Multilateralism is on life support – but does the G7 any longer have the power to revive it? | Nathalie Tocci

If France and the US end up with populist illiberals in power, it’s hard to see what can be salvaged from the western powers’ club

We no longer live in a US-led unipolar era – and that may be a good thing. But as power has shifted to other parts of the globe, multilateralism – the idea of international cooperation in pursuit of the common good – has tragically unravelled.

On one level, of course the concept survives: countries in the global west, east, north and south occasionally take responsibility for cooperating on big crises. Think of Kenya, leading a UN-backed mission, which will deploy soon, to assist the Haitian police in stabilising the country.

Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist