Global Governance

At its core, global governance is about how to make the world a better, fairer place, not to be confused with global government. Hardly a new area of intellectual endeavour, it has nonetheless attracted a surge of attention worldwide with the recent 50th anniversary of the United Nations and Bretton Woods systems. Three major views prevail: (1) Pessimism - the world is going to the dogs as post-Cold War euphoria fades and the UN becomes increasingly ineffectual in the face of crises like Rwanda, Bosnia and Somalia; (2) Hope lies in reforming the UN; or (3) New regimes will arise outside the formal UN system to deal with specific problem areas like security, trade wars and environmental deterioration. A recent report from the Commission on Global Governance favours the latter two approaches - and sets a menu for UN reform. Its recommendations: Expand the notion of security from fire-fighting to prevention. Establish an Economic Security Council to shepherd policies for sustainable development across bodies like the World Bank, IMF and World Trade Organization (the Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC, and the UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD, would be dismantled). Create a Trusteeship Council to safeguard the global commons, and an annual Forum of Civil Society to ensure that the views of communities and NGOs are heard. Request agreement from the UN General Assembly that a World Conference on Governance be held in 1998, leading to concrete decisions by 2000. [strengthening leadership and management in an increasingly interdependent world]

Global Governance n. the debate on boosting the effectiveness, democracy and accountability of international decision-making; not necessarily a plot to create a world government

Commission on Global Governance. Our Global Neighbourhood. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. 410 p.

NOT HOT

- Lukewarm Leadership on Climate Change

Few would disagree that climate change is one of the pressing international problems crying out for strong global governance. Despite the promise of early international action in the Framework Convention on Climate Change, many countries like Canada and the US are actually backsliding on their commitments. The framework implies that massive reductions of CO2 and other global warming gas emissions are necessary, but most countries seem unlikely even to meet their targets for stabilization. Would leadership be strengthened by the reforms proposed by the Commission on Global Governance (see above)? We think so!

Commission on Global Governance- see Policy Excerpts for a quick overview.