Event Date: September 22, 2025 - 9:00am to 4:30pm
Location: FSS 4004 and online, 120 University Private, University of Ottawa

Presented by CIPS, the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)

In a burning house, sometimes only part of the furniture can be saved. Today’s multilateral system faces mounting pressure from multiple directions: rising populist nationalism, intensifying geopolitical competition, demands for greater representativeness, institutional paralysis, and the deliberate erosion of cooperative norms—exemplified by the “America First” doctrine and its global counterparts. As confidence in international institutions falters, this daylong workshop will explore which elements of the multilateral order can or should be rebuilt, reformed, or protected. The morning will focus on frameworks for evaluating what is worth preserving and why; the afternoon will turn to two critical domains—global trade, tax and finance, and global climate governance—to examine concrete strategies for sustaining cooperation in an increasingly fractured world.

The workshop, co-hosted by the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) and the Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS) at the University of Ottawa together with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, is part of the EU-funded NAVIGATOR project (eunav.eu), a global consortium of researchers examining how Europe should navigate the increasingly complex institutional spaces of global governance to advance a rules-based international order.

Registration is required. Register here: Google Forms

This event will take place in English.

This event will also be webcast. Register (above) to receive the link. (All sessions except the plenary session from 10:45am-12pm will be webcast.)

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Agenda

8:30am-9:00am – Registration

9:00am-9:10am – Welcome and Introduction

• Roland Paris, Professor and Director, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA); Ole Jacob Sending, Research Professor and Head of Center for Geopolitics, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)

9:10am-9:30am – Opening remarks: “Multilateralism in a Fracturing World”

• Senator Peter Boehm, Senate of Canada

9:30am-10:30am – Panel: “What is the Future of the Multilateral System – and What Can Be Done?”

Given the evolution of geopolitical rivalries, deepening rifts among major powers, institutional paralysis, and the growing influence of alternative groupings such as the BRICS, a different kind of multilateral system may be emerging—more fragmented, contested, and pluralistic. This panel will explore what criteria should guide decisions about which elements of the multilateral order to rebuild, reform, or protect in light of these shifting dynamics.

• Panelists: Ole Jacob Sending, NUPI; Stéphanie Martel, Associate Professor of Political Science, Queen’s University; Anthony Dworkin, Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations
• Chair: Alexandra Gheciu, Professor, GSPIA

10:30am-10:45am – Break

10:45am-12:00pm – Plenary discussion of: “Saving the Furniture: Which Elements of the Multilateral System Must be Maintained – and How?”

Drawing on insights from the preceding sessions, this plenary discussion will invite participants to propose concrete priorities, strategies, and specific suggestions for maintaining or reforming key elements of the multilateral system. The session aims to distill practical ideas for action in the face of growing fragmentation and uncertainty.

• Chair: Roland Paris, GSPIA

12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch and group photo

1:00pm-2:30pm – Panel: “Saving the Furniture: Global Governance of Trade, Tax and Finance”

This session will examine how core elements of global trade, tax, and financial governance can be preserved or adapted to ensure functionality, fairness, and resilience amid shifting power dynamics and institutional strain.

• Panelists: Leonard Seabrooke, Professor, Copenhagen Business School; Jonathan Fried, Chair, Canadian National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation; Patrick Leblond, Associate Professor and CN–Paul M. Tellier Chair in Business and Public Policy, GSPIA
• Chair: Meredith Lilly, Professor and Simon Reisman Chair, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University

2:30pm-2:45pm – Break 

2:45pm-4:15pm – Panel discussion: “Saving the Furniture: Climate Governance”

This panel will explore which elements of global climate governance—institutions, norms, and mechanisms—are essential to preserve, adapt or create in the face of accelerating climate crises, geopolitical fragmentation, and growing demands for equity and accountability in climate efforts.

