Global Governance in the 21st Century: Alternative Perspectives on

210 Pages·2002·1.77 MB·English

Edited by
Björn Hettne and Bertil Odén
Global Governance in the
21st Century: Alternative
Perspectives on World Order
Björn Hettne
Professor
Department of Peace and Development Research
Göteborg University
P.O.Box 700
SE-405 30 Gothenburg,Sweden
E-mail:[email protected]
Bertil Odén
Counsellor
Embassy of Sweden
P.O.Box 9274
Dar es Salaam,Tanzania
E-mail:[email protected]
Distributed by:
Almkvist & Wiksell International
P.O.Box 7634
SE-103 94 Stockholm,Sweden
Fax:[phone]
E-mail:[email protected]
Edita Norstedts Tryckeri AB 2002
i
Table of Contents
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations iii
Introduction 1
Björn Hettne and Bertil Odén
1. In Search of World Order 6
Björn Hettne
2. The Liberal Globalist Case 26
Indra de Soysa and Nils Petter Gleditsch
3. Reprising Durable Disorder:Network War and
the Securitisation of Aid 74
Mark Duffield
4. Reforming the World Order:Multi- and
Plurilateral Approaches 106
Raimo Väyrynen
5. The Post-Westphalia Enigma 147
Richard Falk
6. Implications for International Governance and
Development Cooperation 184
Bertil Odén
Notes on Editors and Contributors 203

