How can Crisis-affected Countries Survive in the ‘New World Disorder’?

In this presentation, David Miliband, President of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), highlights recommendations from the IRC’s 2026 Emergency Watchlist. He notes that near 240 million people are in humanitarian need, most concentrated in just 20 countries, and warns that today’s crises are increasingly internationalized, prolonged, and fueled by climate stress, conflict economies, and diplomatic paralysis. Miliband emphasizes the convergence of geopolitical fragmentation, climate vulnerability, and drastic aid cuts, calling for a rethinking of global governance, a renewed focus on fragile states, and the protection of humanitarian principles.