Book description
“Our Global Neighborhood” by the Commission on Global Governance majorly focuses on the interdependence aspect that creates sharing and partnership qualities. It ensures communal progression resulting in a neighborhood that concerns the others’ welfare. Furthermore, the analysis of the United Nation’s recommendations to accomplish global Governance encompassing security measures, political objectives, and economic policies is provided (Commission on Global Governance [CGG], 1995). The book’s overall perspective lies in the technological advancement and interconnection that makes the world a small village. Improvement in infrastructure and transportation means have eased traveling from one point to the other. Notably, the communication advancements include images in the contemporary world, unlike the previous days that only entailed voices. This advancement provides instant communication across the globe. Travel and communication break the physical distance bringing people together.
The global neighborhood also ensures interdependence through cooperation that provides international peace and trade expansion. Other issues that require cooperation include checking on the spreading of nuclear weapons, preserving biodiversity, preventing desert expansion, deterring terrorism, and warding off economic depression (CGG, 1995). The global neighborhood entails significant values that are key in the maintenance and running of the public and world affairs, such as the individual countries’ political economy and the world’s security concerns. These values include generosity, justice, determination, tolerance, kindness, and reliability, among others. They are essential in solving the emerging world challenges, while some situations require the consideration of new values. The book’s main idea is to learn the neighborhood values that compel individuals to adopt a caring attitude. The focus should be put on this attitude since it encompasses neighborhood value and well-being.
Critique of the Book
The book involves the call for United Nations’ reformation since the Second World War elapsed. Additionally, the current globalization in the 21st century requires new conduct codes that align with the emerging challenges. These reformations are essential as the contemporary world experiences recent crises that require current global solutions (CGG, 1995). The main aspects that call for international institutions’ adequacy involve security policies and global peace prevalence.
The book has accomplished various goals, including the revision of the United States’ global governance performance through solving world affairs and ensuring inter-governmental and inter-state collaboration. The UN operations involved tolerance in ensuring peaceful co-existence in the challenging neighborhood experiences under non-coercive means. The security charter provisions focus on global peace. The book addresses the issues concerning the security challenges and suggestions on how to counter them involving member nations’ addition. These accomplishments ramp up the commission’s call for relevant policies in the ever-changing world to keep up with the performance pace.
The book is persuasive and influential in several ways, such as integrating varied characters to solve world issues involving political and economic aspects (CGG, 1995). Its compelling nature depicts the indication of the need for international actors in the coordination of financial challenges. These provisions entail policy formulation that ensures trade expansion. The current world engages more nations in economic activities allowing for development and international cohesion. The book’s sufficient ability encourages international cooperation that helps global diversity in peaceful relations under conduct code guidance in forging towards economic, political, and security attainment. Importantly, these aspects encompass mutual understanding among the citizens.
The author’s assumptions concerning the new world emergence surrounding the United Nations’ creation following the Soviet Union’s decline are real and evident regarding the present-day advancements. On the other hand, the author proves too ambitious to point out the mobilization in power harnessing. The author’s approach to the war improvements in the 21st century proves ambitious, as the conflicts are still prevalent. The United Nation’s operation in the founding generations focused on in-depth inter-state relation modification and power balance mechanisms that resulted in wars (CGG, 1995). The current shift in power balance presents similar aspects of political policies that ensure conflicts. The economic element involves more challenging issues that require a solution to curb the widening rift in the classes.
Book Application
The book has improved my understanding of the current policies regarding security, economy, and political integration. The guidelines call for democratic achievement in the political arena. Unlike the previous global Governance that involved intergovernmental relations, the contemporary world encompasses governmental and non-governmental entities, mass media, individual movements, and academia (CGG, 1995). These numerous provisions that enhance the modern world’s solidarity contribute to people’s will to control their lives. The life progression changes contribute to multiplication in global neighborhood needs as individuals become more cooperative and focus on others’ well-being. Strengthening citizen rights would successfully contribute to the worldwide governance best service to individuals. These rights include equitable treatment, security, equal access to information and global joint, fairness, governance participation, ability to earn a living, and peaceful difference solving. On the other hand, citizens play an essential duty in eliminating corruption, actively participating in Governance, promoting equity, safeguarding global common, preserving cultural humanity, and accounting for their impact on others’ security and well-being.
Another significant aspect of the book readings involves global security promotion. The 21st-century deals with a broad scope of threats that call for proper security measures in policy formulation to counter the challenges. International Governance needs to adopt six norms, including the state’s obligation to provide security to its citizens (CGG, 1995). Another model is war and conflict prevention to maintain environmental integrity and eliminate economic, political, social, and military conditions that threaten the people’s security and the planet. Thirdly, the nations should not view the military as a legal or political tool but rather as a self-defense instrument. Another norm stipulation indicates that the military defense development should not surpass the national and UN required capabilities as it results in citizen security threats (CGG, 1995). Furthermore, mass destruction weapons do not qualify as national defense equipment. Lastly, the international community should control arms production trading. The UN peacekeeping capabilities require improvement in two aspects. First, the nations must respect the UN command, and secondly, they should allow the Security Council members to participate in peacekeeping activities.
The book depicts several issues in economic interdependence management that requires addressing. The current economic advancements reveal a widening gap between the wealthy and poor where the globalized world presents the sophisticated individuals co-existing with the marginalized underclass. The global Governance in the economic structures shows underdevelopment in policy stipulation, leading to severe limits regarding the financial solution (CGG, 1995). The current situation calls for economic, environmental, and social disciplines in building a global leadership forum that is more effective and representative than the UN. The new platform should be established under the UN system and draw its influences from the significant membership functions and quality work. Its primary functions would include continuous assessment of the world and state economies encompassing policy areas’ interaction and ensuring stable and sustainable development through a long-term policy framework. The economic leadership forum would also promote consistency in international organizations’ policy goals and enhance political Governance and ensure consensus on global financial issues. The governments should respond to environmental challenges by maximizing market instrument use, including tradable permits and polluter pays.
Reference
Commission on Global Governance. (1995). Our global neighborhood: The report of the Commission on Global Governance. Oxford University Press.