Chapter 5: Contemporary Global Governance
Module 5
Contemporary Global Governance
Introduction
Global governance brings together diverse actors to coordinate
collective action at the level of the planet. The goal of global governance,
roughly defined, is to provide global public goods, particularly peace and
security, justice and mediation systems for conflict, functioning markets and
unified standards for trade and industry. One crucial global public good is
catastrophic risk management – putting appropriate mechanisms in place to
maximally reduce the likelihood and impact of any event that could cause
the death of 1 billion people across the planet, or damage of equivalent
magnitude.
Learning Outcomes
After successful completion of this module, you should be able to:
● Identify the roles and functions of the United Nations
● Identify the challenges of global governance in the twenty-first
century
● Explain the relevance of the state amid globalization
Course Materials:
A. Roles and Functions of the United Nations
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The United Nations is an international organization designed to make
the enforcement of international law, security, and human rights;
economic development; and social progress easier for countries around
the world. The United Nations includes 193 member countries and two
permanent observer entities that cannot vote. Its main headquarters is
in New York City.
History and Principles of the United Nations
Prior to the United Nations (UN), the League of Nations was the
international organization responsible for ensuring peace and
cooperation between world nations. It was founded in 1919 "to
promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security."
At its height, the League of Nations had 58 members and was
considered successful. In the 1930s, its success waned as the Axis
Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) gained influence, eventually
leading to the start of World War II in 1939.
The term "United Nations" was then coined in 1942 by Winston
Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Declaration by United
Nations. This declaration was made to officially state the cooperation
of the Allies (Great Britain, the United States, and the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics) and other nations during World War II.
The UN as it is known today, however, was not officially founded until
1945 when the Charter of the United Nations was drafted at the UN
Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, California.
Representatives of 50 nations and several non-governmental
organizations attended the conference, all of which signed the charter.
The UN officially came into existence on October 24, 1945, after its
charter's ratification.
The principles of the UN are to save future generations from war,
reaffirm human rights, and establish equal rights for all persons. In
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addition, it also aims to promote justice, freedom, and social progress
for the peoples of all of its member states.
Organization of the UN Today
To handle the complex task of getting its member states to cooperate
most efficiently, the UN today is divided into five branches. The first is
the UN General Assembly. This is the main decision-making and
representative assembly and is responsible for upholding the principles
of the UN through its policies and recommendations. It is composed of
all member states, is headed by a president elected from the member
states, and meets from September to December each year.
The UN Security Council is another branch and is the most powerful. It
can authorize the deployment of UN member states' militaries, can
mandate a cease-fire during conflicts and can enforce penalties on
countries if they do not comply with given mandates. It is composed of
five permanent members and 10 rotating members.
The next branch of the UN is the International Court of Justice, located
in The Hague, Netherlands. Next, the Economic and Social Council
assists the General Assembly in promoting economic and social
development as well as the cooperation of member states. Finally, the
Secretariat is the branch headed by the Secretary-General. Its main
responsibility is providing studies, information, and other data when
needed by other UN branches for their meetings.
Membership
Today, almost every fully recognized independent state is a member of
the UN. To become a member of the UN, a state must accept both
peace and all obligations outlined in charter and be willing to carry out
any action to satisfy those obligations. The final decision on admission
to the UN is carried out by the General Assembly after
recommendation by the Security Council.
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Functions of the United Nations Today
As it was in the past, the main function of the UN today is to maintain
peace and security for all of its member states. Though the UN does
not maintain its own military, it does have peacekeeping forces that
are supplied by its member states. On approval of the UN Security
Council, these peacekeepers are, for example, sent to regions where
armed conflict has recently ended to discourage combatants from
resuming fighting. In 1988, the peacekeeping force won a Nobel Peace
Prize for its actions.
In addition to maintaining peace, the UN aims to protect human rights
and provide humanitarian assistance when needed. In 1948, the
General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights as a standard for its human rights operations. The UN currently
provides technical assistance in elections, helps to improve judicial
structures and draft constitutions trains human rights officials, and
provides food, drinking water, shelter, and other humanitarian services
to peoples displaced by famine, war, and natural disaster.
Finally, the UN plays an integral part in social and economic
development through its UN Development Program. This is the largest
source of technical grant assistance in the world. In addition, the World
Health Organization; UNAIDS; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis, and Malaria; the UN Population Fund; and the World Bank
Group, to name a few, play an essential role in this aspect of the UN.
