Bretton Woods institutions in a new world order

This week Mark Leonard is joined by Mark Malloch-Brown. Mark is the former president of the Open Society Foundations, former head of the United Nations Development Programme, formerly UN secretary general Kofi Annan’s chief of staff, and former UN deputy secretary general. From 2007-2009 he joined the British government of prime minister Gordon Brown as minister responsible for Africa and Asia.  

Together, Mark and Mark discuss how the role and impact of the Bretton Woods institutions, such as the World Bank and IMF, have changed. How can these institutions adapt to the rough-and-tumble world of 21st-century geopolitics—especially considering China’s increased support for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and projections that Asia will hold 50% of global GDP by 2035? 

Is Mark Carney right that there is a rupture in the old order? How did the Bretton Woods institutions underpin the old order? Are the World Bank and IMF problematic and outdated? Is it possible to reinvent these institutions for a new era? Or is it better to work through new, more representative institutions? 

Bookshelf 

1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in History – and How It Shattered a Nation by Andrew Ross Sokin  

Facing Up to the Future: Navigating Disruption, Building Trust by Patrick Achi, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Mark Malloch-Brown 

News and reflections from Mark Malloch-Brown by Mark Malloch-Brown 

This episode was recorded on February 6th 2026