Introduction
In the past, states acted as independent individuals with no interest of seeking cooperation from the other states. As the time passed by, new and unsolvable problems start to appear more. Those problems happen worldwide, and states soon realized that they do not have the ability to overcome those obstacles by themselves. The United States, the so-called ‘sole superpower’, have also tried to deal with those issues alone without any success. Because of this, what is left for states to do now is to join in hand with the other actors and even states in order to attempt in solving those problems. Finally, in 1995 the Commission on Global Governance formed to decide on what kind of cooperation should be undertaken in response to the global changes.
There is a wide variety of international policy problems that require Governance:
- Global networks of terrorism
- Global financial market
- HIV/AIDS
- Weapons of mass destruction, chemical, and biological
- The continuing conflicts in the Middle East and the Balkans
- The tension between India and Pakistan
- Ethnic conflicts and failed states
- Climate change
- River system management
- Collapse of global fisheries…
What is Global Governance?
- Governance is the way that actors manage their common affairs.
- Those actors can be individuals, institution, private and public.
- It is a continuing process through which conflicting or diverse interests may be accommodated and cooperative action may be taken.
- It includes formal as well as informal arrangements that people and institutions have agreed to or perceive to be in their interest.
- It is not a global government; it is not a single world order; it is not a top-down, hierarchical structure of authority.
- It is the collection of governance-related activities, rules, and mechanisms, formal and informal, existing at a variety of levels in the world today.
Governance vs Government
- Government: has the backup power in achieving the process = has forces and police power to make sure that all citizens strictly follow all of the imposed rules and laws.
- Governance:
o Does not have the right to force states or states’ citizens to obey all the rules and laws that are set.
o States can choose not to follow governance’s regulations since those are optional.
o It embraces governmental institutions but it also includes informal, nongovernmental mechanisms whereby those persons and organizations within its purview move ahead, satisfy their needs, ad fulfill their wants.
The Pieces of Global Governance
The pieces of global governance are the cooperative problem-solving arrangements and activities that states and other actors have put into place to deal with various issues and problems. They include:
1- International rules or laws:
o It has expanded tremendously since 1960s.
o It recognized 5 sources:
§ treaties or conventions,
§ customary practice,
§ the writing legal of scholars,
§ judicial decisions,
§ general principles of law.
o 3,666 multilateral agreements were concluded (1951-1955). They include the Vienna Convention on Treaties, environmental conventions such as:
§ Ozone & climate change,
§ whaling & law of the sea,
§ humanitarian law (Geneva conventions) & human rights law
§ arms control agreements
§ intellectual property law
o It applies only to states, except for war crimes and crimes against humanity; (at the present except EU) multilateral agreement cannot be used directly to bind the non-state actors such as:
§ individuals
§ multilateral corporation
§ nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
§ para-military forces
§ terrorist (or)
§ international crimes.
o The “force” of international law: often comes from the “felt need to coordinate activities… and to ensure stable and predictive patterns of behavior” and the reality is “imperfect, varied and changing fulfillment” with many factors affecting the extent to which states meet legal commitments.
2- International Norms or “Soft Law”
o Not binding obligations for states;
o It is the Norm or Standard of behavior (soft law)
o Commons applied to some concepts:
§ (some) human right and labor right
§ framework conventions on climate change and biodiversity:
· the high sea, outer space, polar region, sustainable development
· ozone depletion, loss of biodiversity
· global climate change.
§ technology provide significant deal to such problems
§ Protocols are used to supplement the initial framework convention to deal with the issue.
3- Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
o at least 3 member states
o has activities in several states
o members are held together by formal intergovernmental agreement,
o IGOs serve many functions:
§ informational: gathering, analyzing, & disseminating data
§ Forum: providing place for exchange of views and decision making
§ Normative: defining standards of behavior
§ Rule-creating: drafting legal binding treaties
§ Rule-supervisory: monitoring compliance with rules, settling disputes, taking enforcement measures
§ Operational: allocating resources, providing technical assistance and relief, deploying forces.
o Classifying Types of IGOs
§ Geographic Scope
· Global: UN, WTO, WHO
· Regional: ASEAN, EU, AU
· Sub-regional: Mekong Group, Gulf Cooperative Council
§ Purpose
· General UN, OAS
· Specialized WTO, WHO, UNICEF, ILO
o Why do states join such IGO?
§ They join to participate in a stable negotiating forum, permitting rapid reactions in times of crises.
§ They join to negotiate and implement agreement that reflect self- and community interest.
§ They participate to provide mechanisms for dispute resolution.
§ They join to take advantage of centralized organization in the implementation of collective tasks.
4- Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
o they are the private voluntary organizations
o the members are individuals or associations
o they come together to achieve a common purpose - by advocating and serving in many aspects:
§ human rights
§ peace
§ environment
§ disaster relief
§ humanitarian aid in war-torn societies
§ development assistance
o NGOs are increasingly active today at all levels of human society and governance, from local or grassroots communities to national and international politics.
o NGOs governance functions parallel many functions provided by IGOs.
o NGOs have also become a significant assistance for states in global governance.
Other rules, norms, and structures that Link to the above significant Pieces.
- International Regimes:
- Ad Hoc Arrangements
- Global Conferences
- Private Governance
Actors in Global Governance
- States
- IGOs
- NOGs
- Experts
- Global Policy Networks
- Multinational Corporations (MNCs)