• Panelists: Jessica Green, Professor, Department of Political Science and School of the Environment, University of Toronto (joining virtually); Daniel Muth, Postdoctoral Researcher, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Ryan Katz-Rosene, Associate Professor, School of Political Studies and the Institute of the Environment, University of Ottawa
• Chair: Michael Manulak, Associate Professor, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University

4:15pm-4:30pm – Concluding remarks

• Roland Paris and Ole Jacob Sending

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Participants

Senator Peter M. Boehm was appointed to the Senate of Canada in October 2018. From November 2020 until the prorogation of Parliament in January 2025, he served as Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Prior to his appointment to the Senate, Senator Boehm served as Ambassador to Germany, Minister at the Embassy of Canada to the United States of America, and Ambassador to the Organization of American States, among other foreign postings. He is a former Deputy Minister of International Development and Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and also served several prime ministers as Personal Representative, or “Sherpa,” for international summits. Senator Boehm holds a PhD in History from the University of Edinburgh, a Master of Arts in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Stephen de Boer has had a long and distinguished career with the Government of Canada.  His last post was as Deputy Minister and Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister from 2023-2025. Previously, Stephen was Assistant Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada’s International Affairs Branch and, prior to that, for five years he was Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization.  Stephen was a member of Global Affairs Canada (GAC) starting in 2005 and held various positions in the department, including in the Investment Trade Policy and North America Trade Policy Divisions. In 2006, he was named the Director of the Softwood Lumber Division. From 2008 to 2010, he served as the Director of the Oceans and Environmental Law Division and as Lead Counsel for Canada’s international climate change negotiations. In 2010, he joined Environment Canada as the Deputy Chief Negotiator for climate change and the Director General responsible for Canada’s international climate change negotiations and partnerships. Mr. de Boer returned to the department in 2013 as the Director General of the Trade Controls Bureau. In 2015, he was appointed Ambassador to Poland and in 2016, Ambassador to Belarus. Prior to joining the public service, he worked for the Government of Ontario. Mr. de Boer has a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from Western University and a Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University.

Philippe Bourbeau is Professor of International Affairs and Codirector of the International Institute of Economic Diplomacy at HEC Montreal. Previously, he was Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge, Research Fellow at Sidney Sussex College – U.Cambridge, and Chairholder of a Canada Research Chair in Immigration and Security. He has expertise in the field of resilience, international order, and economic diplomacy. http://www.philippebourbeau.net/

 

Dan Costello is currently senior advisor to the University of Ottawa Centre on Public Management and Policy’s Certificate Program in Public Sector Leadership and Governance, bringing experience as a former political advisor, public servant and diplomat. After serving as a policy advisor in the Office of the Prime Minister and chief of staff to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and then to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he left government for teaching. He later returned as a public servant with the foreign ministry, where he held roles including Director General for Strategic Policy, Ambassador to the Republic of Poland, Assistant Deputy Minister for Europe and the Middle East, Ambassador to the European Union, and Assistant Deputy Minister for International Security. Prior to retiring in late 2022, he served as Deputy Minister and Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister. He holds a B.A. (Honours) in Political Science from McGill University and an M.A. and Ph.D in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Anthony Dworkin is senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, where he leads work on human rights, democracy, and justice. He has written on counterterrorism, the EU’s human rights strategy, and international responses to mass atrocities, and since 2011 has followed political developments in North Africa, particularly Egypt and Tunisia. Before joining ECFR in 2008, he was executive director of the Crimes of War Project and co-edited Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know (2nd ed., 2007). Dworkin has written widely for publications including the Financial Times, The Guardian, Prospect, El País, and Foreign Policy, and served on advisory committees of Human Rights Watch. He has also worked as a producer and reporter for BBC Current Affairs.

Craig Forcese is a full professor at the Faculty of Law (Common Law Section), University of Ottawa, where he teaches armed conflict and international law, national security law and various other public law topics. He also teaches at Carleton University as part of the joint uOttawa/Carleton JD/MA program in international law and relations. His scholarly work focuses on these same subject areas.

