The great global paradox: Unprecedented progress, unresolved problems

The most important challenge of our age is that human capacity to address problems has expanded significantly even as our commitment to working collectively remains inadequate. Human ingenuity is able to build machines far more intelligent than human beings. We have been able to decode genomes and, through advances in science, technology, and telecommunication, connect billions of people.

Notwithstanding these extraordinary developments, we continue to confront the old challenge of our inability to prevent wars and the new challenge of securing the future of young people by preserving our planet for posterity. It requires us to ask who is shaping the rules, whose interests these rules serve, and how institutions should earn and preserve the public’s trust. I believe there are five interlinked challenges that seek a response deeply embedded in cooperation, opportunity, and justice.

First, the challenge of securing peace in a divided world. The crises associated with the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Yemen have demonstrated the devastating human impact of a global order unable to prevent conflict or work towards protecting civilian life. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recorded that 123.2 million people were forcibly displaced around the world at the end of 2024.

International law cannot be seen to be selectively enforced depending upon the power that some states hold; sovereign authority, protection of civilians, and humanitarian access should not be negotiable based on geopolitical and economic convenience. The selective enforcement of rules and regulations weakens the very international legal and political order which States invoke for protecting their own security. There is a case for reimagining the peace architecture, but for it to be effective, it must commit itself to mediation before any form of escalation, sustain a commitment to humanitarian intervention, and provide unrepresented voices with greater involvement in global decision-making processes. India, as a leading power in the Global South, ought to help build these coalitions around broad institutional mandates.

Second, the challenge of turning the aspirations of young people into opportunities. Uncertainties surrounding educational outcomes, insecure employment, potentially higher costs relating to housing and living, and even unfavourable access to advancement undermine the promise of education as a means of enabling a better life.

The International Labour Organization’s 2026 Youth Employment Report estimated that more than 257 million young people were not in a position to receive employment, education, training, or capacity-building in 2025. The responsibility of governments ought to be to rebuild the transition from learning to livelihoods through meaningful education, quality apprenticeships leading to job opportunities, credible recruitment, and institutional support for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship.

India’s demographic dividend has the potential to help achieve our aspirations for human development, but this potential will be realised only through institutions that make opportunities accessible and sustainable.

Third, the challenge of governing AI for the common good. AI can provide personalised learning opportunities, support medical diagnosis and examination, and improve the quality of various public services. But adverse implications include concentrating influence through economic disparities, exacerbating discrimination already prevailing in society, and creating an environment where decisions with significant consequences are made without the opportunity to question or challenge them. The ILO’s 2025 evaluation recognised that one in four workers around the world held jobs with some linkages to generative AI. This exposure does not, on its own, lead to job loss, as many roles and responsibilities are going to be reimagined rather than disappear.

However, the distribution of benefits from AI will be inextricably linked to conscious choices about investment, innovation, training, and the protection of workers and employees. We need to evolve transparent and shared standards and benchmarks for safety, independent evaluation of high-impact systems, and accountability-based remedies when automated decisions can potentially cause harm. The countries of the Global South ought to participate in framing and designing these mechanisms.

Fourth, the challenge of reconciling development with planetary protection Climate change has inevitable consequences for food security, access to potable water, basic health and healthcare facilities, and livelihoods. The World Meteorological Organization estimated that global temperatures in 2024 were approximately 1.55°C above the average during pre-industrial times. Cooperation in addressing these challenges inevitably requires reconciling the responsibility that comes with historical actions, present capabilities, and the legitimate development aspirations and needs of countries in the Global South.

These countries may not be ready and willing to undertake expensive transitions without credible and sustainable financing frameworks and access to technology. But it is equally important to recognise that delays in addressing these issues not only impose substantial costs and adverse economic conditions on communities but also threaten the very foundations and social fabric of vulnerable societies.

Fifth, the challenge of renewing the rule of law and institutions of justice. In this regard, courts, legislatures, policy institutions, regulators, international institutions, and other bodies ought to become more accessible, capable, credible, and responsive. Their legitimacy is inextricably linked to their independence, consistent ability to enforce rules, and capacity to deliver remedies on time and in a transparent manner.

While technology can help provide some of these solutions, institutional reforms require greater investment in people, integrity systems, transparent processes, and a culture of public service and good governance. The constitutional experience of India’s democracy provides a strong foundation for engaging with these global questions of significance. We have had opportunities to embrace and accommodate diversity, reconcile the challenges of development with rights, and ensure that the power exercised by public officials and institutions remains accountable. While India has played a leadership role in the G20 and other global forums, our international contribution will gain momentum from credible institutional reform and renewal at home.

The new rules that we plan to formulate in establishing a new global order must ensure that cooperation is credible, opportunities are tangible, and power is exercised in an accountable manner. The true measure of leadership is whether people are able to live peacefully, pursue their goals and aspirations, and maintain the trust that democracy provides for shaping the future.

C Raj Kumar is the founding vice chancellor of OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana. The views expressed are personal