After the 2008 financial crisis, governments across the world injected over $3 trillion into the financial system. The goal was to unfreeze credit markets and get the global economy working again. But instead of supporting the real economy—the part that involves the production of actual goods and services—the bulk of the aid ended up in the financial sector. Governments bailed out the big investment banks that had directly contributed to the crisis, and when the economy got going again, it was those companies that reaped the rewards of the recovery. Taxpayers, for their part, were left with a global economy that was just as broken, unequal, and carbon-intensive as before. “Never let a good crisis go to waste,” goes a popular policymaking maxim. But that is exactly what happened.
Now, as countries are reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns, they must avoid making the same mistake. In the months after the virus first surfaced, governments stepped in to address the concomitant economic and health crises, rolling out stimulus packages to protect jobs, issuing rules to slow the spread of the disease, and investing in the research and development of treatments and vaccines. These rescue efforts are necessary. But it is not enough for governments to simply intervene as the spender of last resort when markets fail or crises occur. They should actively shape markets so that they deliver the kind of long-term outcomes that benefit everyone.
Professor Zhang Weiwei Discusses China’s Role in Geopolitics at CIRSD Horizons Discussion in Belgrade
The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) hosted a discussion featuring Professor Zhang Weiwei, a distinguished Chinese intellectual and professor at Fudan University, as part of the Horizons Discussion series. The event, moderated by CIRSD President Vuk Jeremić, brought together members of the diplomatic, business, and academic communities in Belgrade to discuss pressing global issues, including China’s geopolitical strategy, U.S.-China trade tensions, the future of global governance, and the Taiwan question.
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CIRSD and Sciences Po Host High-Level Panel on Multilateralism in Paris
Paris, January 2025 – The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), in partnership with Sciences Po, hosted a thought-provoking panel discussion on “Multilateralism and the New World Order” as part of the 10th Youth & Leaders Summit in Paris. The panel brought together distinguished global figures to address the future of international cooperation in an era of geopolitical uncertainty.
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No Geopolitics for the Defenseless (and Why the EU is no Different)
The 2024 U.S. presidential election once again took center stage, as if it were a World Cup final that gets broadcast every four years around the world.
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Vuk Jeremić at the World Policy Conference: “Europe Must Embrace Realism and Dialogue in a Post-War World”
Abu Dhabi, UAE – Vuk Jeremić, President of the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) and former President of the United Nations General Assembly, participated in the 17th World Policy Conference (WPC) in Abu Dhabi. Speaking during the plenary session “The Future of Europe After the Ukraine War and Trump’s Election,” Jeremić called for pragmatic strategies to address Europe’s challenges, stressing the need for honest dialogue and realistic expectations for the continent's future.
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