Rethinking the Center

Insights from Southern Voice

As the multilateral system faces an unprecedented crisis of trust, researchers and thought leaders from the Global South are pushing to redefine the future of international cooperation including demanding a structural transformation of how global development and governance are conceptualized.

Here is a roundup of some recent commentary from the Southern Voice network of think tanks, exploring how to build a more inclusive and effective global order:

1 for 8 Billion: Rethinking Leadership at a Time of Multilateral Crisis (February 2026)

This piece argues that the Secretary-General selection process remains elite-driven and dominated by the Security Council’s five permanent members. Authors Margarita Gómez and Farah Munayer argue that nominating women for the role is no longer a symbolic aspiration but a strategic necessity to draw on the leadership the UN truly needs. “What limits women’s access to the most senior positions is not a lack of experience or capacity,” they write, “but the persistence of selection practices that favor continuity.”

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Beyond the Old Tables: The Global South is Redefining Global Development (December 2025)

Reflecting on a gathering of over 100 thought leaders in São Paulo, authors Margarita Gómez and Rose Ngugi argue against simply rearranging seats at existing decision-making tables. They suggest that the current geopolitical uncertainty offers the Global South a rare opportunity to redefine development standards, using knowledge networks to actively redistribute global power. In a joint statement, the network committed to proactive action to shape the future of multilateralism and the post-2030 global sustainable development framework.

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From the Ground Up: Harnessing Collective Intelligence for Inclusive Change in the Global South (September 2025)

Megan Ballesty advocates for the use of collective intelligence to tackle multidimensional challenges. Highlighting a United Nations Development Programme initiative in Guatemala where farmers co-developed climate data processes, the article illustrates how bringing affected communities into the design process allows legitimate, robust solutions to emerge from the ground up.

Opening Session of the 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo: Flickr / Ricardo Stuckert / PR

The Threshold of a New World Order (July 2025)

This article, written by Gabriela Keseberg Dávalos, contrasts the geopolitical anxiety gripping the Global North with the sense of opportunity emerging in the Global South. Keseberg Dávalos points to the four consecutive Global South G20 presidencies (Indonesia, India, Brazil, South Africa) as a clear indicator of a shifting world order that is rightly prioritizing such issues as climate change and social equality.

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Global South Insights for a Changing World (May 2025)

In this introduction to the Global South Perspectives publication, authors Estefanía Charvet and Pablo Ignacio Soto-Mota analyze how rapid AI advancement, trade agreements, and other global systemic issues often inadvertently impose significant burdens on developing economies. They call for knowledge pluralism to challenge one-size-fits-all development models created in the Global North.

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Southern Voice: Showing Leadership in Turbulent Times (July 2024)

This piece by Gabriela Keseberg Dávalos reflects on the evolution and guiding principles of the Southern Voice network: courage, adaptability, and collaboration. It highlights how Global South think tanks are proactively shaping the future by driving their own common climate change agenda and leading conversations on the post-2030 development framework.

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