The opening session “The Limits of Governability, or Systemic Failure” involved a general discussion of the current state of global governance and the problems that the international community faces today.

       All participants agreed with the view, shared by a majority of experts, that the international system is in a period of deep crisis, but opinions vary on the causes and extent of the crisis and how to overcome it. Some experts believe that what we are seeing today is a transition period, others see it as a crisis of expectations, while still others believe that the world has reached the limits of governability and there’s no easy way out of the current predicament.

       The global crisis was considered in the context of the failure to find an alternative model to global governance following the end of the Cold War. As a result, the modern world is much less stable than the world that existed during the confrontation between the two superpowers. Moreover, the destabilization is not yet complete.

       The current crisis is partly due to expectations that a new system based on economic globalization would take shape on its own, without any additional effort on the part of the main actors. However, this did not happen. Moreover, these actors were preoccupied with their own problems: Russia was bogged down in domestic troubles, while Europe was busy dealing with regional rather than global issues. The United States sought to exploit the situation to form a unipolar world order in which it would be the sole governing force. Today, it is clear that the US has failed to live up to this role. None of the US initiatives to maintain stability in other countries or effect regime change were successful.

       Globalization has failed to lay the foundation for a new world order. Moreover, today we are witnessing the beginning of de-globalization and the fragmentation of the global economic system.

       In addition, the problems and challenges that immediately followed the end of the Cold War are being compounded by new ones, including migration, the demographic boom in developing countries, and the need to manage resources.

       The rise of China as a new regional player has significant implications. China has a unique opportunity to serve as an example for other global powers of a responsible player by resolving its territorial disputes in the South China Sea through peaceful dialogue. China’s disputes with its neighbors are unique in that they are not regulated by the current norms of international law, and so their successful resolution could lay the groundwork for new, more effective rules.

       All the conflicts in the world today are symptoms of the larger global crisis. Solving the Ukraine crisis and the turmoil in the Middle East, and reigning in the Ebola epidemic, will depend on how soon the world can find a way out of this impasse.

       Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.