PAPACONSTANTINOU G., PISANI-FERRY J., The New Rules of the Game. How to Avoid Global Chaos, Threshold, 125 pages. (Title translated by the author of the book review)

As the geopolitical blocs of the United States, Europe, China, and the “Global South” clash, the authors question the new desirable forms of collective action on a global scale. They note that in most areas, global governance is incomplete or even non-existent. After a threefold analysis – legal, economic and geopolitical – to identify the constraints related to international order, the authors make recommendations to make it more efficient. They identify nine areas of common concern that require a new form of international cooperation: public health, climate, digital economy, international trade, (international) macro-finance, migration, international competition, banking regulation and taxation. The efficiency of cooperation implies mastering six factors in each area: common identification of the problem, shared source of expertise, consensus on the principles of action, transparent reporting mechanisms, evaluation of results and adaptation of instruments and the establishment of trusted institutions.

The authors note that these factors are generally present in the area of banking regulation, but that, conversely, cooperation is insufficiently – or not at all – organized in the areas of digital and migration. In other areas, the upstream phases are rather advanced, but they are still poorly regulated downstream of the processes. They draw three lessons from their findings. The first is that the multilateral system based on rules covers only part of global interdependence. The second is that each of the three lenses (legal, economic, and geopolitical) is insufficient on its own to ensure governance of a given area. The third is that some advances in one area deserve to be better analyzed and extended to other areas.

The authors tackle an ambitious topic that is both multidimensional and evolving. Their arguments are supported by references to the best sources and by a clear and didactic style.

George Papaconstantinou was Minister of Finance of Greece and Jean Pisani-Ferry is a senior fellow at Brugel and the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Review by J-J. Pluchart