The United Nations and

Contemporary Global Governan

Lesson 3
At the end of the lesson, the student should be
able to:

1. Analyze the roles and functions of the United

Nations in world governance; and

2. Defend an arguable issue on world governance

 INTRODUCTION
The problematic of global governance is
simply stated this way:

• The evolution of intergovernmental institutions to

facilitate international cooperation and mute
international conflict lags well behind the emergence of
collective problems with trans-border and global
dimensions.
• We will begin with an investigation of the evolution of
global governance with a special emphasis on the last
two decades when the term itself has become a central
part of the public policy lexicon.
 INTRODUCTION
The problematic of global governance is
simply stated this way:

• We will then move on to provide substantive illustrations

and analysis of what are believed to be the most pressing
contemporary problems for international public policy
across the major areas of interests of the United Nations
system (International Security, Development and Human
Security).
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
World governance: a movement towards political cooperation
among transnational actors, aimed at negotiating responses to
problems that affect more than one state or region.

Institutions of global governance—the United Nations, the

International Criminal Court, the World Bank, etc.—tend to have
limited or demarcated power to enforce compliance.
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
• The modern question of world governance
exists in the context of globalization and
globalizing regimes of power: politically,
economically and culturally.
• In response to the acceleration of worldwide
interdependence, both between human societies and
between humankind and the biosphere, the term
"global governance" may name the process of
designating laws, rules, or regulations intended for a
global scale.
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
Global governance is not a singular system. There is no "world government
" but the many different regimes of global governance do have
commonalities:

While the contemporary system of global political

relations is not integrated, the relation between the
various regimes of global governance is not insignificant,
and the system does have a common dominant
organizational form. The dominant mode of organization
today is bureaucratic rational—regularized, codified and
rational. It is common to all modern regimes of political
power and frames the transition from classical
sovereignty to what David Held describes as the second
regime of sovereignty—liberal international sovereignty.
 The UN’s Role in Global Governance
There is no government for the world.
any given day, mail is delivered across borders; people travel from one
country to another; goods and services are freighted across land, air, sea,
and cyberspace; and a whole range of other cross-border activities take
place in reasonable expectation of safety and security for the people,
groups, firms, and governments involved.
Disruptions and threats are rare—indeed, in many instances less
frequent in the international domain than in many sovereign
countries that should have effective and functioning governments.

That is to say, international transactions are typically characterized

by order, stability, and predictability.
 The UN’s Role in Global Governance

This immediately
raises a puzzle: How
is the world
governed even in the
absence of a world
government?
 The UN’s Role in Global Governance

What accounts for the formal and

informal norms, codes of conduct, and
regulatory, surveillance, and
compliance instruments?

The answer, Thomas G. Weiss and

Ramesh Thakur argue in Global
Governance and the UN: An
Unfinished Journey (2010), lies in a
concept that has gained greater
acceptance over the last decade
and a half— global governance.
 The UN’s Role in Global Governance

the birth of the term can be traced

to the 1992 publication of James
Rosenau and Ernst-Otto Czempiel’s
theoretical collection of essays
Governance without Government.
Traditionally, governance has been
associated with “governing,” or
with political authority, institutions,
and, ultimately, control
 The UN’s Role in Global Governance
In recent years, however, scholars
have used “governance” to denote
the regulation of interdependent
relations in the absence of
overarching political authority,
such as in the international system.
These may be visible but quite informal (e.g., practices or
guidelines) or temporary units (e.g., coalitions). But they may also
be far more formal, taking the shape of rules (laws, norms, codes of
behavior) as well as constituted institutions and practices (formal
and informal) to manage collective affairs by a variety of actors
(state authorities, intergovernmental organizations, civil society
organizations, and private sector entities).
 The UN’s Role in Global Governance
Through such mechanisms
and arrangements, collective
interests are articulated,
rights and obligations are
established, and differences
are mediated. Global
governance can thus be
defined as the sum of laws,
norms, policies, and
institutions.
Dr. Joseph Deiss of Switzerland,
President of the sixty-fifth session of the United
Nations General Assembly, delivered a lecture
entitled “
Reaffirming the Central Role of the United Nations in
Global Governance”
at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo on Friday, 29 October
2010. Dr. Deiss opened his presentation by stressing
that the world is at a critical juncture with regard to
global governance for three reasons.

