The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been criticized for its institutional weakness. It assumed that governance commitments and the multilateral order would remain unchanged until 2030. The COVID-19 has challenged both assumptions. The response deployed by the countries has made international cooperation dependent on the solution of internal problems. What will be the impact of the pandemic on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals? What changes can be expected in the institutional design of the Agenda to face this challenge? To address these questions we have gathered and systematized 152 documents issued by the top think tanks on International Development since the outbreak of COVID-19, to identify the main design features of the Agenda that should be modified according to the functional-rationalist approach to institutional design. Our study shows that a higher level of centralization of authority and a redefinition of control and flexibility mechanisms are needed in order to improve the governance of the Agenda. Despite the temptation of focusing on a narrow set of goals, a broad scope is recommended, necessary to safeguard its holistic approach. These findings can provide insights for addressing the governance and institutional design of other international arrangements of similar nature.

In 2015, the 2030 Agenda was formally adopted by the United Nations, establishing a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 3 seeks to promote Global Health and the quality of public health systems in developing countries. The achievement of these goals requires the commitment of all signing countries, but the COVID-19 crisis is changing the behavior of the main stakeholders in the international arena. What do the experts think about these changes? Could these changes threaten the 2030 Agenda and Global Health? To answer these questions, we conduct a content analysis of 152 documents written by experts from the 15 main think tanks on international development policy. The results point out that the new scenario brought about by the pandemic is hindering the necessary cooperation between countries to achieve global health goals and to guarantee public health coverage in developing countries. To deal with these challenges, more delegation of powers to international organizations and a reform of the international cooperation system are needed. With this analysis, we launch a warning about potential weaknesses of the institutional design of the 2030 Agenda in order for it to survive in a post-COVID-19 world and remain a valid instrument to promote health worldwide.

Objective/context: The paper analyzes the causes of the crisis of Latin American regionalism, seeking the reasons that determine its nature, scope, and consequences, as well as the dilemmas posed by different exit options. Methodology: Based on a definition of the concept of crisis, a model of analysis is proposed that traces significant governance processes and crisis factors at the systemic, regional, and domestic levels, using a series of indicators that allow interpreting their impact on Latin American regionalism projects and their effects in the form of crisis. Conclusions: The findings suggest the existence of structural conditioning factors that exceed the established paradigms and political dynamics that were unable to overcome their contradictions, which led to a triple crisis of results, model, and expectations, the effects of which directly affect the credibility of the projects. The crisis, therefore, does not appear as a mere question of political will but as a complex combination of multiple factors involving states and other national and international actors and social forces. Originality: The article broadens the analytical perspectives of Latin American regionalism by proposing a novel approach that helps better understand its particularities vis-à-vis other regionalisms and opens the possibility of continuing and deepening the empirical analysis of each specific regionalism.

The article analyzes the influence of internal factors in the Central American integration crisis, based on Guatemalan politics and from a liberal intergovernmental approach. The results confirm the relationship between national preferences, some alignment with the preferences of partner states, and the results and effects of the process. For Guatemala, integration is an ideational commitment conditioned by the absence of negative externalities for the interests of governments and other key actors. National preferences limited the scope and determined the institutional design. The identity commitment and the creation of regional institutions seem to be insufficient for integration.

* Antonio Sianes, profesor contratado doctor, Departamento de Estudios Internacionales, Universidad Loyola Andalucía; Francisco Santos Carrillo, profesor c...

Global governance challenges highlight the role of international institutions as problem-solving structures. Institutional design is, more than ever, relevant in this context. The academic literature on this issue is characterized by the existence of consolidated debates such as that of rationalism vs. constructivism, with a focus on making specific contributions to the rational design of international institutions. Koremenos, Lipson, and Snidal (2001) elaborated upon a series of cause-effect conjectures linking cooperation problems, considered independent variables, with institutional design features, considered dependent variables. This research aims to highlight the empirical evidence of the existing debate on this work by conducting a systematic review. Twenty-one quantitative research studies were collected through a screening and selection procedure and were subject to systematization. The findings showed asymmetric approaches to the rational design project, and agreements were the type of international institution that received the most attention from academia. Rationalism was supported by most of the body of literature. However, a broad subgroup of articles complemented this rational approach with other variables or schools of thought, such as those of constructivism and historical institutionalism. The results have relevance for the international institution design literature, as future avenues of potential research are underlined.