Dear Sir or Madam,

On 30 November, heads of state and government will meet in Buenos Aires for this year’s G20 summit to discuss solutions to global challenges. Yet things currently do not bode well for international cooperation. From the Paris climate agreements to the UN migration pact, global cooperation is increasingly being eroded by the unilateral action of nations.

An international survey conducted in five G20 countries shows that the vast majority of citizens (83 percent) are explicitly in favour of international cooperation to solve shared global problems. However, this high level of general support does not translate directly into support for the G20, which is rather reluctant.

Does support for international cooperation remain high if it means that national interests have to take a back seat every once in a while? Is the G20 part of the public debate and awareness, and how knowledgeable are citizens about the G20? Answers to these and other questions can be found in the current issue of our policy brief: 

“The G20 is turning 20: Time to take stock of multilateralism”
by Christina Tillmann 

Our factsheet “The G20: 9 facts and figures” provides additional, more detailed information on the results of our survey and a related media resonance analysis. The editions are also available on our website in Spanish.

The Policy Brief of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s “Future of Democracy” program provides analysis of current challenges to our democracy.

We hope you find it enjoyable and informative, and look forward to receiving any feedback you might have.

Kind regards,

Christina Tillmann and Dr. Robert Vehrkamp

Overview of previous policy briefs