Change and continuity in a time of upheaval and uncertainty: between the Anthropocene and multipolarity without multilateralism

Abstract

This text seeks to present the impact that changes in the international system following the First and Second World Wars are having on the development cooperation and aid subsystem. To do so, following the Annales School, it distinguishes between long, medium, and short timeframes, focusing primarily on the medium (conjuncture) and long (structure) timeframes. It first establishes the persistent features of the cooperation and aid subsystem that emerged after the Second World War. Then, it establishes a framework for analyzing change and continuity, which it applies first to the two fundamental structural elements (the Anthropocene and the erosion and blurring of the rules of international order) and subsequently to the causally relevant conjunctural element: the evolution of development studies and the practice of international cooperation. In all cases, it identifies the elements of change and continuity. It concludes with brief final considerations.