 

 

Patricia Fortier is a retired Canadian diplomat who was most recently (2016) Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for Security, Consular, and Emergency Management in Global Affairs Canada. Other assignments in Ottawa include Director General (Emergency Management) and Chief Security Officer (2015), Director General, Consular Operations (2009-11) and Director, Peacekeeping and Regional Security (1995-2000). Patricia was Ambassador to Peru and Bolivia (2011-5) and to the Dominican Republic (2006-9). She was Minister-Counsellor (Political) at the Embassy in Washington (2001-5). Other postings include Chile, the United Nations in New York, India, Kenya and Zambia. Before entering the Canadian Foreign Service, Patricia was Director of Policy Planning for City of Edmonton Transit. She is currently on the board of Canadian mining company Primero. Patricia has an MPA and a BA (Hons) from Queen’s University and was Weatherhead Fellow at Harvard University (2005-6).

Jonathan T. Fried is a Senior Advisor to the Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, DC, Senior Associate to the Center for Strategic and International Studies also in Washington, DC, and Advisor to Independent Economics (formerly Llewellyn Consulting) in London, UK, building on his distinguished diplomatic career for Canada.  He also currently serves as Chair of the Canadian National Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.  He is a member of the Expert Group on Canada-US Relations jointly sponsored by The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University and the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and of the Friends of Multilateralism Group based in Geneva. Prior to his retirement from the Government of Canada in August 2020, he was the Personal Representative of the Prime Minister for the G20, and concurrently Coordinator for International Economic Relations, a Deputy Minister-level position with a mandate encompassing Canada-Asia and other international trade and economic policy.  From mid-2021 to February 2022, he served part-time as Executive Advisor to Global Affairs Canada on the development of Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy. As Canada’s Ambassador to the WTO from 2012-2017, Mr. Fried served both as Chair of the Dispute Settlement Body and subsequently as Chair of the General Council.  Prior roles include Ambassador to Japan, Executive Director at the IMF, Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, G7 and G20 Finance Deputy, Canada’s senior trade official and Chief Negotiator on China’s WTO accession, and earlier, lead counsel for NAFTA. Mr. Fried is a Distinguished Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Foundation and the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and serves on the board of the Central and East European Law Institute in Prague.  Once professor of law at the University of Toronto law school, he has been an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa and Georgetown University.  He received his B.A. and LL.B. from the University of Toronto, and LL.M. from Columbia University, and is a member of the Law Society of Alberta. He was awarded by the Emperor of Japan the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, in November 2022.

Alexandra Gheciu is a Professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Her publications include, in addition to articles in leading academic journals, several books: NATO in the ‘’New Europe’: The Politics of International Socialization After the Cold War (Stanford University Press, 2005); Securing Civilization? The EU, NATO and the OSCE in the Post-9/11 World (Oxford University Press, 2008); The Return of the Public in Global Governance (co-edited with Jacqueline Best, Cambridge University Press, 2014);  Security Entrepreneurs: Performing Protection in Post-Cold War Europe (Oxford University Press, 2018); and The Oxford Handbook of International Security (co-edited with William Wohlforth, Oxford University Press, 2018). She is a member of the team working on the Global Right project and is writing a new book on NATO in an illiberal world. Prior to joining the University of Ottawa, she was a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, and a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence. She has also been a Senior Research Associate with the Changing Character of War Programme (Oxford University), a Visiting Professor at Sciences Po, Paris and at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and the 2022 MINDS Research Fellow at the NATO Defence College (Rome).

Jessica Green is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto, with cross-appointments to the School of Environment and the Munk School of Global Affairs. Her research focuses on global governance, the politics of decarbonization, carbon pricing, and non-state actors. Her first book, Rethinking Private Authority: Agents and Entrepreneurs in Global Environmental Governance (Princeton University Press, 2014), won best book awards from the American Political Science Association, the International Political Science Association, and the International Studies Association. Her second book, Existential Politics: Why Global Climate Institutions Are Failing and How to Fix Them, will be published this fall.

 

Ryan Katz-Rosene is an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of Political Studies, cross-appointed to the Department of Geography, Geomatics and Environmental Studies. His research focuses on climate change politics, environmental political economy, and Canadian climate policy. He is the Graduate Programs Director at the Institute of Environment, co-host of The Ecopolitics Podcast, and a past president of the Environmental Studies Association of Canada. His most recent book is The Growth-Environment Debate: An Introduction (Edward Elgar: 2025). Beyond the university, he serves as Co-President of Chelsea Forest School, and helps run his family farm.

