In Search of a Plan B: Like‐Minded Internationalism and the Future of Global Development

Len Ishmael, Stephan Klingebiel and Andy Sumner

Global Policy, 2025, vol. 16, issue 5, 1094-1102

Abstract: The international landscape in mid‐2025 is characterized by a retreat from liberal institutionalism, exemplified by the United States' withdrawal from the Sustainable Development Goals and its adoption of transactional, power‐based international relations, as well as its potential withdrawal from some multilateral bodies. In this context, this paper argues that traditional models of universal multilateralism are increasingly untenable, and that new forms of collective action grounded in shared interests and normative alignment are both necessary and feasible. This paper revisits and applies the historically rooted concept of “like‐minded internationalism,” arguing for its renewed relevance under current geopolitical conditions. Drawing on two illustrative cases—UNITAID, a global health financing mechanism, and the High Ambition Coalition, a climate and environmental diplomacy initiative—the paper outlines the characteristics, formation, and operational logic of like‐minded internationalism. The paper concludes by considering implications for the future of global development. We argue that the “Plan B” presented is not a retreat from multilateralism, but an adaptive response to its breakdown—one rooted in coalitional agency, institutional pluralism, and strategic pragmatism.

Date: 2025
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