Financial Institutions and International Economic Forums, Faced with the Crisis of Multilateralism

The current crisis of multilateralism is undermining international economic rules, institutions, and forums. A legacy of the postwar era, the Bretton Woods institutions remain dominated by the founding countries and are viewed as neither representative nor legitimate by emerging nations that are poorly represented within them. Moreover, the proliferation and overlapping of bodies further detract from the clarity of a system in which the G7 is seen for what it is (a club of Western powers), while the G20, which took the lead during the 2008 financial crisis, appears to be in retreat, destabilized by the emergence of the expanded BRICS group. As monetary and financial cooperation also wanes, the challenge is to devise a form of multilateralism that is perhaps more focused and flexible, capable of managing interdependencies and global public goods.