International Cooperation in Times of Polycrisis: Patchworks as Pathways in Earth System Governance

This paper re-examines the principles and precepts of ‘old’ multilateralism in the context of the global polycrisis. It offers an analytical framework for ‘new’ multilateralism in Earth system governance, emphasizing the limitations of Global North–Global South binaries and proposing “patchworks” as flexible, cross-scale pathways for cooperation across policy silos.