The objective of this chapter is to partake of recent developments in the field of cognitive neuroscience and to bring these into conversation with an important normative and practical concern - namely, the design of institutions that might further enhance the possibility of global cooperation. My interest here is specifi- cally in institutions that help to overcome global collective action problems. The chapter is largely conceptual and does not intend to be policy prescriptive. However, it advances the case for renewed attention to invisible and often taken-forgranted premises in mainstream accounts in the field of International Relations that might eventually generate more inclusive institutional designs and desirable deliberative outcomes. While Barbara Koremenos, Charles Lipson, and Duncan Snidal have given considerable and careful thought to ‘the rational design of international institutions’, it is important to also contend with the drift of Alexander Wendt’s claim that ‘[a]s a discipline international relations (IR) has barely begun to think about institutional design’ (Koremenos, Lipson, and Snidal 2001; Wendt 2001: 1019). © 2016 selection and editorial matter, Siddharth Mallavarapu.