In today’s world, global cooperation is more critical than ever as nations navigate political instability, economic crises, pandemics, and environmental threats. The recent pandemic and geopolitical tensions have exposed how easily short-term national interests can undermine global stability. Just as corporate myopia—where businesses chase profits at the expense of long-term sustainability—undermines business success, nations risk prioritising immediate gains over the broader collective good, weakening the foundations of global cooperation.
Global cooperation requires a long-term vision, much like a corporation’s strategy for sustainability. When leaders focus solely on immediate challenges, the broader implications of their decisions, both for their own countries and for the global community, are overlooked. The effects of such decisions ripple outward, weakening relationships and making international collaboration harder to achieve.
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Case in point: COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic starkly illustrated the tension between national interests and global cooperation. Early in the pandemic, many countries, particularly wealthier nations, hoarded vaccines, medical supplies, and protective equipment, focusing on their own populations without considering global needs. While this approach seemed justifiable in the short term, it undermined global solidarity, delayed recovery in less wealthy nations, and prolonged the pandemic’s economic and social damage worldwide.
A striking example of this is the vaccine inequity that emerged. While developed countries secured billions of vaccine doses through pre-purchase agreements, many lower-income nations were left waiting. The international initiative COVAX, aimed at ensuring equitable access to vaccines, struggled to meet its targets as wealthier nations monopolised the supply. This not only delayed global recovery but also gave rise to variants that further threatened the entire world. The lesson here is clear: in a globally interconnected world, short-term national gains can backfire when global cooperation is sidelined.
Russia-Ukraine conflict and the global energy crisis
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which escalated in February 2022, also exemplifies how national priorities can disrupt global stability. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent international sanctions against Russia have led to a global energy crisis, severely impacting countries reliant on Russian energy exports, particularly in Europe. While the sanctions aimed to punish Russia’s aggression, they had unintended global consequences, including skyrocketing energy prices, inflation, and supply chain disruptions.
This situation revealed the fragile nature of energy security and underscored how geopolitics can impact global cooperation. European countries, in their efforts to cut dependence on Russian energy, scrambled to find alternative suppliers, causing imbalances in the global energy market. Nations were forced to reevaluate energy policies and prioritise national security over international cooperation, leading to a fragmented approach to addressing the energy crisis. As seen with the pandemic, national actions without global coordination can exacerbate crises rather than solve them.
“When leaders focus solely on immediate challenges, the broader implications of their decisions, both for their own countries and for the global community, are overlooked.”
US-China trade war and technological rivalry
The US-China trade war, which intensified under the Trump administration and has continued under President Biden, is another recent example of how short-term national strategies can disrupt global cooperation. The imposition of tariffs, export controls, and sanctions on Chinese technology companies such as Huawei has strained not only bilateral relations but also global supply chains, particularly in the semiconductor industry.
The trade war’s focus on safeguarding national interests and intellectual property rights over collaborative technological development has led to a significant reshuffling of global trade partnerships. Countries are now caught between the US and China, forced to choose sides in an economic conflict that could have long-term repercussions for global innovation. The push for “decoupling” from China has led to disruptions in industries that rely heavily on global supply chains, further weakening international economic cooperation.
Climate change and the global energy transition
While the Paris Agreement remains a landmark achievement for global climate cooperation, recent developments have shown how national interests continue to complicate meaningful progress. For example, while many countries have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, the immediate need for economic recovery post-pandemic has led some nations to delay or weaken their climate commitments.
The energy crisis triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war has also pushed some European countries to reopen coal plants or extend the life of nuclear facilities, despite previous pledges to transition to cleaner energy sources. In Germany, the government has temporarily extended coal use due to the energy shortage, even though this contradicts the country’s long-term renewable energy goals. This illustrates the difficulty of balancing national energy security with global climate responsibilities.
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Geopolitical realignments: The AUKUS pact
The formation of the AUKUS security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia in 2021 highlights how nations prioritise national security interests over existing alliances, sometimes at the expense of broader international cooperation. AUKUS, which aims to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific, led to significant diplomatic fallout, particularly with France, which had previously signed a multi-billion-dollar submarine deal with Australia.
France’s exclusion from this pact not only strained relations within the NATO alliance but also demonstrated how geopolitical realignments based on national security can lead to friction between long-standing allies. The AUKUS case serves as a reminder that while security is a paramount concern, neglecting the broader implications for global diplomacy can create fissures in international relations.
Populism and nationalism: A growing challenge
The rise of populism and nationalism in many parts of the world further strains global cooperation. Leaders often adopt policies that prioritise national interests to satisfy domestic constituencies at the expense of global stability.
For example, the “America First” policies of the Trump administration led to the withdrawal from several international agreements, including the Paris Agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
These moves, designed to prioritise U.S. interests, weakened multilateralism and global cooperation on critical issues like climate change and nuclear proliferation.
Similarly, the rise of nationalist rhetoric in countries like Hungary, Brazil, and India has led to inward-focused policies that undermine regional cooperation, particularly on issues such as migration and human rights. This growing trend of nationalism risks fragmenting global efforts to tackle shared challenges and weakens the collective institutions designed to promote cooperation.
Lessons from business: The fall of FTX and crypto volatility
The 2022 collapse of FTX, a major cryptocurrency exchange, revealed how unregulated, short-term profit-driven business models can have catastrophic consequences not only for the company but for the broader financial ecosystem. The sudden implosion of FTX shook the global crypto market, causing billions of dollars in losses and leaving investors and stakeholders questioning the future of decentralised finance.
This collapse mirrors how short-term national interests can destabilise global cooperation. Just as companies like FTX ignored regulatory oversight in pursuit of profit, nations that sideline global cooperation for immediate gains risk causing broader instability. The fallout from the FTX collapse serves as a reminder that both businesses and nations need to focus on long-term stability and collaboration, rather than short-term gains.
Conclusion: A call for aligned vision and values in global leadership
In an era of unprecedented uncertainty, global leaders must prioritise long-term strategies rooted in shared values rather than succumbing to the temptation of short-term national gains. The COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the rise of economic nationalism show that global cooperation is fragile and requires deliberate, value-driven leadership.
Just as corporations must align their vision with values to ensure long-term success, nations must adopt a similar approach to sustain global cooperation. The pursuit of national interests cannot come at the expense of global stability. Instead, leaders must recognize that their nations’ security, prosperity, and sustainability are intrinsically linked to the broader global system.
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Call to action:
Global leaders must take immediate steps to commit to shared values of transparency, responsibility, and collaboration. They must resist the temptation to prioritise short-term national interests over global stability and foster partnerships that promote long-term peace, sustainability, and prosperity. In an interconnected world, aligning vision with values is the only viable path to lasting global cooperation.
Dr Brian Reuben, founder of the Africa Economic Summit and The Executive Chairman of the Sixteenth Council is an International affairs analyst
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