Global Governance and Its Workability Essay

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Updated: Mar 15th, 2024

Global governance is a phenomenon that has been receiving increasingly more attention as globalization has become more apparent to researchers and policymakers. One of the positive effects of the current processes is the ability to address worldwide issues together.

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This way, each nation can contribute to a dialogue, bring in its expertise, and pick up where others seem to be failing. Some experts, however, are somewhat skeptical about the concept and would rather that each country was left to its own devices and retained full autonomy. This essay will examine the idea of global governance from the standpoint of its workability within the theoretical frameworks put forward by such researchers as Hirst, Thompson, Rodrick, and others.

The first and most important question that has to start the conversation around global governance is not whether it is possible but rather whether it is needed. It is safe to assume that only a dire need would compel world leaders to embark on a journey towards building a global system, and as the saying goes, if there is a will, there is a way. So far, it appears to be that globalization has brought both new opportunities and new challenges, and namely, the necessity to moderate domestic policies in a way that they are in line with global regulations (Krahman 2003). The reason for that is a plethora of global challenges that neither respect borders nor do they discriminate against nations.

For instance, pollution, drugs, and terrorism are frighteningly pervasive: they are not only transnational but also have direct domestic effects. Not a single nation is able to take control of the said problems successfully, and thus, viable solutions would entail a multilateral approach with all the key stakeholders involved. This way, global governance is not something that would require a totalitarian regime giving orders and passing top-down decisions. Instead, the nations would need to foster interdependence and accountability. Within them, international decision-makers would pay regards to particular states and their citizens, and individual processes would shape and regulate globalization.

When someone wonders whether global governance is possible, he or she hinges on the premise that a worldwide decision-making system is unprecedented and rather an idea that is yet to find realization. In their essay, ‘The future of globalization,’ Hirst and Thompson (2002) offer an interesting perspective on the matter of global governance. They make it a point to prove that the history of the humankind had already seen periods when the world became more globalized than ever.

These eras were followed by a massive backlash and alternated with periods of disintegration (Hirst, Thompson & Bromley 2009). Thus, one may say that Hirst and Thompson put forward an idea of a spiral development cycle, which might be more feasible than a linear process toward global governance.

What makes the idea that global governance has seen at least a few precedents convincing is that other researchers seem to share this opinion. In his book, ‘The globalization paradox,’ Rodrick (2012) describes the rise and fall of attempts to assert global governance while taking advantage of what the free market and international trade have to offer. Taking his points and the arguments made by Hirst and Thompson, the actual question that one needs to pose when discussing the subject matter would be: “Is global governance possible this time?” The spiral development cycle implies that while history repeats itself, new events and conditions take it to the next level, and one may only wonder whether the world is adaptive enough.

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Rodrick (2012) shifts the focus from “Why do we need global governance?” toward “How practical is it?” This essay provided a clear rationale for imposing a global system that would tackle the most pressing issue, and yet, there is so much that has yet to be decided to bring the concept even a bit closer to realization. Rodrick (2012) raises a troubling question: if at the national level, the citizens are the ultimate vehicle for accountability, it is unclear who and how could hold global leaders responsible.

Within a democratic country, if the electorate is not satisfied with those in power, they have the leverage to vote them out of the office. On the contrary, the concept of global elections is far from simplistic and far-fetched at best.

For all these concerns, Rodrick argues that the globalization paradox is that globalization, global governance included, works when it is not forced past its limits. From the reading, I realized that once the questions of necessity and practicality have been answered, it is only reasonable to find out whose interests global governance would serve to make it sustainable. I agree with Rodrick (2012) when he states that global rules should exist for the mere purpose of enhancing the quality of domestic deliberations. Such entities as the World Trade Organization or G20 should not only enact policies to reduce transaction costs across borders but also put procedural safeguards in place.

The approach here would be to promote transparency, representativeness, and accountability as well as the use of evidence-based practice in domestic deliberations. Thus, the accountability issue may unfold the other way around: it is not the nations that hold the global leaders accountable but global leaders who make sure that national states comply with key principles.

Globalization is a process characterized by amplified interconnectivity of the humankind and continuous exchange of ideas, tools, and traditions. As globalization is strengthening bonds between nations, a question arises as to how feasible the concept of global governance could be. Rigorous research on the topic has made me realize that global governance is not only possible but has happened before, taking different forms.

Given the new challenges, the real question that we should be asking is whether it is necessary, practical, and sustainable. First, global governance may be beneficial due to the dire need to unite forces in tackling global issues. The practicality of the concept raises concerns; however, if election procedures are clarified, the idea might stand a chance. Lastly, the sustainability of global governance is linked to how the problem of accountability is handled. All in all, global governance is feasible if it is based on the interdependence of global leaders and national states and promotes transparency and representativeness.

Reference List

Hirst, P, Thompson, G & Bromley, S 2009, Globalization in question: the international economy and the possibilities of governance, 3rd edn, Polity Press, Cambridge.

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Hirst, P & Thompson, G 2002, ‘The future of globalization,’ Journal of the Nordic International Studies Association, vol. 37, no, 3, pp. 247–265.

Krahmann, E 2003, ‘National, regional, and global governance: one phenomenon or many.’ Global Governance, vol. 9, pp. 323-346.

Rodrick, D 2012, The globalization paradox, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "Global Governance and Its Workability." March 15, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/global-governance-and-its-workability/.

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