If THE NEW INSTITUTE Did not Exist, We Would Have to Invent It

The Aims and the Need

THE NEW INSTITUTE’s aims fulfill an absolutely vital function for contemporary global society. Its mission, to nourish transformation through interdisciplinary and trans-sectoral collaboration, for concrete, positive societal impact, remains sound. Below I set out some reflections, clustered around key themes, and suggest possible ways forward, to be further developed in consideration of a potential NEW INSTITUTE 2.0. In my view, the need for such an institution – and multiple such institutions – grows greater every day.

Some Observations

A main challenge in the deployment and realization of TNI’s mission – in addition to the various practical/logistical challenges of running an ambitious residential program – was the reality, and indeed the inevitability, of all of us bringing predetermined institutional and cultural propensities, which are the source of many of the problems we see around us in the societies we would like to see evolve, into the institution. My suggestion is that deeper reflection on these forces and how to address them could be applied to a refreshed TNI mandate.

Crusty structures

Within some cohorts, fellows spent considerable time reflecting on the systemic problems in contemporary academia, related, for example, to economic and intellectual impoverishment, profit-driven approaches, persistent gender and other inequities, and the antiquated, superficial, and transactional nature of publications and workplace cultures, all of which erode the conditions needed for genuine collaboration in service of society. A corollary to this was the “professional deformation” of those having to compete in such environments, where relative status and perceived authority/recognition are scarce resources not consistently connected to intrinsic value or impact, among other distorting effects. To some extent, status in the external world also seemed to be a currency that TNI needed to trade in. It would have been refreshing to see TNI more affirmatively buck any of these pressures, with wisdom and diplomacy, further elevating discussions of various structural limitations in current academic environments.

Complex deployment and practical application/impact versus reflection

As one of several practitioners at TNI, it was interesting to be in a majority academic community, with a strong focus on publication. In the 2024–2025 academic year, there was significant progress on linking theory to practice, and extremely fruitful collaboration across programs and areas of individual work. However, it generally took a great deal of energy to overcome inertial forces that tended to be siloed, individual, and unconnected. The Planetary Governance Program, which built on a practical and fast-moving project that had already been in place for several years (the Climate Governance Commission), had already done a great deal of work building catalytic trans-sectoral/cross-disciplinary communities of research, reflection, and practice, and had already gained momentum with policymakers. We therefore made an effort to share our experiences of connecting theory and practice (including actual case studies of significant social/system change) with those interested in having a significant impact on policy and system change. By the end of the 2024–2025 year, a range of collaborations and an ethos of cross-fertilization had developed among various programs and fellows, based on repeated/sustained efforts by various individuals.

Cultures of care

The TNI residential community was one of beauty and abundance. More importantly, I felt that those establishing and maintaining the residential experience sought to create an environment of care and nourishment (literal and figurative) for the fellows. There were various reactions to such an environment, again, given dominant external environments. For example, some responses seemed cynical and suspicious. The environment could have served as an impetus to reach deeper and to become more caring, rather than remaining or becoming more entitled. It would have been interesting to have more conversations about the concrete and specific standards of interpersonal care and respect, and how they could be incarnated societally. The Africapitalism program, which sought to bring African community cultural norms into business structures, seemed to be having some of these very important conversations.

Roots of ethics

Soon after I arrived at TNI it became clear that a key cross-cutting issue was the need for sound ethical foundations/interrogations across subject matters, to inform the necessary societal progress. This led to us organizing an informal weekly evening discussion of “new ethics”. Although there were numerous sessions with fellows presenting questions that preoccupied them, we barely began to scratch the surface. There is a need to continue such discussions and to properly address the questions posed and to further unwind and treat the various key societal issues raised. For example, one fellow was conducting a study of the history of “truth” across human societies, across diverse cultures and timescales. What is the basis and importance of such a cross-cultural ethical term and what relevance would such a study have for contemporary misinformation and political crises? For me, this provoked delving into philosophers treating contemporary perspectives on virtue and societal ethical vision, and works on comparative religion, and religion and science. This exploration will form the foundations of further work and thinking in the years to come.

