Chapter 4 Actors in Global Governance Flashcards
Why domestic solutions are preferable whenever possible ?
- accepted by citizens as legitimate
- embody common values and culture
- produce national laws that can be enforced
when are domestic solutions inadequate ?
to tackle the issue of global commons
what’s the tragedy of global commons
overexploitation of common resources = no one country feels motivated to make sacrifices for the common good
Goldin
Can global institutions tackle key questions of global gov ?
- No side
- seen as intruding on national sov
- no enforcement mechanisms v often (ineffective)
- not compatible w domestic laws
why multilateral cooperation is successful in particular areas (air traffic control)
- all countries have vested interest
- benefits for each country far outweigh the costs
- no country has reason to defect from the syst once in place
Goldin
What stands in the way of global cooperation ? New challenges
- issues are more complex in securing a solution
- varying interest of key countries (little gain from coop/ may actually benefit from the pb)
- exacerbated by uncertainty (obscure consequences, pain today little hope of gain tmr)
- political realities = democracy (short term and local preferences favoured over long term and global pb solving)
- free rider pb (unenforceable international level)
- efficacy vs legitimacy (consensual decision making most likely when not v meaningful agreement)
- dominant multilateral institutions dominated by former colonial pws (reinforce suspicions)
UN structure and date
1945 - General Assembly - security council - secretariat - economic and social council - international court of justice \+ 20 quasi independent agencies (wto, undp...)
Current debates (peterson) on GA
- reduce the agenda (focus on fewer issues)
- adopt fewer resolutions
- change the format of debates (+ interactive)
- push by developing countries to have a GA + more prominent than SC
- GA resolutions should b legally binding
Perspectives on GA
- Realism : irrelevant, marginal actor through which states achieve their objectives
- Liberalism : Creates interdependence, supportive of dem govts, prevents conflicts
- Constructivism : forum for collective endorsement, condemnation of states’ actions (common normative framework)
Criticism of GA
- overshadowed by global confs & summits (G7/G20)
- Broad deliberation (no mgmt of operational activities)
- consensus (75% resolutions) = failure
cause weak / ambiguous wording - trade off between legitimacy & effectiveness (more legitimate than effective)
Paradox Local Global Collide
States increasingly helpless against global (transborder) pbs, yet only domestic govts can implement and enforce global solutions
Legally binding treaties (Kyoto Protocol about climate change) = no enforcement mechanisms
«Soft pw» not an effective substitute
Nation States remain central actors in taking practical action while capacity of global institutions is limited
Regional bodies
- peace and security
- political
- economic
- functional
- technical
Regionalism
a dynamic process involving the dev of intraregional interdependence, institution building, and creation of a degree of regional id among states and ppl in a given area
- geographical proximity
- cultural/ linguistic/ historical heritage
- degree of interdependence
factors driving regionalism
POL
- pw dynamics (rise of china/india, us influ in europe)
- ID and ideology (EU liberal ideology)
- Internal/ external threats : german nationalism, fear of japan and presence of us in asia)
- domestic politics (european democracies, asean = way to sustain ruling coalitions, concern for pol legitimacy)
- leadership (jean monnet, robert schuman)
ÉCO
- trade flows
- foreign investments
-> functionalist theory of regional integration = interdep increases costs generated by lack of coordinated nat. policies
constructivists about national and id in regional organisations
national and regional ids are subject to change over time making it possible for former enemies to cooperate (Germany EU)
-Acharya
