions entrusted with carrying the weight of the world have become increasingly constrained in their ability to do so.

With fewer than one in five Sustainable Development Goals currently on track and armed conflict at its highest level since 1945, the discussion asked what kind of leadership, partnerships and institutional innovation are required to restore confidence in international cooperation.

Jovanka Porsche: Preparing the ground for governments to act

Ms. Porsche argued that the widening gap between what governments are able to deliver and what the global moment demands requires a broader ecosystem of actors to step forward.

She presented Global Neighbours as a “think-and-do tank”—one designed not merely to convene conversations, but to translate dialogue into practical initiatives, relationships and action.

At the centre of this approach is Tracks to the Future, Global Neighbours’ mobile, high-level international forum connecting Europe and Asia through dialogue, innovation and partnership.

By bringing together political leaders, diplomats, business executives, academics and civil society representatives in the same physical space, Tracks to the Future seeks to create the relationships and mutual understanding needed to bridge geopolitical divides.

As Ms. Porsche emphasised, the objective is not to circumvent governments, but to prepare the ground on which governments can act.

Ms. Jovanka Porsche, Founder and Chairwoman of Global Neighbours, presents the organisation’s approach to building dialogue, partnerships and practical cooperation beyond traditional diplomatic channels.

Siddharth Chatterjee: Multilateralism must become practical

Drawing on nearly three decades in the multilateral system, including his service as UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya and most recently in China, Mr. Chatterjee argued that the future of multilateralism depends on moving beyond rhetorical affirmation towards practical innovation.

Traditional Track 1 diplomacy between governments remains indispensable. But Track 2 and Track 1.5 diplomacy can create additional space for dialogue, technical cooperation, relationship-building and problem-solving when official channels become constrained.

He pointed to his experience in Kenya as a powerful illustration of what this can achieve.

Efforts to address maternal mortality brought together academic research, government institutions, UN agencies and an extraordinary cross-border private-sector coalition. Research supported by Princeton University helped identify where interventions were most urgently needed. The response then brought together Kenyan institutions and UN agencies with Huawei from China, Merck from the United States, GlaxoSmithKline from the United Kingdom, Philips from the Netherlands and Safaricom from Kenya.

For Mr. Chatterjee, the significance of the example goes beyond Kenya.

It demonstrated that public-private partnerships can become a practical engine of multilateral cooperation—bringing together countries, companies, expertise, technology, resources and local knowledge around a shared human objective.

“The future of multilateralism will not be built by governments alone,” Mr. Chatterjee argued. “Public-private partnerships will be key to its future. When governments, the UN, academia, business and civil society bring their respective capabilities together around a common purpose, multilateralism stops being an aspiration and becomes an instrument for solving real problems.”

The Kenya experience also illustrated the potential of Track 2 and Track 1.5 approaches to create bridges across geopolitical boundaries. Cooperation between organisations and companies from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Kenya demonstrated that shared human challenges can create space for cooperation even when relations between states are under strain.

Igor Lukšić: The post-2030 development agenda

H.E. Prof. Dr. Lukšić brought the perspective of a former head of government who had negotiated Montenegro’s integration into the multilateral and European systems.

He outlined four possible trajectories for the sustainable development agenda beyond 2030: fragmentation; a more focused, MDG-style agenda; renewal and reform of the SDGs; or a shift towards what he described as “strategic globalization,” in which sustainable development is increasingly pursued through regional and plurilateral frameworks.

His intervention underscored a fundamental challenge: the world does not merely need another global framework. It needs the political incentives, partnerships, financing and institutional capacity to translate shared ambitions into measurable results.

H.E. Prof. Dr. Igor Lukšić, former Prime Minister of Montenegro and Visiting Fellow of Global Neighbours, outlines possible trajectories for the global sustainable development agenda beyond 2030.

A new role for Europe

The discussion also examined Europe’s position in an increasingly multipolar international order.

Participants stressed the need for Europe to move beyond strategic hubris, remain open to new partnerships and reassess relationships with the major powers—including the United States, China and Russia.

Europe’s ability to strengthen its strategic autonomy, engage constructively with China and contribute to a pathway towards ending the war in Ukraine will be critical to its future role in the emerging international system.

At the same time, Europe’s influence will increasingly depend not only on what its governments do, but on its ability to mobilise the wider ecosystem of business, academia, foundations, civil society and other non-state actors.

From a world of blocs to a network of bridges

The evening concluded with a shared recognition that the future of multilateralism cannot rest solely on the institutions and assumptions of the past.

The world is becoming more fragmented and multipolar. Yet fragmentation does not have to mean paralysis.

The task is to build bridges where institutions struggle to do so; create partnerships where geopolitical divisions have hardened; and turn dialogue into practical cooperation.

This is the premise behind Global Neighbours’ work—and behind Tracks to the Future.

The next era of multilateralism will require governments to lead, but it will also require others to contribute: businesses that can deploy technology and capital; universities that can generate evidence and innovation; foundations that can take risks; civil society that can build trust; and networks that can connect people across borders.

The architecture of survival must therefore be broader than the architecture of government.

The conversation continued over an informal flying dinner, with an offprint of The Architecture of Survival: Why the World Cannot Wait for Governments Alone available to guests and Issue No. 35 of Horizons on display.

The conversation continued informally following the discussion, bringing together participants from diplomacy, multilateral organisations, business and academia.