GE 3

The Contemporary World Module 4: Contemporary Global Governance

LESSON 1: EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION TO GOVERNMENT

Although many internationalists like Bentham and Kant imagined the possibility of a
Introduction

global government, nothing of the sort exists today. There is no organization that various states
are accountable to. Moreover, no organization can militarily compel a state to obey
predetermined global rules. Global governance refers to the various intersecting processes that
create this order.
There are many sources of global governance. States sign treaties and form
organizations, in the process legislating public international law. There is a series of specific
factors behind the emergence of global governance.
The first on the list must be the declining power of nation-states. If states themselves
were “highly contingent and in flux” (Crny, 2007), it would open the possibility of the emergence
of some form of global governance to fill the void. A send factor is the vast flows of all sorts of
things that run into and often right through the borders of nation-states.
This could involve the flow of digital information of all sorts through the internet. It is
difficult, if not impossible, for a nation-state to stop such flow and in any case, it is likely that
such action would be politically unpopular and bring much negative reaction to the nation-state
involved in such an effort.
Then, there is mass migration of people and their entry, often illegally, into various
nation-states. If states are unable to control this flow, then there is a need for some sort
of global governance to help deal with the problem.
The flow of criminal elements, as well as their products, is a strong factor in the call for
global governance (Levy and Sznaider, 2006). in these cases and others, there is a need for
some degree of order, some sort of effective authority, and at least some potential for the
improvement of human life.
Another set of issues that has led to calls for global governance involves horrendous
events within nation-states that the states themselves either foment and carry out, or are unable
to control (Nordstorm, 2004). Then, there are global problems that single nation-state cannot
hope to tackle on their own. One is the global financial crises and panic that sweep the world
periodically, which nations are often unable to deal with on their own (Strange, 1996).

OBJECTIVES:
At the end EFFECTS
of the lesson,
OF the student will be able
GLOBALIZATION to:
TO GOVERNMENTS
1. Explain the challenges in global governance in the twenty-first century.
2. Analyze
One each
of the key challenge
aspects to the
of state government
sovereignty because
is the of globalization.
government. It is a group of people
3. Identify the effects of globalization to governments.
who have the ultimate authority to act on behalf of states. Each states has its own right to self-
determination and that other country should not intervene in the affairs of that states unless
there are extraordinary reasons to do so. A civil society within states can also act as a

Romeylene L. Rabino
Lecturer Page 1
GE 3
The Contemporary World Module 4: Contemporary Global Governance

counterweight or as a supplement to government. Civil society includes the private economy,

educational institutions, churches, hospitals, fraternal organizations, and other non-profit
organizations. There have been several challenges to the government and ultimately to state
autonomy. We can divide these challenges into four: traditional challenges, challenges from
national or identity movements, global economics, and global social movements.
TRADITIONAL CHALLENGES

External intervention can generally be described as invasion by other countries. For

example, when Saddam Hussein was the ruler of Iraq in 1990, he decided he was going to take
over the oil fields of Kuwait. He invaded Kuwait and took it over. As a result, he was dislodged
by an international coalition led by the United States. Internal political challenges can also
happen. For example, after the Arab Spring in Egypt, a new constitution was created and a
government was elected. That government was more fundamentalist and rejected the notion of
a plural society that included religious diversity. The military staged a coup that deposed the
government in order to restore stability.

CHALLENGES FROM NATIONAL/IDENTITY MOVEMENTS

The next challenges are part of a national identity or movement. It is important to know
that a nation has cultural identity that people attached to, while a state is a definite entity due to
its specific boundaries. However, different people with different identities can live in different
states. For examples, the Kurds reside in several different countries including Iran, Iraq, and
Turkey. The Catalans live primarily in Spain but we can also find some of them in France.
Scottish nationalism is another example that challenges the traditional notions of state
sovereignty. Global movements, such as the Al-Qaeda and ISIS, are another example of
national or identity movements. In this case, they are structured around the fundamentalist
version of Islam.

GLOBAL ECONOMICS

The third major source of challenges comes from global economic. Global economy
demands the states to conform to the rules of free-market capitalism. Government austerity
comes from developments of organizations that cooperate across countries, such as WTO and
regional agreements such as NAFTA, UE, and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian
Nations. In the past lessons neo-liberalism discusses in which it focuses on free trade and
dismantling trade barriers. It is seen as a threat, in general, because a state cannot protect its
own economic interest as a sovereign state. And its example is the IMF and World Bank in
forcing government reforms in poorer country. Economic crises can force government to
subscribe to the terms and conditions of the global financial market and of other nations that can
help them regain economic stability.

GLOBAL SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

It is a challenge to state sovereignty. Social movements are movements of people that

are spontaneous that emerge thorough enormous grass root organization. These social
movements are transnational movements which means they occur across countries and across
borders. Therefore, states have less control over them. For example, human rights movements
create a public sentiment, value, and agenda. The idea is that there are certain rights that states
cannot neglect or generally, what we call human rights, there is a challenge to the ability of

Romeylene L. Rabino
Lecturer Page 2
GE 3
The Contemporary World Module 4: Contemporary Global Governance

states to fully implement it. The environmental movement is another example of global social
movements related to public policy. A specific case is the so-called Blockadia or the state where
social movements emerging in local areas fight back as a response to the controlling efforts by
the apparatus of government to protect the intersent of neoliberalism capitalists. Arguably, the
biggest conflict between the West and the fundamentalist Islam is over the role of women in
society, as well as women’s autonomy. Rights of personal autonomy are another example and
this includes issues on homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and gender equality.

Romeylene L. Rabino
Lecturer Page 3
GE 3
The Contemporary World Module 4: Contemporary Global Governance

LESSON II: THE UNITED NATIONS AND ITS CHALLENGES

Having examined the powers, limitations, and weaknesses of International Organizations,
the spotlight will now fall on the most prominent international organization in the contemporary
world, the United Nations (UN). After the collapse of the League of Nations at the end of World
OBJECTIVES:
War II, countries
At the end of thethat worried
lesson, about another
the student will be global
able to:war began to push for the formation of a
more1.lasting
Explain the roles and functions of thewas
international league. The result the Nations.
United creation of the UN. Although the
organization is far from perfect, it should be emphasized
2. Enumerate the accomplishments, failures and challenges that it hasofsoUnited
far achieved
Nations.its primary
goal3.of averting another global war.
Discuss the organs of United Nations.

The United Nations is comprised of five main organs: the General Assembly,
the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, and
the International Court of Justice. Historically, a sixth main organ, the Trusteeship Council,
played a significant role in the process of decolonization. The Trusteeship Council suspended
its operations in 1994 and is no longer active, but it cannot be formally dissolved without
amending the UN Charter.

The General Assembly

The General Assembly (GA) is UN’s “main deliberative policymaking and

representative organ”. According to the UN charter: “Decisions on important questions, such as
those on peace and security, admission of new members, and budgetary matters, require a two-
thirds majority of the General Assembly. The Philippines played a prominent role in the GA’s
early years when Filipino diplomat Carlos P. Romulo was elected GA president from 1949-
1950.

Figure 1.United Nations General Assembly

Romeylene L. Rabino
Lecturer Page 4
GE 3
The Contemporary World Module 4: Contemporary Global Governance

The Security Council

The Security Council has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and
security. It is comprised of 15 members, five of which are permanent (China, the Russian
Federation, France, the United Kingdom and the United States). The other ten members are
elected by the General Assembly to two-year terms. The Security Council investigates acts of
aggression and other threats to peace. Whenever possible, it attempts to settle disputes
through peaceful means, but it also has the authority to impose sanctions and authorize the use
of force. Nine votes, including the votes of all five permanent members, are required for the
Council to issue a decision. The UN Charter obligates all member states to comply with Council
decisions.

The Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council, usually referred to by the acronym ECOSOC,
provides a central forum for discussing the world's economic, social, and environmental
challenges and for formulating policy recommendations to address them. It coordinates about
70 percent of the UN's human and financial resources, including those of the 15 specialized
agencies, eight functional commissions, and five regional commissions under its jurisdiction.
ECOSOC is comprised of 54 UN member states, which are elected by the General Assembly to
serve overlapping three-year terms. Seats are allocated among five regions in order to ensure
equitable geographic representation.
The International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is the UN's
principal judicial organ. It is located in the Peace Palace in The Hague, a city in the
Netherlands, making it the only one of the UN's principal organs that is not based in New York
City. The Court adjudicates interstate disputes in contentious cases in accordance with
international law and issues advisory opinions on questions of law referred to it by authorized

Romeylene L. Rabino
Lecturer Page 5
 GE 3
The Contemporary World Module 4: Contemporary Global Governance

UN organs. The Court is comprised of 15 judges elected by both the General Assembly and the
Security Council to serve nine-year terms. No two judges from the same jurisdiction may serve
simultaneously. Seats are informally apportioned geographically to ensure that judges from all
of the world's main legal systems are represented on the Court.
The Secretariat

The Secretariat is UN's administrative arm, comprised of civil servants responsible for
carrying out the day-to-day operations of the organization. Led by the Secretary-General, the
Secretariat collects and analyzes data, conducts research on a wide range of economic and
social issues, maintains the facilities used by other UN organs, provides interpreter services,
and translates documents into the UN's official languages. The Secretary-General is appointed
by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a 5-year,
renewable term. In addition to mediating international disputes and coordinating peacekeeping
activities, the Secretary-General serves as the public face of the UN and acts as the principal
spokesperson for its policy initiatives.