 

Patrick Leblond is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and the CN-Paul M. Tellier Chair on Business and Public Policy at the University of Ottawa. Owing to his training and experience in business, economics and international relations, Patrick Leblond’s expertise concerns questions relating to global economic governance and international and comparative political economy, more specifically those that deal with international finance, international economic integration as well as business-government relations. His regional expertise focuses on Europe and North America. Before joining the University of Ottawa in 2008, Patrick was assistant professor of international business at HEC Montréal and director of the Réseau économie internationale (REI) at the Centre d’études et de recherches internationales de l’Université de Montréal (CERIUM). He was also visiting scholar at the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP). Before embarking on his academic career, Patrick worked in accounting and auditing for Ernst & Young (he holds the title of Chartered Accountant) as well as in corporate finance and strategy consulting for Arthur Andersen & Co. and SECOR Consulting.

Meredith Lilly, Ph.D., is a full Professor and Simon Reisman Chair in International Economic Policy at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Her research focuses on North American trade relations, Canada’s trade diversification strategy, economic sanctions, and the use of research evidence in policy making. Prior to her appointment at Carleton, she served as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. She was previously appointed at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and has worked in policy roles in several Canadian government departments.  She engages regularly with foreign governments and diplomats, and is a frequent media commentator on North American trade issues. She is a member of CD Howe Institute’s International Economic Policy Council, a non-resident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, an Advisory Board member for the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and serves as the Academic Partner for Canada’s delegation to the North American Forum.

Michael W. Manulak is Associate Professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University. He is the author of Change in Global Environmental Politics: Temporal Focal Points and the Reform of International Institutions (Cambridge University Press, 2022). He has published in leading journals and outlets, including Review of International Organizations, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and Global Environmental Politics. From 2015 to 2019, he served in the Government of Canada, representing the country internationally on nuclear proliferation issues. He holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford and is currently writing a book on the future of multilateralism.

 

Stéphanie Martel is the Hardy Chair in Political Science and an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University. Her research is on multilateral diplomacy and regional security governance, with a focus on Southeast Asia and the Asia/Indo-Pacific. Dr. Martel’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as International Studies Quarterly, International Affairs, Global Studies Quarterly, European Journal of International Relations, International Studies Perspectives, PS: Political Science & Politics, and The Pacific Review, among others. Her book, Enacting the Security Community: ASEAN’s Never-Ending Story (2022, Stanford University Press) was short-listed for the Canadian Political Science Association’s Prize in International Relations. Dr. Martel regularly represents Canada in various expert diplomacy mechanisms and policy dialogues on issues of Indo-Pacific security, including the ASEAN Regional Forum’s Eminent and Expert Persons Group and the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. She is a member of the Research Network on Women, Peace and Security and the Réseau d’analyse stratégique (Network for Strategic Analysis) under the Department of National Defence’s MINDS initiative, and a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada.

John McNee has been Secretary General of the Global Centre for Pluralism from 2011 to 2019. A career diplomat, he served as Canada’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2006-2011. During his career, he also served as Canadian Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, Syria and Lebanon and Canada’s representative to the Council of Europe. In addition, he was posted to Tel Aviv, London and Madrid. John McNee joined the Department of External Affairs in 1978 and worked in various capacities in the Department including as Assistant Deputy Minister for Africa and the Middle East. He also served in the Foreign and Defence Policy Secretariat of the Privy Council Office. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.), (Glendon College, York University, 1973) and a Master of Arts in History (Cambridge University, 1975). He was Canada Scholar at Cambridge 1973-1975. In 2017, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (M.S.M.) by the Governor General.

Daniel Muth is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam where he works on global climate governance. Previously, his main areas of research have been the political economy of global carbon pricing mechanisms and climate policy development in Eastern Europe, at the Central European University, Vienna and HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Budapest.

