GSAGG: Global Governance Flashcards
What is global governance?
The process of multiple nations acting together in matters that affect the entire world.
Explain global governance on a global, international, national, regional and local scale:
Global: Decisions made by global institutions affect all scales, including local.
International: Trade agreements set by the WTO (a global institution) affects how trading happens internationally, e.g. in the EU.
National: The Department for International Trade decides what products the UK imports from where.
Regional: Regional institutions e.g. a warehouse, receives the international products and distributes them.
Local: Local sote purchases international products from the warehouse.
Explain global norms in global governance:
- Social norms (accepted behaviour within a country) differ between countries.
- Global governance has worked to develop global norms, mainly concerning the unfair treatment of people.
- E.g. gender equality. It is generally a norm for women in certain countries, such as Afghanistan, to be unequal to men, which may be deemed as unusual in more Western cultures.
- There is little that can be done to globally govern a another country’s
norms and ideologies, which is where international laws are helpful.
Explain international laws in global governance:
- International laws are where multiple nations act together to maintain global systems.
- These laws are legally binding, meaning failure to comply with these laws can result in prosecution.
- As laws are legally binding, countries may be deterred from global governance if they do not agree with the laws but must follow them e.g. one of the reasons the UK wished to leave the EU was so the country did not have to comply with their rules and regulations. .
How do global institutions promote economic growth and stability?
- Institutions aim for global economic equality, allowing less developed countries to grow economically.
- Economic growth is mainly promoted through trade laws and regulations set by the WTO e.g. lack of tariffs for trade.
- Special and Differential Treatments and other agreements are put in place by these global institutions so that struggling economies can grow.
How do global institutions stabilise economies?
- The World Bank provides development loans and aid, and the IMF provides stabilising loans.
- These allow economies to stable during times of instability, hopefully avoiding economic crashes which can have global consequences.
How do global institutions maintain social stability?
- Maintained by global institutions, including the prevention of conflicts and promoting global health.
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) combats global epidemics such as malaria, obesity,and chlorea.
How do global institutions maintain environmental stability?
- Environmental stability is maintained by IGOs and other global institutions, such as non-government organisations (NGOs).
-The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are some of the institutions that work for environmental conservation.
How do global institutions encourage economic inequalities?
- Some institutions have been accused of creating more inequalities as they are not representative of every country, putting underrepresented countries at a disadvantage.
- Institutions like G7 represent only the richest countries.
- Although these institutions work to help LICs and their debts, there are arguments that these countries should still be involved.
How do global institutions encourage economic instability?
- As discussed previously, the World Bank and the IMF only give loans conditionally, which can lead countries exposed to exploitation.
- It is perhaps unjust to force countries to open their markets up to receive help.
How do global institutions encourage deregulation?
- Despite global institutions’ best efforts, some countries and companies may still act against the policies, which can create inequalities.
- For example, there is much conspiracy that Japan are acting against the International Whaling Committee by illegally whaling for profits.
How do global institutions encourage trade inequality?
- Companies may also manipulate the rules of global institutions in order to enhance their profits, which creates injustices.
- For example, in the ‘Banana Wars’, American TNCs like Dole argued against the EU’s special treatment of Caribbean plantations, despite Latin American bananas supplying 75% of the entire market.