 First, we are witnessing an increasing degree of

global interconnectedness as well as a rise in both
new and old borderless challenges, such as climate
change, cybercrime and financial crises.
Dr. Joseph Deiss of Switzerland,
 Second, the recent financial crisis illustrates a wider
shift in political power towards emerging markets.
 Third, systems of global governance are becoming
increasingly complex, encompassing civil society,
multilateral institutions and informal
intergovernmental frameworks (such as the G8 and
G20).
 ,the UN must find a means to communicate with other
actors of global governance, such as through informal
debates pre- and post-G20 involving the General
Assembly and G20 members. Lastly, Dr. Deiss stressed
the importance of establishing close connections
between national governments, regional institutions,
civil society and the private sector.
 He concluded by reiterating his vision of a United
Nations with the means to serve as a central forum
 Challenges on Global Governance
 From the Iran nuclear crisis to global economic woes, the
upcoming year will pose steady challenges to international
bodies seized with maintaining peace and prosperity. Experts
from four leading think tanks weigh the issues.

 Michael Fullilove, of Australia’s Lowy Institute for International

Policy, says China must assume "the responsibilities incumbent
on a global power" but China’s vision of "stepping up" will not
be the same as that of the United States.
 Challenges on Global Governance
 In addition to the crisis in Syria and Iran’s progression toward
nuclear capabilities, CFR President Richard N. Haass identifies
trade, cybersecurity, and climate change as major governance
tests.
 For Chatham House’s Robin Niblett, the ongoing crisis in the
eurozone, troubled transitions in the Middle East and North
Africa, and multilateral security concerns in East Asia present
three formidable challenges for global governance in the
upcoming year.
 The Shanghai Institutes for International Studies’ Jiemian Yang
says governance priorities are strengthening existing institutions,
forging consensus between state and non-state actors, and
harnessing regional efforts in areas like trade into common
global action.
 Challenges on Global Governance
 Similarly, INSOR’s Igor Yurgens identifies three issues—the
continuing turmoil in the Middle East, environmental concerns,
and the growing wealth gap—that will have serious implications
for global governance.
MICHAEL FULLILOVE
 The world’s greatest global governance challenge
is to establish shared responsibility for the most
intractable problems of our post-unipolar world.
 Much of the world chafed against the United
States’ enormous relative power in the first
decade after the end of the Cold War.
 Many enjoyed its grievous overreach in the
following decade.
 China serves as the most pressing example of a
country that must embrace its growing power in
the international arena. Beijing has been more
active in its dealings with the international
community in many positive ways. Yet, it has so far
demurred from assuming the responsibilities
incumbent on a global power, and nurturing the
MICHAEL FULLILOVE
• In the UN Security Council chamber and other
forums, China is increasingly willing to take the
lead and behave more like a great power. On the
other hand, it remains disengaged from issues
that do not trespass directly on its core
interests. It is largely preoccupied with
protecting its interests and those of its allies
rather than projecting its influence, or doing
much to strengthen the international system.
 The Iran nuclear issue is only one example.
Beijing’s interests on Iran are not, of course,
identical to Western interests. Yet as a key player
in the international political and economic
system, it is giving insufficient weight to the
great risk posed by an Iranian nuclear bomb.
MICHAEL FULLILOVE
 China has changed the way it does business, but it
continues to define its national interests narrowly
and pursue them with an uncompromising resolve.
China wants respect, but not responsibility.
 As China’s wealth and power grow, so will its
interests expand. A middle-power foreign policy is
inadequate for a great power. If China is to help run
the international system, then it has a stake in
strengthening it.
 I suggest respectfully that China and other rising
powers need to strike a new balance between their
traditional economic and security concerns and the
broader imperatives they must now satisfy,
including stable great-power relations, non-
proliferation, and developing their international
prestige. The old principle applies: with great power
MICHAEL FULLILOVE
 On the other hand, the West needs to be careful
what it wishes for. Western countries want rising
powers to be more responsible and active, but
they don’t necessarily like it when such powers
are more assertive. U.S. officials often say that
China should "step up," for instance
 But China’s vision of "stepping up" will not be
the same as the United States’. How would the
West feel about rising powers wading into the
Middle East peace process, for example, or
participating in "coalitions of the willing" that
intervened in other countries?
 In other words, the responsibilities--and the
prerogatives--of stakeholders are open to
interpretation.
MICHAEL FULLILOVE
 On the other hand, the West needs to be careful
what it wishes for. Western countries want rising
powers to be more responsible and active, but
they don’t necessarily like it when such powers
are more assertive. U.S. officials often say that
China should "step up," for instance
 But China’s vision of "stepping up" will not be
the same as the United States’. How would the
West feel about rising powers wading into the
Middle East peace process, for example, or
participating in "coalitions of the willing" that
intervened in other countries?
 In other words, the responsibilities--and the
prerogatives--of stakeholders are open to
interpretation.
RICHARD N. HAASS
 There are a number of issues where the gap
between existing global challenges and the
arrangements meant to manage them remains
considerable to say the least
 On this score, 2012 was revealing: Syria
suggested that international support for the
principle of R2P (Responsibility to Protect) was
mostly rhetorical, while Iran’s steady progress
toward a viable nuclear weapons program
underscored the many inadequacies of the
nuclear non-proliferation regime.
 These issues will continue to pose major
challenges in the new year.
  This is troubling news both economically (trade
TRADE being a major engine of growth and job
creation) and strategically (trade being a major
deterrent to reckless political-military behavior
that would threaten the benefits that accrue
from economic ties).
 Plus, certain issues like government subsidies
should be tackled at the global as opposed to
regional or bilateral level. What is needed then
are consultations among select developed and
developing states alike that could set the stage
for global negotiations regarding services,
agriculture, and subsidies, in addition to the
more traditional trade agenda.
  Given the speed of technological change, it
CYBER comes as little surprise that there is little in the
way of governance.
 this realm is reminiscent of the early years of
the nuclear era before arms control policies
introduced some rules of the road and limits.
 But there is also the danger that some forms of
regulation could be worse than none. So the
international challenge will be how best to
maintain a free flow of information while
limiting various forms of "cyber-aggression"
without giving national governments license to
curb the flow of information for political
purposes.
  It is becoming increasingly clear that efforts at
CLIMATE mitigation are not just falling short but that the
gap between what is needed and what is likely to
happen is widening.
 This argues for developing a multi-pronged
approach to deal with the problem (i.e., slowing
deforestation, increasing reliance on nuclear
power, sharing technology to promote cleaner
coal, introducing a carbon tax, etc.), as well as
increased international efforts to help vulnerable
countries deal with the effects of climate change--
that is, adaptation.
Troubled Transitions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

