A Landscape Analysis of the International Cooperation Sector: A Tale of Crises, Contestations, and Transformation

February 2024, Cooperation Canada, Illustrated report

I produced this environmental scan report for Cooperation Canada with my colleague Dr Gloria Novovic to inform setting priorities and strategy development on international development cooperation for Cooperation Canada.

Executive Summary

This report provides an overview of the deep waves, global in scope and long-term in effect, that in some shape or form are re-shaping our 21st century world. These shockwaves and the interactions between them significantly affect the relationships and partnerships between countries, organizations, and communities. In 2023, the vision of global solidarity that underpins the international cooperation sector does not seem to be in question. But the current system of international cooperation raises significant concerns and doubts. The international cooperation system designed six decades ago is facing a return of “older” risks — social instability, stubborn inflation, trade wars, capital outflows from emerging markets, and geopolitical confrontation, which this generation’s international cooperation actors may not have experienced. More importantly, new developments in the global risks landscape, such as the repression of rights and freedoms, shrinking operating space for civil society organizations, unsustainable levels of debt, slow growth in advanced economies, de-globalization, declining human development, and growing climate instability, converge. The outlook for international cooperation actors for the coming decades is both uncertain and turbulent.

What should international cooperation actors do in such an uncertain, shaky, turbulent global landscape?

Answering this question is at the heart of the initiative of which this environmental scan (e-scan) is the first major step. With support from the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC), Cooperation Canada launched its Global Cooperation Futures Initiative in 2023, which aims to contribute to global efforts to chart new avenues of international cooperation.

The e-scan serves as an analytical foundation for the initiative, unveiling the stories of change affecting the international cooperation sector, stories made of crises and/or trends affected by social, technological, economic, environmental, and political factors. The interconnected nature of challenges (in the political, economic, environmental, technological, and social, categories) underscores the complexity of the 21st century global cooperation landscape. Hence, recognizing the unique insights in each category and the interplay between these factors is essential for a comprehensive understanding of the challenges, trends, and emerging issues highlighted in this report and summarized below.