THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Lesson 5: Contemporary Global Governance

• Global governance is a means to manage issues that cut across national borders whether it is a pandemic, financial
crisis, or climate change.
• Global governance refers to the process of designating standards, laws rule, or regulations intended for global
scale
• The goal of global governance is to provide global public goods, particularly peace and security, justice and
mediation systems for conflict, functioning markets and unifies standards for trade and industry.

Examples of Global Problems

• Borderless diseases, especially malaria, TB, and AIDs which pose a danger to political structures.
• War is the most obvious global flow threatening the nation – states involved, especially those on the losing side.
• Terrorism is clearly regarded as a threat by those nations against which it is waged (hence the so-called “war on
terrorism” in the US)

Imagine you are the PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD, what are the three priority problems that you want to resolve in
your 1 year in service?
International Agreements
- are treaties signed by s number of states that establish global rules of conduct. States that break rules are called
rogue states (North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Syria)
• These are formal understanding or commitments between two or more countries.
• An agreement between two countries is called “bilateral,” while an agreement between several countries is
“multilateral.”

International Laws
- Is the collection of rules and regulations that define the rights and obligations of states.
• International law consists of rules and principles governing the relations and dealings of nations with each other,
as well as the relations between international organizations.

International Organizations
• An international organization is one that includes members from more that one nation.
• A stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states and other actors in the international system.

• The United Nations (UN), in spite of its myriad problems, is the premier global
organization in the realm of politics.
• Currently made up of 193 Member States
• Started on October 24, 1945, San Francisco California United States
• UN is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States

Roles and Functions of the United Nations

1. To maintain international peace and security.
2. To develop friendly relations among nations
3. Respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of people.
4. To strengthen international laws.
5. To protect human rights.
6. To deliver humanitarian aid.
7. To support sustainable development and climate action.

Five Active Organs of United Nations

1. The General Assembly
2. The Security Council
3. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
4. The Secretariat
5. The International Court of Justice

1. The General Assembly

 The General Assembly is the primary deliberative and policy making arm of the UN, at which all 193
member states are represented.
 It meets annually in September to debate pressing issues and to make decisions and recommendations on
important questions of peace and security, economic and social development, the protection of human
THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

rights, the codification of international law, and the admission of new member states, among other
matters.

Carlos P. Romulo
• Former President of the United Nations General Assembly
• 1949-1950
• Filipino diplomat

2. The Security Council

 The Security Council has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
 It is comprised of 15 members, five of which are permanent (China, the Russian Federation, France, the
U.K., and the U.S.).
 The other ten members are elected by the General Assembly to two-year terms.

3. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

 It provides a central forum for discussing the world’s economic, social and environmental challenges and
for formulating policy recommendations to address them.
 ECOSOC is responsible for promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and
social progress; identifying solutions to international cultural and educational cooperation.
 ECOSOC is comprised of 54 UN members states, which are elected by the General Assembly to serve
overlapping three-year terms.

4. The Secretariat
 Prepare draft texts of resolutions.
 Organizes the implementation of decisions, documents the work of the United Nations while registering
and editing the texts in their different states.
 At its head is the Secretary-General, who provides overall administrative guidance.
 The secretary-general is elected by the General assembly, on the recommendation of the Security
Council, for a renewable five-year term.

5. The International Court of Justice

 The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is the UN’s principal judicial organ.
 The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States
and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and
specialized agencies.

 It is located in the Peace Palace in The Hague, a city in the Netherlands, making it the only one of the UN’s
principal organs that is not based in New York City.
 The Court is comprised of 15 judges elected by both the General Assembly and the Security Council to serve
nine-year terms.