Perspectives is a flagship analysis series from the Center on International Cooperation (CIC) at NYU, offering timely, in-depth commentary on urgent global challenges.
Launched in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the series has become a trusted resource for policymakers, practitioners, and others working in the multilateral space. Each edition features concise, expert-driven analysis by CIC researchers that responds to critical developments shaping international cooperation.
Topics span United Nations reform, international financing, sustainable development, peacebuilding and prevention, protracted and forgotten crises, the humanitarian–development–peace nexus, advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, people-centered justice, and challenges facing fragile and conflict-affected states.
2026
- Léah Guyot and Natalie Briggs, “The New Politics of Gender Equality at CSW70: From Progress to Preservation” (March 17)
- Thibault Camelli, “The United Nations in 2026: Leadership and Legitimacy Under Constraint” (February 3)
2025
- Fernando Marani and Betty N. Wainana, “It Is Time for Delegations to Unite on Tackling Inequality: Addressing Structural Challenges in Financing for Development Negotiations,” (April 23)
- Raquel Jesse, “Who’s Telling the Story on Inequality?” (April 10)
- Global Spotlight: What to Watch in 2025 from CIC Experts (January 25)
2024
- Luisa Portugal, “Halving Global Violence Starts in Our Homes and Streets: Recommendations for the Summit of the Future and Beyond,” (September 20)
- Sarah Cliffe, Daniel Friedman, Céline Monnier, and Betty N. Wainaina, “Fragility, Conflict, and Violence at the World Bank—Recommendations for the Spring Meetings,” (April 17)
- Eugene Chen, “Sorry, Ambassador Bolton—US Membership at the UN is Burden-Sharing at its Best,” (March 11)
- Sarah Cliffe, “The Pact of the Future—Financing Issues,” (January 11)
- Betty Wainaina, Sarah Cliffe, Taking Stock of 2023 and Looking Ahead to 2024: How to Combine Realism with Hope?,” (January 11)
2023
- Sarah Cliffe, Hanny Megally, “Israel Is Doing Exactly What Hamas Wants It to Do,” (October 18)
- Natalie Briggs, Symphony Chau, Sarah Cliffe, Karina Gerlach, “Five Key Takeaways: Day 1 of the United Nations General Assembly 2023,” (September 20)
- Natalie Briggs, Symphony Chau, Sarah Cliffe, Karina Gerlach, Faiza Shaheen, Betty Wainaina, “The UN General Assembly 2023: The urgency of compromise on financing for development,” (September 7)
- Eugene Chen, Sarah Cliffe, Daniel Friedman, Bojan Francuz, Céline Monnier, and Margaret Williams, “Managing Opportunities, Challenges, and Expectations for the New Agenda for Peace,” (May 16)
- Sarah Cliffe, Betty Wainaina, “IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings: The good, the bad and the ugly (View from New York,” (April 11)
- Sarah Cliffe, Renata Dwan, Betty Wainaina, Leah Zamore, “The Number of Countries with Coups d’etats and Other Constitutional Changes in Government is Rising: How should donors stay engaged?” (March 31)
- Roshni Menon, Faiza Shaheen, “One Year After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: The geopolitical struggle is not where you think it is” (February 27)
2022
- Sarah Cliffe, Marta Bautista Forcada, Symphony Chau, Hanny Megally, “2022 Retrospective and Trends for 2023” (December 27)
- Sarah Cliffe, Karina Gerlach, Hanny Megally, “What should leaders focus on during the United Nations General Assembly High-level week 2022 to help restore some popular trust in international collective action and multilateralism?“(September 15)
- Sarah Cliffe, Karina Gerlach, “Development Competition is Heating Up: China’s Global Development Initiative and the G7 Partnership for Infrastructure” (July 19)