The parent organization also annually publishes the Human
Development Index to rank countries in terms of poverty, literacy,
education, and life expectancy.
Maintenance of international peace and security
Peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peace building
Sanctions and military action
Arms control and disarmament
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Economic welfare and cooperation
Economic reconstruction
Financing economic development
Trade and development
Social welfare and cooperation
Health and welfare issues
Millennium Development Goals
At the turn of the century, the UN established what it called its
Millennium Development Goals. Most of its member states and various
international organizations agreed to target goals relating to reducing
poverty and child mortality, fighting diseases and epidemics, and
developing a global partnership in terms of international development,
by 2015.
A report issued as the deadline neared noted the progress that had
been made, lauding efforts in developing nations, and noted shortfalls
as well that need continued focus: people still living in poverty without
access to services, gender inequality, the wealth gap, and climate
change's effects on the poorest people.
B. Challenges of Global Governance in the Twenty-First Century
Governance refers to the governing procedures and standards with
political authority which is aimed at controlling certain institution and
organization. It is generally defined as an instance of governance in the
absence of government. Global governance can be thus understood as
the sum of laws, norms, policies, and institutions that define,
constitute, and mediate trans-border relations between states,
cultures, citizens, intergovernmental and nongovernmental
organizations, and the market. It has broader dimension where global
governance interconnects the entire globe as a single entity.
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Over the last decade, the concept of global governance has not only
become more widespread and popular, but confusion about its
meaning has increased. The cross border governing mechanism has
broader dimensions and governing principles. Global governance is not
a mechanism of global government controlling different nations across
the world. It is in fact a process which allows interconnectivity across
different borders and sovereign territories. Global governance is
governing, without sovereign authority, relationships that transcend
national frontiers.
The concept of global governance is often misunderstood. It is
important for us to understand and use the term carefully to overcome
the current confusion spawned by the variation in uses of the concept.
We argue that the concept of global governance can help us make
sense of interactions and transformations we observe in world politics
only if it is used in a more careful way. Global governance governs
internationally in the way local government governs at home without
affecting its political and territorial interests.
The concept of governance evolved over a period of time. Before the
devastating world war, governance was merely a subject to particular
nation and state which targeted national government. A second burst
of international institution-building, capped by the League of Nations,
occurred in the wake of World War I. Those institutions failed to secure
deteriorating economic conditions and failed to promote security
concerns which resulted in Second World War. A third shift in
governance that emerged after 1945 continues to shape our thinking
about global governance and its institutional architecture. After 1945
the essence of global governance was realised which resulted in
economic ties, formation of regional organisation, acceptance of global
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trade, development of global organisation like IMF, World Bank and
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT) and many more.
Global governance has evolved as one of the most influencing tool for
globalisation which has led to the foundation of sustainable
development projects around the globe. Global governance can be
considered a tool which leads to the process of globalisation.
Globalisation thus describes a process in which the world moves
towards an integrated global society and the significance of national
borders decreases.
This phenomenon of globalisation is product of global governance
which allows free flow of global investment which leads to sustainable
development. However, this concept of globalisation does not
necessarily affect political development because it aims at measurable
process of social change in any nation. Regionalisation is another
important phenomenon that is closely interlinked with global
governance. The rise of regional organization like ASEAN, EU, NAFTA,
BRICS, NATO, SAARC, and BIMSTEC further adds to the essence of
global governance controlling institutions and defining new pattern of
governance beyond national frontier.
Today the rise of global south is transforming global governance. The
shift in global power towards emerging economy has contributed to the
transformation in global governance. The rise of China in particular has
played a key role in development of powerful collective interests
among developing nations. The rapid expansion of their market and
overall production has increased new challenges for global
governance. As they rely more on global market access, they will
increasingly require global rules to protect that access.
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The rise of global South is injecting a new urgency into reforming
international institutions, as is most clear in global finance. The greater
shift in finance, health, migration and security is contributing equally to
changing context of global governance. The group of 7 (G7) including
emerging economies into group of 20 (G20) is great example of how
rising economy is contributing to the change in global governing
ideology. This will not only change the dominance of American
hegemony but will also bring forward a new trend to global governing
principles.
However, we cannot completely keep western influence out from
global governing body. The greater demographic diversity, socio-
economic transition, institutionalism, and social dynamism are
contributing to the transformation of global governance. In this sense,
each of the four trends that seem likely to propel social diversity over
the next decades is also likely to pose different types of opportunities
and risks for governance.
