Inter- and Transnational Cooperation

Global policies for sustainable futures depend on cross-border cooperation to address risks like poverty, inequality, conflicts, public health, and climate change. This requires both intergovernmental collaboration, through platforms like the UN and G20, and transnational engagement involving non-governmental actors, such as civil society, the private sector, and research communities. Recent geopolitical shifts and conflicts have strengthened the collective identity of Global South alliances, like the G77 and BRICS, while Western alliances face reinvigoration, often viewing these shifts as systemic rivalry.

Our department analyses diverse forms of cooperation, including North-South, South-South, and triangular partnerships, with a focus on the political economy of cooperation structures and development policy. We examine evolving concepts like “Global South” and explore innovative cooperation examples, such as inter-urban collaboration in Arctic regions. Development policy remains vital, providing public financing and tools to address local and global challenges, yet it faces structural pressure and debates over reform. Future research will focus on how geopolitical and geo-economic dynamics shape global de global development agendas and cooperation structures for sustainable futures.