Inner work

The New Institute was envisioned as a “secular monastery,” which strikes me as a beautiful and important vision. As our various collective thematic and ethical interrogations showed, current standards and environments generally do not provide reliable and enriching tools for the genuine inner work needed for the depth of individual thinking and the collective, collaborative work required. Dominant models of boutique psychology/spirituality, and conceptions of siloed psychological beings, rather than being part of a community were brought with us – which is why the TNI residential program and community-driven approach was so valuable, but these patterns are difficult to transcend in one or two semesters.

Stopping to think

In the 2024–2025 academic year, the cohort of fellows at TNI were surrounded by calamitous circumstances and deeply concerning developments in the world, with diverse societies in a state of upheaval and confusion. Such profound developments call for a much deeper, unprecedented reflection across societies – interrogating truisms and assumptions – and a slowing down to enable such interrogations. A different quality of thinking and self-reflection, versus dominant academic and public discursive cultures that generally tend to be more performative and output driven. What would be a systematic practice to open profound, fundamental questions that have no immediate answers, and how can we cultivate a reliable space of deep introspection? These practical qualities were nascent and beginning to arise in the TNI space and could be powerfully developed further.

Positive visions / futures

One breakthrough insight that arose together in consultation was that we focus far too infrequently on positive visions of the future and rather are too immersed in continuous intellectual cultures of argument, contest, and critique. We know more about what we don’t want than what we do want. We thought about hosting a special weekly “envisioning positive futures” session to address ideas such as what success would look like in relation to the various social, ecological, and economic problems we are confronting. This could be developed in the future and could be joined to analysis and understanding of social change processes, e.g., the suffragettes, abolitionism, or significant developments in international law. By looking at successful processes for concrete social change we might understand examples of positive change, where what was once considered “utopian” came to be the norm and the reality.

Ambition and agency

On the occasion of the UN’s 75th anniversary, one ambassador noted that current international conditions represent a “crisis of capability.” That is, do we feel like we have the capacity to solve our current challenges as an international community, and at various levels of society? At TNI, we discussed feelings of hopelessness and the inevitability of “collapse” (whatever various concrete circumstances that latter term may denote). Cultures of care and infrastructures of nurturing are needed to restore feelings of agency, as are highly technical and competent protagonists. This would complement the aforementioned study of how social change and progress has been achieved in times of great tumult and turmoil – where forces of disintegration and devastation have led to the creation of enhanced new structures and cooperative arrangements (e.g., the creation of the United Nations after WWII). Religious and philosophical traditions may be helpful here, e.g., sources such as the abolitionist minister who inspired Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sense of “the arc of the moral universe” and its tendency towards justice. An understanding of – or at least deeper discussion of – cycles of history, as well as theories of human identity or agency (religious or secular) would be very helpful. Lessons of the past and wider perspectives – sociologically or philosophically – are badly needed.

Key Insights from the Planetary Governance Program

Generally, the viability of bold proposals of the Climate Governance Commission and the Planetary Governance Program, related to steps forward in international processes and governance, were further affirmed in the course of the work of the program, far beyond expectations. These validations indeed signaled a profound sense of agency and the collective capacity to tackle our shared problems – which however, need various types of supports to deploy, alongside the cultivation of specific sets of technical/expert and community qualities. Massive steps forward were taken on key, ambitious proposals, with even the short-term support of TNI over ten months.

In the closing conference in late June 2025, we were asked to share key insights that crystallized during our time at TNI. The Planetary Governance Program drew directly upon work that began before TNI, work that continues now and will continue in the future. The key insights I shared were very much facilitated/fostered by the working environment and the support provided by TNI to advance the program’s substantive work and by the invitation to reflection, action, and collaboration.