China’s ambitious development project Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
and unprecedented rise of Indian economy suggests major change in
the format of global governance in next few decades but for now
United States and Russia equally play a central role in geopolitical
balance that contributes to global governance. The impact of terrorism
is definitely one of the biggest challenges to global governance and in
this regard even the greatest of power in international system has
failed to deliver and assure peace. The multipolar world order has to be
credited for success in format of global governance but unilateral
actions of powerful states have time and again questioned the essence
of such governance.
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The failure of UN in Syria and recent humanitarian crisis needs to be
addressed in order to prevent power conflict which ultimately poses
threat to global governance. Global governance today demands
collective interest of all powerful blocs to be under one roof so that it
can ensure peace, security, and importantly prosperity all around the
world.
C. Relevance of the State amid Globalization
The role of the nation-state in globalization is a complex one in part
due to the varying definitions and shifting concepts of globalization.
While it has been defined in many ways, globalization is generally
recognized as the fading or complete disappearance of economic,
social, and cultural borders between nation-states. Some scholars have
theorized that nation-states, which are inherently divided by physical
and economic boundaries, will be less relevant in a globalized world.
While increasingly reduced barriers regarding international commerce
and communication are sometimes seen as a potential threat to
nation-states, these trends have existed throughout history. Air and sea
transportation that made same-day travel to other continents possible
and greatly expanded trade among countries did not abolish the
sovereignty of individual nations. Instead, globalization is a force that
changed the way nation-states deal with one another, particularly in
the area of international commerce.
Globalization Favors Westernization
One commonly recognized effect of globalization is that it favors
Westernization, meaning that other nation-states are at a disadvantage
when dealing with the Americas and Europe. This is particularly true in
the agricultural industry, in which second- and third-world nations face
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competition from Western companies. Another potential effect is that
nation-states are forced to examine their economic policies in light of
the many challenges and opportunities that multinational corporations
and other entities of international commerce present.
Multinational corporations, in particular, challenge nation-states to
confront the unique issue of foreign direct investments, forcing nation-
states to determine how much international influence they allow in
their economies. Globalization also creates a sense of interdependence
among nations, which could create an imbalance of power among
nations of different economic strengths.
The role of the nation-state in a global world is largely a regulatory one
as the chief factor in global interdependence. While the domestic role
of the nation-state remains largely unchanged, states that were
previously isolated are now forced to engage with one another to set
international commerce policies. Through various economic
imbalances, these interactions may lead to diminished roles for some
states and exalted roles for others.
Developments in the twentieth century have not reduced the
significance of sovereign statehood. The world is still made up of
independent states that are concerned about their territorial and
economic integrity and political independence. The argument that
globalisation is irreversible can be challenged31. The most significant
changes in financial globalisation are heavily dependent on state
support and encouragement starting from the 1960s32. Nation-states
provide the smooth functioning of financial globalisation. Furthermore,
the encouragement and support of governments for technological
innovations is important. The state is seen as a major supporter and
beneficiary of economic and technological advance33 Moreover, it can
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be argued that the role of the state is increasing rather than
diminishing, in order to promote “national competitiveness”. East Asia
represents a positive connection between state (where the capacity
and power of the state is high) and success in a globalised economy34
In this respect, globalisation might be seen to be not beyond control.
As Held and McGrew argue, states still survive. Firstly, economic
globalisation does not necessarily mean diminution of state power. It is
transforming the conditions under which state power is exercised.
Statemarket relations are changing in the economic domain. Secondly,
examining political globalisation, states have a central role in the
growth and institutionalisation of regional and global governance. The
autonomy and sovereignty of the state is not diminished by these
processes. Thirdly, considering military globalisation, states have a
more activist role today. As observed in Bosnia and Kosova, the main
guarantor of peace and stability in Europe remains the US through
NATO.3
Assignment:
Explain the importance of state in globalization.
Assessment Task
What are the different functions of the United Nations?
Explain how those functions can affect you and our nation.
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Electronic Resources
https://globalchallenges.org/global-governance/
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-united-nations-p2-1435441
https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-Nations/Subsidiary-organs
https://english.lokaantar.com/articles/global-governance-21st-century/
https://www.macmillanihe.com/blog/post/global-governance-mark-beeson/
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/022415/what-role-nationstate-
globalization.asp#:~:text=Globalization%20also%20creates%20a%20sense,chief%20factor%20in
%20global%20interdependence.
http://sam.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/1.-NiluferKaracasuluGoksel.pdf
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