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Reimagine COOPERATION with Pedro Conceição 

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“There is a link between political polarisation and the difficulties to address international challenges that require cooperation”, Conceição stated.

From economic inequality to climate change, digitalisation or global migrations, international cooperation to tackle our biggest global challenges is more urgent than ever. Yet, collective action on an international scale seems to be extremely difficult to achieve in today’s world. Pedro Conceição, Director of the Human Development Report Office at UNDP and expert in development economics, shared his perspectives on the issue of global accountability in the last episode of the series ReImagine Talks. According to Conceição, “the key challenge that we confront in the international arena is one of collective action as we don’t have enforcement from above.”  Nevertheless, he highlighted that “cooperation is a challenge when countries actually have different interests, different objectives, and yet they need to come together to solve what’s called the social dilemma.”

When asked whether countries are less cooperative nowadays, Conceição confirmed “there’s a reality in which we confront a context of geopolitical upheaval to economic fragmentation to some extent, but that doesn’t change the reality of the objective need for us to confront the challenges of sharing a planet that is changing very rapidly”. By referring to the Global Human Development Index (GHDI), an indicator that captures standards of living and achievements in health and education, he added “when we fail to manage these interdependencies, these interlinkages, people suffer”. In both 2020 and 2021, the indicator demonstrated a downward trend, being the first time since its creation that the index score declined for 2 years consecutively. Citing the widespread suffering experienced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, Conceição noted that “this was a reflection of the inability of our international community to manage a shared challenge” and warned this failure to take effective cooperation into account will place us all at greater risk. 

The conversation also touched on the growing issue of political polarisation. The expert in development economics differentiated healthy political debate from harmful polarisation, stating that “the problem emerges when groups in society become so divided that they find it very difficult to find any way of communicating with each other.” These barriers to conversation increasingly extend to the global political arena, making consensus even more elusive. Conceição highlighted the relationship between a polarisation that has been increasing in more than two-thirds of countries over the past decade, and the difficulties that we face when “addressing international challenges that require cooperation”.   

With the advent of digital transformation, there are a wealth of new opportunities for enhancing international solidarity. The digital landscape encourages broader collaboration among nations, being “another dimension that adds to the way in which our societies are linked.” Though acknowledging the risks of misinformation, Conceição pointed out the enormous potential of digital technologies to improve public deliberation on polarising issues: “Ultimately it’s about the choices we make when it comes to mitigating the risks associated with these new technologies and enhancing the positive effects that they may have”. 

Despite competition being inevitable, the Director of the Human Development Report Office at UNDP argued that competition is not incompatible with cooperation. Territorial disputes are an example in which a country gaining must be at the expense of some other country losing, but there are many things that even in a competitive context, can mobilise cooperation on non-zero-sum challenges. “A country benefiting from mitigating climate change or controlling a pandemic is not at the expense of another country (…) Global public goods are examples of aspects in which countries can come together and cooperate, not by assuming that they are not going to compete on other things, but by recognising that they can come together on issues in which they all stand to gain”, he stated.  To promote this collaboration focused on collective action rather than competition, Conceição highlights the role of narratives in giving people a sense of agency and invites us to reconsider those based on fear or impending doom” that currently dominate the discourse on international cooperation. Conceição proposes, “an agenda premised on the provision of global public goods would be a way of counterbalancing narratives that are premised on making people fearful of the implications of not cooperating, towards something that is a bit more positive and hopeful.” 

Efforts toward progress can also be undermined by misunderstandings. According to Conceição, almost 70% of the global population would be willing to make a personal financial sacrifice to mitigate climate change. Yet, when asked what they think others believe, the percentage drops to a little over 40%. With these numbers in mind, it is clear that “people often agree on more than they think they do, but they believe that others around them are not as committed as they are”. However, this “fog of misperceptions” can be pierced by better communication and understanding, fostering greater cooperation.  

As a closing observation, Conceição highlighted that perceptions of insecurity could amplify challenges to cooperation, estimating that “six out of every seven people around the world feel insecure about some aspect of their lives”. Addressing these insecurities could enhance trust, reduce political polarisation, and empower individuals, thereby creating a more conducive environment for international cooperation. Looking ahead, Conceição expressed hope that countries will find ways to collaborate not by assuming away their different interests, but by recognising that despite their differences, there are arenas where they must cooperate and come together. 

ReImagine TALKS is a series of video podcasts launched by Re-Imagine Europa together with leading media partners and featuring some of the most innovative, influential, and original thinkers of our time, challenging conventional thinking and reimagining the concept with an unexpected and contemporary lens. The series is hosted by Erika Stäel von Holstein and Luca de Biase, RIE’s Chief Executive and Research Director, respectively. The previous episodes addressed topics like Capitalism, Power, Ethics, Narratives, Taxation or Migration. You can find the previous episodes here.

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