In search of a Plan B: The Future of Global Development Lies in ‘Like-Minded Internationalism’

Len Ishmael, Stephan Klingebiel and Andy Sumner argue that states and coalitions must soon decide whether they will become norm-takers or norm-makers.

As the world moves deeper into a decade marked by geopolitical turbulence, institutional retrenchment, and a receding tide of liberal multilateralism, the question before us is not whether the international order is changing—but how to adapt. In a new paper, “In Search of a Plan B,” we argue that global development cooperation stands at an inflection point. 

The post-World War II liberal consensus, built around universalism and hegemonic leadership—most notably from the United States—is fragmenting under the pressure of renewed nationalism, strategic decoupling, the weaponisation of policies and the marginalization of international institutions. Nowhere is this more evident than in the United States’ withdrawal from the Sustainable Development Goals in early 2025—an act that goes beyond symbolic departure and marks the deliberate dismantling of global development consensus. 

What, then, comes next?

We propose that the answer lies not in attempting to salvage a broken universalism, but in embracing like-minded internationalism: the deliberate formation of issue-based coalitions among actors who share normative commitments and pragmatic goals. These groupings—flexible, pluralistic, and often innovative—offer a functional and legitimate response. Crucially, they provide a ‘Plan B’ that is neither a retreat into parochialism nor a nostalgic longing for the past, but a realistic and principled strategy of adaptive multilateralism.

Like-minded internationalism is not new. It builds on prior coalitional models—such as the Scandinavian bloc in gender policy, or the IBSA Dialogue Forum (India-Brazil-South Africa)—but extends them into a more dynamic framework. These coalitions are:

• Issue-driven, rather than geographically or economically defined;
• Institutionally innovative, breaking with traditional multilateralism;
• Led by coalitional leadership, often from middle powers rather than big powers;
• Inclusive, drawing on a pluralism of actors across the North-South divide and sectors (public, private, civil society); and
• Tactically opportunistic, seizing political windows and crafting ‘sticky’ narratives grounded in science and moral clarity.

In this model, legitimacy arises not from universality, but from convergence—on values, interests, and urgency. Like-mindedness becomes a strategic form of selective multilateralism, attuned to complexity and disorder, rather than aspirational universality.

Exemplars

To illustrate, we analyse two prominent cases: UNITAID and the High Ambition Coalition (HAC). UNITAID emerged in the early 2000s from a coalition led by France and Brazil, backed by Chile, Norway, and the UK. It introduced a solidarity levy on airline tickets to fund HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria responses—an example of institutional innovation and redistributive justice. What made UNITAID distinctive was not only its novel financing model, but also its pluralistic governance, including both donor and recipient countries, civil society, and the WHO. As we show, it was successful because of knit-working—building networks across interests and institutions—and the moral narrative of global health equity.

HAC, by contrast, was born from the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States. Led by the Marshall Islands, it reshaped the Paris Agreement agenda by pushing for a 1.5°C limit—an outcome once thought impossible. It did so by framing ambition as an ethical imperative and mobilising bilateral diplomacy through what its architects called a “mosquito fleet” of persistent, moral suasion. It is a model of soft power unlinked from sovereignty, leadership without hegemony.

Both cases show that coalitions of the willing can build functional legitimacy, harness political momentum, and enact real change—even in the absence of global consensus or U.S. leadership.

Why Now?

The urgency of like-minded internationalism lies in the deteriorating international context. The resurgence of U.S. unilateralism, the fracturing of development paradigms, and the instrumentalisation of development cooperation as a tool of geopolitical competition all point to a loss of faith in the traditional multilateral order. Yet this very fragmentation creates opportunities. As multilateral institutions falter, alternative coalitions can step into the breach, anchored in credibility, shared values, interests and tactical effectiveness.

To do so, they must seize moments of institutional flux, deploy evidence-based policy narratives, and cultivate multi-level legitimacy. Like-mindedness is not a romantic call to idealism, but a call to strategic realism: one that responds to the world as it is.

From Norm-Takers to Norm-Makers

The broader lesson is this: in a world no longer governed by hegemonic norms, states and coalitions must decide whether they will become norm-takers—reactive, subordinate, and divided—or norm-makers, asserting agency and shaping the future of international cooperation. Like-minded coalitions offer a plan for the latter.

This is not to say that like-mindedness can solve every collective action problem. But it can foster coalitional resilience, mitigate fragmentation, and offer credible pathways for cooperation around global public goods—from climate to health to digital governance. As such, it is more than a second-best solution. It may well be the most viable form of global governance in a post-hegemonic world.

Ambassador Dr. Len Ishmael is an affiliate Professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University teaching the MSc course New South Dynamics, as well as Geopolitics and Geo-economics in the Joint HEC Paris/Public Policy School Executive Program.

Stephan Klingebiel heads the research program “Inter- and Transnational Cooperation” at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). He previously led the UNDP Global Policy Centre in Seoul (2019–2021) and the KfW Development Bank’s office in Kigali, Rwanda (2007–2011). He is also a guest professor at the University of Turin (Italy), a senior lecturer at the University of Bonn, and an Honorary Distinguished Fellow at Jindal University (India).

Andy Sumner is Professor of International Development at King’s College, London, and President of European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI). He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the Royal Society of Arts; a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Economics and Development Studies at Padjadjaran University, Indonesia; and Senior Non-Resident Research Fellow at the United Nations University, WIDER, Helsinki and the Center for Global Development, Washington DC.

Photo by Александр Македонский