One operational approach learned through my experience included consistent efforts to identify what’s missing in contemporary environments, or, in other words, navigating and compensating for the cultural deficits of late modernity, including:

1. “New” ethics – which are often similar or even identical to certain core principles of “old” ethics – are important. This might include slowness, depth, and multiple dimensions, rather than knowledge systems that are flat, transactional, and impoverished. We collectively need to revivify the dimensions to human purpose and ethics; the remarkable initiative of the Brazilian climate COP30 Presidency, to undertake and inspire a Global Ethical Stocktake, speaks to this crucial need.
2. Various invisible barriers contained in professional and institutional contexts and reflected in our political systems and media environments, such as an excessive preoccupation with ego, status, a compulsion to “sell oneself,” or feeling trapped by relative status and hierarchy, should be actively navigated and ultimately removed from operational contexts.
3. A lack of vision and boldness (in combination with practical expertise) is a barrier in itself. How can we actively create enabling conditions to move beyond a crisis in capacity? Discipline and hard work are involved, as is deploying both our existing and emerging collective knowledge, as well as the various talents and capacities of all people (versus dominant passive, consumer cultures). We must also navigate psychologically and sociologically complex circumstances, with an overarching, background faith in shared goals and a commitment to mission, in a diligent and heartfelt way to balance the overemphasis on intellect alone. This can be enabled through like-minded communities of practice and positive change – which should be ever-growing and ever-connecting.
4. One might diagnose a great human “fear of success” which plagues our generation. Path dependencies and “adaptive preferences” bind us to the inevitably of old models and conditions, because we cannot imagine any other way, or do not believe that solutions are possible.
5. Yet vision and community qualities are not enough. Moving forward with practical ambition requires precise monitoring, curation, and stewardship (of both technical expertise and community building capacities, among other things) alongside a psychological process of allowing various processes and proposals to come into being –with best practices arising organically. Ego must get out of the way to enable “success.”

I would suggest that solutions to many or even most of our even very sticky problems are “hiding in plain sight,” many of them are dependent on factors that are under our control (or at least influence), and the resolution of many are dependent on the above.

Next Steps

Did TNI achieve its goals in relation to its ambitious and vital mission? From my vantage point, from the ten months of the Planetary Governance Program, as well as the work on the International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC), the institute enabled substantial and concrete progress which shows signs of being profoundly beneficial to the international community. A re-tooled NEW INSTITUTE – even with a much smaller budget – could play an even bigger role in terms of global developments, joining forces with other like-minded institutions, and pioneering new ways of doing things, for the concrete betterment of society at large.

Many questions of how to achieve this remain. For example, what format could build profound community and establish community cross-fertilization and agency, but wouldn’t be unwieldy to administer or inconvenient to those engaged?

Getting to the roots of problems takes time – but we need to be speedy and efficient to tackle our challenges. What is the correct approach in this respect? Our institutional structures and ways of dialoging and convening often block us – how do we create new “liberating structures”? How do we ensure that deeper, purpose-driven reflection (which again, goes much deeper than current academic and media/public square contexts), is when appropriate, directly connected with practical projects that are skillfully conceived and deployed?

Community-driven work takes very active nurturing, which is painstaking and constant. How do we ensure universal engagement in this, rather than the diversion to only or primarily individual work, based on current incentive structures?

How do we ensure 21st-century maturity and wisdom combined with technical ingenuity in a world deficient in the former in particular?

What are the most effective tools for self-improvement, but not in a self-indulgent way, that account for diverse spiritual-religious traditions, including indigenous sources of wisdom, as well as secular sources?

Reflection on such key questions needs time to percolate and to be digested, to find the real levers to push through societal inertias and to push constructively on the needed pressure points in societies which seem to be in crisis. Hence the title of this piece, If THE NEW INSTITUTE Did Not Exist, We Would Have to Invent It – or re-invent it – taken from a well-known quip about the United Nations¹. We need pioneering institutions and the pioneering work of designing, deploying, and perfecting institutions that are calibrated to the needs of our time.

Our human institutions which provide vital functions to our societies should be maturing in a way that is not transactional or short term – they must take the long view. They require careful and painstaking collective and individual labour, learning and recalibration.

Postscript: If our societies may be in a phase parallel to the individual’s “dark night of the soul,” including a sense of lassitude and “spiritual ennui” (e.g. see Evelyn Underhill’s classic analysis of human mystical/inner experience) – it will require exertions and struggle to find and distill the light – insight and illumination – to light the way and find pathways out of our current predicaments.

¹See, e.g. the book I co-authored, suggesting a substantial reinvention of the United Nations to be more effective and fit for current conditions: Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century