In his article in Foreign Policy, Edward Alden, visiting professor at Western Washington University, argues that one of the remarkable things that has characterized the global economic system since World War II is the resilience of governments in responding to serious crises.

Alden said the world's major economies have proven adept at finding ways to cooperate to tackle serious challenges, from stagflation and the collapse of the Bretton Woods currency system in the 1970s and the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s to the global financial crisis of this century.

But that streak of fortune may finally be broken this time, as current problems follow - the war between Russia and Ukraine, inflation, food and energy shortages, asset price bubbles in the United States, debt crises in developing countries, and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the form of lockdowns. And supply-chain bottlenecks - it could be the most serious crisis of all, not least because central banks can't print wheat and gasoline.

The need for a collective response

However, there are indications that confirm the need for collective reactions in order to address these challenges, as international cooperation was not required more urgently than ever before, but achieving it seemed less likely, according to Alden, who works as a researcher at the American Council on Foreign Relations. which deals with international issues.

Ironically, the "worn out" cooperation efforts - according to the article's description - are the fruit of previous successes. In the past, the world's ability to manage crises, overcome obstacles and restore the path of global growth meant that many countries today are rich enough to exercise influence and demand that their interests be taken into account. .

Others pursue regional or ideological goals that they see as more urgent than immediate economic priorities, and as a result consensus may be impossible to find.

Alden gave an example of this with the meeting of trade ministers at the World Trade Organization in Geneva this week, which was originally scheduled for 2020 but was postponed due to the Corona pandemic.

The writer considered that the organization is restricted by a condition in its bylaws that states that any agreement among its 164 members requires a consensus of opinion.

In his article, the American researcher believes that no institution can be dispensed with, of course. In the past, governments found new and innovative ways to cooperate when it was proven that the old devices were not ingenious enough.

The article touched on the attempts of the finance ministers of the leading Western economies to build a new monetary system after former US President Richard Nixon ended the convertibility of gold into dollars in 1971, and these efforts led directly to the first summit meeting of the Group of Six industrialized countries in France in 1975.

As a result, the group of six "G-6" was established, which later evolved into the group of seven "G-7" (G-7), then the group of eight "G-8" (G-8) later Then the G-20 was born out of a series of global financial crises.

Global efforts to restore economic growth

The Group of Twenty, says Alden, has become the focal point of global efforts to restore economic growth, helped launch the global economy through coordinated stimulus measures, strengthened financial regulations and expanded the lending capacity of the International Monetary Fund.

There is no doubt that such solidarity efforts between countries were hardly able to bring about the desired change, as the Group of Seven and the Group of Twenty lack - according to the article - decision-making authority, and their efforts focus more on urging countries to adopt policies that support each other.

The article notes that the United States and its allies are actively working to harm the Russian economy through the widest sanctions ever imposed so far, and Russia is responding to this step by preventing the export of Ukrainian grain shipments through its ports in the Black Sea.

Alden concluded that in the midst of the current crises, there is no one in the world to lead the ship to safety.