Background and Challenges

Task Force 6 deals with the unprecedented crisis in multilateralism at the global level, disruption of social cohesion at the domestic level, how nations could address these issues, and what the future of politics should look like. In recent years, there has been political backlash against globalization in many parts of the world. If populism with its “we-first,” protectionist approach were to spread globally, we may experience significant disruption in global supply chains, deterioration of trade and investment, if not a collapse of the liberal trading system. Therefore, political leaders must address these issues at global fora such as the G20. TF6 previously pointed out that social prosperity has become decoupled from economic prosperity (see Snower 2018). For countries with weak social safety nets, the redistribution of income from winners to losers becomes essential. For countries with sufficient social safety nets, income redistribution may not be enough to improve social prosperity; innovative policies will be needed. TF6 aims to conduct robust analysis of populism from a socio-economic perspective. It also seeks to identify implications for global governance to help the G20 consider optimal formula and institutional arrangements that will allow high levels of international economic cooperation while reducing conflicts. TF6 will produce concrete policy measures to address these issues and shed light on the relationship among social cohesion, global governance, and the future of politics.

T20 on Social Cohesion, Global Governance and the Future of Politics

T20 Japan task force Lead Co-Chair Nobuo Inaba assesses the impact of populism on the G20 and institutional next steps following the Osaka Summit.