Day 90 – Q 2.What do you understand by the concept of global governance? Explain. What reforms are needed to make global governance inclusive and legitimate?

2. What do you understand by the concept of global governance? Explain. What reforms are needed to make global governance inclusive and legitimate? 

वैश्विक शासन की अवधारणा से आप क्या समझते हैं? समझाएं। वैश्विक शासन को समावेशी और वैध बनाने के लिए किन सुधारों की आवश्यकता है?

Introduction:

In the 21st century mankind is facing a range of severe risks and challenges that call for effective global action. To manage these challenges, we need institutions that allow us to take and implement collective decisions on a global level, in a way that takes the interests of all into account. The current international system has unfortunately proved unable to cope with the most pressing global issues in an acceptable way. 

Body

• Global governance encompasses the totality of institutions, policies, norms, procedures and initiatives through which States and their citizens try to bring more predictability, stability and order to their responses to transnational challenges. 
• Global governance brings together diverse actors to coordinate collective action at the level of the planet. The goal of global governance, roughly defined, is to provide global public goods, particularly peace and security, justice and mediation systems for conflict, functioning markets and unified standards for trade and industry. 
• The leading institution in charge of global governance today is the United Nations. It was founded in 1945, in the wake of the Second World War, as a way to prevent future conflicts on that scale.The UN’s main mandate is to preserve global security, which it does particularly through the Security Council. 
• In addition the UN can settle international legal issues through the International Court of Justice, and implements its key decisions through the Secretariat, led by the Secretary General.
• Beyond the UN, other institutions with a global mandate play an important role in global governance. Of primary importance are the Bretton Woods institutions: the World Bank and the IMF, whose function is to regulate the global economy and credit markets.
• Global governance is more generally effected through a range of organisations acting as intermediary bodies. Those include bodies in charge of regional coordination, such as the EU or ASEAN, which coordinate the policies of their members in a certain geographical zone. 
• Finally, global governance relies on looser norm-setting forums, such as the G20, the G7, the World Economic Forum: those do not set up treaties, but offer spaces for gathering, discussing ideas, aligning policy and setting norms. 

International cooperation and the resulting governance mechanisms are not working adequately or effectively. 

• Responses to common challenges have been mostly taken at the national level, with global responses being insufficient, incomplete or simply non-existent. Moreover, there has been growing tension between decision-making processes at the national and global level as local challenges “have become an integral part of global stakes”.
• In trade, where international rules are crucial, countries have been frustrated by the stalemated Doha negotiations, and have resorted to bilateral and regional negotiations, as in AsiaPacific. 
• Based on analysis of governance in these areas, three principles might guide thinking about transformation. These are:
• • Pluralism, where national, regional and global governance systems work in concert; 
  • Strengthened multilateral processes, and the updating and transformation of existing international organizations;
  • Stronger accountability to wider groups of governments and stakeholders.
  • Global governance arrangements must respect the mixed strategies that countries are choosing.
  • Transformed multilateral institutions are crucial, since international cooperation and rules can reduce costs, and increase the support and information available to developing countries. 
  • The accountability of global institutions to their full membership and beyond should be greatly scrutinized at each stage.

Conclusion

The formulation of the post-2015 development agenda requires a new international consensus to incorporate environmental sustainability as an integral part of the development process. Greater acceptance of the concepts of green economy and sustainable development will enhance the global governance according to the needs of present times.