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FIFTY years ago, as the world recovered
from the cataclysmic events of the Second World War,
international leaders were inspired by a vision: that of a
world free of conflict, where economic opportunity and the
promise of a better tomorrow would be secured and handed
down to the new generation. They agreed on principles and
set up institutions to give effect to their vision.
During the past five decades there has been no world war,
empires have been dismantled, science and technology have
made tremendous advances, and the world has become more
prosperous. Nevertheless, unforeseen types of conflict have
multiplied; new social ills have taken root; and prosperity
has bypassed many.
Once again we stand on the threshold of a new era. With the
end of the cold war, we have new opportunities to improve
existing institutions and to create structures appropriate
to our time to maintain peace, promote economic and social
advancement, and ensure a future that offers our children
better prospects than we have enjoyed. These opportunities
should not – indeed they must not – be squandered.
Recognizing the new climate in international relations,
former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, in 1989, brought
together a group of international leaders to explore new
approaches to managing global relations. While a great deal
of work had already been done in the 1980s by commissions
dealing with specific areas of global affairs, Chancellor
Brandt felt there was a need to think about the future of
the world in an integral way, and about the institutional
arrangement that could help it mover more surely towards
international goals. His efforts laid the foundations for
the establishment of the Commission on Global Governance in
1992….
What is Global Governance?
By global governance, we mean the way in
which we manage global affairs, how we relate to each other,
how we take decisions that bear on our common future. There
should be no misunderstanding about the term – by global
governance we do not mean global government as that would
only reinforce the roles of states and governments; global
governance is about putting people at the centre of
world affairs.
The emergence of a global civil society, with many movements
reinforcing the sense of human solidarity, is one of the
most positive features of our time. It reflects a large
increase in the capacity and will of people to take control
of an improve their own lives.
Traditionally, global governance has been viewed primarily
as inter-governmental relationships. Today, it must be
understood as involving not only governments and
intergovernmental institutions but also non-governmental
organisations, citizen’s movements, multinational
corporations, the global mass media. States and governments
remain primary actors but they do not bear the whole burden
of governance. Likewise, the United Nations must play a
vital and central role, but it cannot do all the work of
governance.
A new world order must be organised around the notion of
governance of diversity, not uniformity; of governance
through democracy, not dominion; of governance at all levels
within society and not just from above. By definition,
global governance implies a decentralised system built on
the foundations of a common set of values.
The collective
power of people to shape the future is greater now than ever
before, and the need to exercise it is more compelling.
Mobilizing that power to make life in the twenty-first
century more democratic, more secure and more sustainable is
the foremost challenge of our generation.
A new world
order must be organised around the notion of governance of
diversity, not uniformity; of governance through democracy,
not dominion; of governance at all levels within society and
not just from above. By definition, global governance
implies a decentralised system built on the foundations of a
common set of values.
Advances in global telecommunications and transport have
made the world smaller. In the 1960s, the term ‘global
village’ was introduced into our vocabulary, and the concept
of the world as an interdependent community has become part
of our thinking. In our discussions as a Commission we were
attracted specifically to the notion of the world as a
‘neighbourhood’, with more emphasis on the people who are
its occupants and less on the space that they occupy.
The changes of the last half century have brought the
concept of a global neighbourhood closer to reality, one in
which citizens have to cooperate for many purposes: to
maintain peace and order, expand economic activity, tackle
pollution, check greenhouse warming, combat pandemic
diseases, curb the trade in weapons…. And the list is not
complete. Events occurring in places once thought of as far
away matter much more now. They are no longer distant.
The notion of neighbourhood carries with it a sense of
aspiration to the qualities of community, of sharing and
partnership – ideals and principles that we believe must be
at the heart of a system of global governance. The broad
acceptance of a global civic ethic to guide action is vital
to the quality of life in the global neighbourhood. From a
practical point of view, we therefore need a set of common,
core values around which we can unite people, irrespective
of their cultural, political, religious or philosophical
backgrounds – values which are appropriate to the growing
needs to our crowded and diverse planet.
Admittedly, such universally accepted values as altruism,
courage, determination, equity, generosity, integrity,
justice, kindness, loyalty, modernisation, patience,
reliability, thoughtfulness and tolerance have been
respected throughout the ages. These values continue to be
valid. However, circumstances have changed and we are faced
with fresh challenges. These call for use to reassert the
need for a shared commitment to principles and values
relevant to our time and appropriate to our purposes.
Foremost of these values must include the duty of care for
one’s neighbour. In a neighbourhood, all are neighbours….
(Extract
from “Our Global Neighbourhood: the basic vision” published
by The Commission on Global Governance,
Geneva)
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