 

 

Roland Paris is Professor of International Affairs and Director of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. His academic research on international security, peacebuilding and the shifting foundations of global order has earned several prizes and citations, including the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. With a career that bridges academia and government, he previously served as Senior Advisor on foreign policy and defence to the Prime Minister of Canada and as a policy analyst in Canada’s foreign ministry and Privy Council Office, in addition to advising international organizations, including NATO. He has also received eight awards for teaching and public service, including the King Charles III Coronation Medal, and is a frequent contributor to Canadian and international debates on global affairs.

Leonard Seabrooke is Professor of International Political Economy and Economic Sociology at the Copenhagen Business School, where he leads the Organization, Markets and Governance research group. He is also a Research Professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

 

 

Ole Jacob Sending is Research Professor and leads the Center for Geopolitics at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). He served as Director of Research at NUPI from 2012 until 2023. His research focuses on the geopolitical dimensions of global governance arrangements. He has been Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visiting scholar at Stanford University and at UC Berkeley. In 2022-2023, he chaired the Norwegian Government´s Independent Expert Group on Development Assistance.

 

Westen Shilaho is a scholar of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. His research interests include international criminal justice, specifically Africa and the International Criminal Court (ICC), democracy-autocracy debates, Africa’s international relations and conflicts in Africa. He is the author of Political Power and Tribalism in Kenya (2018), and “Africa and the International Criminal Court” in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies (2023). His latest publication is: “Kenya-China Relations in Perspective” in Abidde, S. (ed) Pros and Cons of China and the Chinese in Africa (2025). He holds a doctorate in International Relations from University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Jeffrey Simpson is an Honorary Senior Fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He was The Globe and Mail‘s national affairs columnist for almost three decades. He has won all three of Canada’s leading literary prizes: the Governor General’s Award for non-fiction book writing, the National Magazine Award for political writing, and the National Newspaper Award for column writing. He has also won the Hyman Solomon Award for excellence in public policy journalism and the Donner Prize for the best public policy book by a Canadian. In January 2000, he became an Officer of the Order of Canada. Simpson retired from The Globe and Mail at the end of June 2016.

 

Lillian Thomsen retired from Canada’s public service in 2016 as Director General and Dean of the Canadian Foreign Service Institute. She served abroad in Warsaw (Poland), in Moscow and as Consul General of Canada in Saint Petersburg (Russia), at the Canadian delegation to the United Nations, and at the Canadian High Commission in London. In Ottawa, at Global Affairs Canada, she held a number of positions, including Director of Media Relations, Corporate Secretary and Director General of Executive Services. Lillian has been actively engaged in the community with a focus on education and health, including mental health issues, serving on various boards and as an active volunteer. She completed a maximum nine years on the Board of Governors of The Ottawa Hospital in 2019, including two terms as Vice-Chair. She currently serves on the Boards of the Canadian Ambassadors Alumni Association and the National Capital Branch of the Canadian International Council and is the Editor-in-Chief of “bout de papier”, the Canadian Foreign Service’s magazine. She provides consulting and coaching services in the public and not-for-profit sectors. Lillian graduated from the University of Toronto with a double honours B.A. in History and Economics. She was also a performance student in piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Srdjan Vucetic is a Professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. His research interests involve American and Canadian foreign and defence policy and international security. Prior to joining the GSPIA, Srdjan was the Randall Dillard Research Fellow in International Studies at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. Srdjan has co-coordinated the CIPS International Theory Network since 2012.

 

 

Katrine Westgaard is a programme and research assistant for the European Power programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations, based in the Madrid office. Before joining ECFR, she was a James C Gaither junior fellow for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Europe programme in Washington DC. She also worked part-time as a research assistant for the international strategic consultancy Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC. Westgaard holds a BA in international relations and a minor in data science from William & Mary, Virginia in the United States. Her research interests include transatlantic relations, Nordic-Baltic security, and the intersection of gender and foreign policy.

 

 

Photo courtesy of World Bank Photo Collection via Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0