- Sarah Cliffe, Hanny Megally, Karina Gerlach, Faiza Shaheen, Leah Zamore, “How to Maintain International Unity on Ukraine (Part II)” (May 31)
- Sarah Cliffe, Faiza Shaheen, Leah Zamore, Karina Gerlach, Nendirmwa Noel, “Recent UN Votes on Ukraine: What Needs to be Done to Maintain International Unity (Part I)” (April 4)
- Sarah Cliffe and Leah Zamore, “Blowback from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine” (March 7)
- Sarah Cliffe, “Looking Ahead: Trends & Solutions for 2022” (January 14)
2021
- Faiza Shaheen, Leah Zamore, and Nendirmwa Noel, “Looking at Climate in the Multilateral System through the Lens of Inequality and Humanitarian Crises” (November 30)
- Liv Tørres and others, “Our Common Agenda: A Quick Scan” (September 20)
- Liv Tørres, “Social Dialogue as a Tool to Fight Inequality & Recover After a Pandemic” (July 6)
- Sarah Cliffe, “Is the United States at Risk of Large-Scale Civil Conflict?” (June 10)
- Sarah Cliffe and Paul Von Chamier, “Restoring Civic Trust in the Post-Pandemic Era” (May 5)
- Sarah Cliffe, Karina Gerlach, and Leah Zamore, “How Can We Work Towards Economic Recovery for All?” (April 2)
- Sarah Cliffe and others, “Are We Facing a Wave of Conflict in High-income Countries” (February 16)
2020
- Kevin Casas-Zamora, Sarah Cliffe, and Nendirmwa Noel, “COVID-19, Election Governance, and Preventing Electoral Violence” (November 2)
- Sarah Cliffe and others, “The Challenge of a Lifetime: Ensuring Universal Access to COVID-19 Health Technologies” (September 29)
- Leah Zamore, Tayseer Alkarim, and Hanny Megally, “An Unexpected Reprieve in Idlib: COVID-19 and the Syrian Ceasefire” (August 17)
- Sarah Cliffe, “High-Level Open Debate of the UN Security Council: Pandemics and the Challenges of Sustaining Peace” (August 12)
- Leah Zamore, Tayseer Alkarim, and Hanny Megally, “Unparalleled: COVID-19 and the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen” (July 22)
- Céline Monnier, “Adopting a Sustaining Peace Lens to the COVID-19 Response” (July 1)
- Leah Zamore and Ben Phillips, “COVID-19 and Public Support for Radical Policies” (June 25)
- Karina Gerlach and Robert Kang, “COVID-19 and Trust in International Cooperation” (June 15)
- Tayseer Alkarim, Hanny Megally, and Leah Zamore, “Do or Die: COVID-19 and Imprisonment in Syria” (June 8)
- Leah Zamore and Sarah Cliffe, “Trust, Inequality, and COVID-19 in Low-Income Countries” (May 19)
- Said Sabir Ibrahimi and Naqibullah Safi, “Coping with COVID-19 and Conflict in Afghanistan” (May 21)
- Paul von Chamier, Nendirmwa Noel, and Elizabeth Angell, “Public Opinion, Trust, and the COVID-19 Pandemic” (May 19)
- Tayseer Alkarim, Hanny Megally, and Leah Zamore, “Last Refuge or Last Hour? COVID-19 and the Humanitarian Crisis in Idlib” (May 05)
- Sarah Cliffe, Paul von Chamier, and Nendirmwa Noel, “How Much Lockdown is Enough?” (May 1)
- Sarah Cliffe, “COVID-19 and the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings” (April 18)
- Scott Guggenheim, “COVID-19 and Community Responses” (April 16)
- Sarah Cliffe, Leah Zamore, and Nendirmwa Noel: “Population Movements, COVID-19, and Conflict Risk” (April 10)
- Sarah Cliffe and Nendirmwa Noel, “Food for Thought – Talking Points on Food Prices” (April 6)
- Leah Zamore, Karina Gerlach, and Ben Oppenheim, “The UN’s Pandemic Response: The Beginnings of a Real Global Plan?” (April 6)
All opinions and views expressed in this article solely represent the views of the authors and the Center on International Cooperation at New York University. Support was provided through generous contributions from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.