COPENHAGEN — The greatest threat to the international system is not a lack of ideas or institutions. It is a growing temptation to look backward.
That was the stark warning delivered this week by Amina Mohammed, speaking before members of Denmark’s Parliament in Copenhagen. Her message was unambiguous. In a world facing overlapping crises, retreating into nationalism and unilateral action is not a solution. It is a risk.
Mohammed described a rising strain of “dangerous nostalgia” shaping political discourse across parts of the world. A longing for a past that no longer exists, and in many cases never truly did. One that assumes countries can act alone, insulate themselves from global shocks, and still prosper.
They cannot.
Why Multilateralism Still Matters
From conflict and climate impacts to economic volatility and widening inequality, today’s challenges do not stop at borders. Mohammed argued that global cooperation is not an ideological preference but a practical necessity.
Rules based systems, shared institutions, and collective decision making remain the only mechanisms capable of addressing problems that are inherently global. Undermining them does not create strength. It creates fragmentation.
Her remarks came at a moment when international institutions are increasingly questioned, constrained, or sidelined. Yet the reality on the ground tells a different story. Pandemics, food insecurity, energy shocks, and displacement all accelerate when cooperation breaks down.
A System Under Pressure
Mohammed acknowledged that the multilateral system is far from perfect. It needs reform. It needs modernization. It needs to better reflect today’s geopolitical and economic realities.
But weakening it without a viable alternative, she warned, is a dangerous gamble.
The impulse to turn inward may be politically tempting, but it leaves countries more exposed, not less. Global instability does not respect sovereignty. It exploits its absence.
A Call to Political Leadership
Addressing Danish lawmakers, Mohammed emphasized the role of parliaments and political leaders in shaping public trust in international cooperation. The erosion of multilateralism does not happen overnight. It happens through small decisions, rhetorical shortcuts, and the normalization of disengagement.
Reversing that trend requires leadership willing to defend cooperation even when it is inconvenient, and to explain why shared solutions serve national interests.
Looking Forward, Not Back
As the international community moves deeper into a decade defined by transition, the choice is becoming clearer. Invest in cooperation and adapt it to a changing world, or retreat into nostalgia and face escalating crises alone.
Mohammed’s message from Copenhagen was not a defense of the status quo. It was a warning about what comes next if the world abandons the only system it has for acting together.
The future, she argued, will not be built by looking backward. It will be shaped by whether nations choose cooperation over comfort, and action over nostalgia.
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