 It is becoming increasingly clear that efforts at mitigation

are not just falling short but that the gap between what is
needed and what is likely to happen is widening.
 This argues for developing a multi-pronged approach to
deal with the problem (i.e., slowing deforestation,
increasing reliance on nuclear power, sharing technology
to promote cleaner coal, introducing a carbon tax, etc.),
as well as increased international efforts to help
Troubled Transitions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

 Egypt’s President Morsi has gambled that by forcing

through rapid constitutional reform so that his Islamist
government can now concentrate on delivering
economic growth.
 In contrast, the secular-Islamist coalition government in
Tunisia has decided to focus its efforts on building
consensus on broad political reform as the prerequisite
for stable economic growth.
 Both approaches carry significant risks, and Europe, the
United States, the IMF, and World Bank will need to
support these precarious transitions more actively with
financial assistance, market opening incentives, and
support for foreign direct investment.
 Multilateral Security in East Asia
 In 2012, Japan and China in a diplomatic standoff over
the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands that is likely to persist into
the coming years.
 Multilateral Security in East Asia
• The Chinese leadership appears unwilling to
countenance a return to the "status quo ante" of
Japanese sovereign control of the islands. At the same
time, the new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has
campaigned on taking a hard line toward China’s new
demands.
 These developments underscore the need for an
inclusive, multilateral security architecture in East Asia.
How to create such an architecture in a region that is in
the midst of a fundamental rebalancing of economic
and political power deserves to be at the heart of
thinking about global governance in the years to come,
not to mention how nations will respond in what China
is behaving in the West Philippine Sea or South China
Sea.