THREATS, CHALLENGES AND CHANGE: THE UNITED NATIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

A year ago in a speech to the United Nations's General Assembly, Secretary General
Kofi Annan acknowledged that the United Nations did not meet the needs of its members,
including the United States. He said: "We have come to a fork in the road. This may be a
moment no less decisive than 1945 itself, when the United Nations was founded.....I believe the
time is ripe for a hard look at fundamental policy issues, and at the structural changes that may
be needed in order to strengthen them." He went on to call for "radical reform" of the UN system
and in doing so established a High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change.

The Security Council debates over the US-led invasion in Iraq and the mass killings in
Sudan have raised anew concerns relating to the effectiveness of the United Nations. The high
panel, a team of 16 former high-ranking officials and heads of international organizations, is
responsible for analyzing the challenges to international peace and security, and for raising
proposals and submitting reports on UN reform to the Secretary-General.

In light of this critical time in the history of the UN, the Wilson Center's Conflict
Prevention Project has established a meeting series intended to spur discussion on the UN, its
role, the changes needed to improve its performance and its relationship with the United States.
In February 2004, the Wilson Center convened a session, moderated by Wilson Center Public
Policy Scholar David Birenbaum, which focused on the impact of the coalition intervention in
Iraq (without Security Council approval) on the organization. This meeting was co-sponsored
by Citizens for Global Solutions with support from the United Nations Foundation.

The high panel is due to report to the secretary general by 1 December 2004, and while
thus far the panel is on track to make that deadline, the group has only just begun to wrestle
with detailed drafting language, UN High Level Panel Member Gareth Evans reported.
According to Evans, the secretary general is focusing on the "operationally deliverable rather

Romeylene L. Rabino
Lecturer Page 6
GE 3
The Contemporary World Module 4: Contemporary Global Governance

than the intellectually or emotionally attractive (though he may not have put it in quite these
terms)."
Threats to Peace and Security
The range of potential threats to peace and security addressed by the panel are likely to be
grouped under six broad headings:

 threats from poverty, disease, and environmental breakdown (the threats to human
security identified in the Millennium Development Goals)
 threats from conflict between states
 threats from violence and massive human rights violations within states
 threats from terrorism
 threats from organized crime
 threats from the proliferation of weapons –

"While the panel will address the whole range of international players, it nonetheless will
have to address a number of institutional problems evident in the UN system, including the
perceived unrepresentative structure of the Security Council, the cumbrous and dysfunctional
character of much of the economic and social machinery, and the limited role and impact of the
general assembly," Evans said.

"The range of the threats facing the world are so urgent and widespread that the United
States would prefer to engage multilaterally," said Stewart Patrick of the U.S. State Department
Policy Planning Staff. Giving his personal views, Patrick noted that the United Nations is not one
entity, but several organizations including the general assembly, secretariat, secretary-general
and numerous agencies. Thus any reform recommendations must be multi-faceted and
encompassing. For instance, he cited the lack of standards and criteria toward countries with
dubious human rights records, such as Sudan and Libya, and their election to membership and
leadership positions in the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

"The panel is not focusing on reform in a narrow sense," said Abiodun Williams, Head of
Strategic Planning, Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General. "These changes
will be a means to the end, hopefully resulting in a more comprehensive collective security
system."

Romeylene L. Rabino
Lecturer Page 7
 GE 3
The Contemporary World Module 4: Contemporary Global Governance

Activity

Directions: Answer the following set of activities. Do this in a short bond paper.

A. The United Nations

Organs of the United Nations Functions

B. Reflection Paper
1. As the world’s leading international organization, what are the importance of United
Nations?
2. How do the organs of United Nation function effectively?
Evaluation

Directions: Answer the following questions. Write your answer in a one- half crosswise sheet of
paper.

1. What are the organs of United Nations? ( 5 points)

2. Give at least five challenges of the United Nations? (5 points)
3. What are the effects of economic globalization to governments? (5 points)
References:

Reference Books:

 Aldama, Prince Kennex Reguyal (2018). The Contemporary World. Manila: Rex Book
Store,Inc.
 Claudio, Lisandro E.; Abinales, Patricio N.(2018).The Contemporary World. Manila: C&E
Publishing, Inc

Romeylene L. Rabino
Lecturer Page 8