Attention is increasingly being paid to the conceptualization of the sustainable development agenda that should guide global development efforts beyond 2015. New trends are shaping the international environment, suggesting that the world emerging from the recent economic and financial crisis will probably be very different from the one we have known so far. The emerging issues demand new concerted responses and new international efforts, which will have to be framedby new rules and more democratic and inclusive mechanisms of global governance. This publication provides a unique assessment of global rules and governance; a reflection of how global rules have been shaping development experiences and outcomes; an identification of the shortcomings of current global governance mechanisms; and innovative suggestions for reforming and improving them.