iii
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
AIDS acquired immune deficiency syndrome
APEC Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations
CAP Common Agriculture Policy (of the European Union)
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CO carbon dioxide
2
ECOSOC Economic and Social Council (of the United Nations)
ECHO European Commission Humanitarian Office
EP European Parliament
EMU European Monetary Union
EU European Union
FDI foreign direct investment
G7 Group of seven
G8 Group of eight
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GDP gross domestic product
GNP gross national product
GPA Global Peoples Assembly
HIPC Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
HIV human immunodeficiency virus
ICC International Criminal Court
ICEM International Federation of Chemical,Energy and
Mine Workers’ Union
IGOs inter-governmental organisations
IFIs international financial institutions
IMF International Monetary Fund
IT Information Technology
LDCs least developed countries
MAI Multilateral Agreement on Investment
MERCOSUR Mercade Commún del Sur (Common Market of the
South)
MDGs Millenium Development Goals
MFN most favoured nation
MNCs multinational corporations
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement
NICs newly industrialised countries
NPV net present value
NGO non-governmental organisation
ODA official development assistance
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development
PCM Project Cycle Management
PPP purchasing power parity
iv
PRGF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility
PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
SFA Strategic Framework for Afghanistan
SSA Sub-Saharan Africa
TNC transnational corporation
UN United Nations
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization
UNITA National Union for the Total Independence of Angola
UNRISD United Nations Research Institute for Social
Development
WOMP World Order Models Project
WTO World Trade Organisation
1
Introduction
This is a small book about big issues. It addresses the question of possible
frameworks for global governance with particular regard to development and
security, which are two converging areas today. The book deals with
alternative forms of global governance (or world orders). It discusses ideas
ranging from optimistic globalist liberal visions to more pessimistic views to
the effect that disorder has become a more or less permanent condition,at
least in the so-called South.
Development assistance and conflict management are two international
activities that necessarily take place within an international politico-juridical
framework. Consequently, they are also largely shaped by this same
framework. This is a neglected aspect in studies of these two activities.
Furthermore this framework,often referred to as “the Westphalia order”,is
currently in process of transformation.We are not quite sure into what,and
naturally this dilemma does not simplify the relationships involved. This
increases the need for a study of the possible governance implications of
emerging conflict patterns that are challenging the international system.Our
aim is to contribute to the ongoing discussion regarding the interrelationship
between conflict and development at global, regional, national and local
levels. By systematising emerging tendencies and their interplay between
various levels of the global political economy,taking the possible future roles
of the nation-state as the point of departure,an inventory of various options
or “world order scenarios”has been attempted
In the first chapter, by Björn Hettne, the future world order alternatives
are spelt out in general terms with reference to earlier discourses on the
fundamentals of international order and possible futures. We think it is
meaningful to relate the art of political forecasting today to the methodology
explored through earlier efforts in this difficult genre, and hope that this
discussion will provide a relevant framework for the various contributions to
this book.
The first strand identified is based on a strong belief in the virtues of
globalism, where most decisions regarding resource allocation can be
successfully left to the market and the role of the nation-state is
consequently reduced.This vision is designated the liberal globalist case.The
second strand focuses on the vicious side of the globalisation process, also
with reduced influence for the nation-state.This scenario is called durable
disorder.The third strand describes how the international community,based
on existing nation-states or a reformed nation-states system,should meet the
globalising factors. There are two possibilities: one is called assertive
multilateralism, relating to a UN focused order:the other is plurilateralism,
based on a great power concert,for instance G8 or NATO.The fourth and
final strand is based on increased influence on international governance for
civil society within a framework of a global “normative architecture”.As part
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of this strand a move from national to regional governance can be envisaged.
This scenario is called global cosmopolitanismcombined with new regionalism.
In the next four chapters,which make up the bulk of the book,some of
the trends identified are further explored by internationally well known
authors, chosen for their expertise on the various dimensions of the
alternative world orders discussed.They have not been asked to produce a
rigid elaboration of exactly those forms of governance presented in chapter
one,which would have been a rather artificial exercise,but rather to further
pursue their own lines of reasoning from their previous work.
In chapter two, Indra de Soysa and Nils Petter Gleditsch, while not
adhering to the hard globalist view that markets really can operate in a
political vacuum, explore a link between globalisation and the growth of
beneficent political institutions.Thus,they take their point of departure in
the controversial phenomenon of globalisation that has such a surprising
capacity for arousing diverging opinions.They stress the fact that the current
debate is not very dissimilar to the old debate on modernisation vs.
dependency,where the latter position blamed trade and foreign investment
for making the poor countries poorer, whereas the former position
considered underdevelopment was the result of bad governance and dirigiste
practices.The authors build a case for the argument that increases in trade
and investment will enhance the prospects for democracy and peace by
strengthening interdependence among nations in a liberal world order.
In chapter three, Mark Duffield critically discusses the more pessimistic
scenario,called “durable disorder”in chapter one,but does not define this as
a permanent retrograde crisis.The new conflicts are seen less as temporary
crises, more as distinct economic and political projects. To Duffield, the
paradox of globalisation is that deregulation and liberalisation also create the
conditions for autonomy and resistance in the “peripheries”.The new wars
are not forms of social regression but signs of actual development. In the
emerging new political economy, the warring parties forge autonomous
local-global networks as a means of marketing local resources and securing
essential supplies.In the mainstream discourse,the new wars are interpreted
as resulting from lack of development, which leads to a merger of
development and security concerns for the purpose of conflict prevention,
conflict resolution, and social reconstruction. The emerging forms of
governance build on public-private networks of international assistance,
convergence of development and security,and increasing coherence between
various ministerial departments dealing with these issues.However,there are
marked limits to international authority and governance in the “borderlands”
in this new situation;hence the durability of disorder.
In chapter four, Raimo Väyrynen analyses opportunities to reform the
international order either by means of assertive multilateralism or various
plurilateral approaches,by which he means a multitude of actors other than
states.The Asian financial crisis of 1997 was a wake-up call,underlining the
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need to strengthen global governance,if globalisation was to have a future.
At present, a new consensus has emerged among governments, non-
governmental organisations and international finance institutions, that the
alleviation of poverty is a precondition for the creation of a more viable
world order, globalisation with a human face. Even the transnational
companies are in need of new ways to legitimise their behaviour.One lesson
learnt from what happened to the Multilateral Agreement on Investment
(MAI) as well as from subsequent anti-globalisation rallies may be that
global rules for capitalism require that social, cultural and environmental
standards are acceptable.
In chapter five, Falk gives his outline of what may be called a post-
Westphalia model by looking at two trends: the normative trend toward
cosmopolitan democracy and the economic and political trend toward a new
regionalism, both representing a positive conception of a preferred future.
Cosmopolitan democracy emphasises the importance of extending demo-
cratic notions of participation,accountability,transparency,rule of law,and
social justice to all arenas of human interaction. The prospects for such
“humane global governance” are crucially dependent on grassroots and
transnational activism defining the reality of global civil society. It is the
global civil society project.By contrast,regional initiatives reflect efforts by
elites throughout the world to participate more effectively in the world
economy.Such regionalism also expresses a sense of cultural,religious,and
geographic affinity,representing erosion of allegiance to the sovereign state
and a rise in regional civilisational identity.The stress on regional political
community is also based on the assumption that the UN system, here
designated assertive multilateralism, is not likely to be the core of a move
toward humane global governance.
It should be noted that the authors include some of the existing economic
and social trends when drawing their logical conclusion. This means that
they deliberately argue in favour of a clear-cut version of each scenario,
without elaborate discussion of the counter-arguments.The scenarios should
thus not be mistaken as projections. The point is that by refining some
trends,their possible effects become clearer.Applying this method,the study
hopes to contribute to further discussion of the balance between various
globalisation forces and their implications for international governance.It is
clear that the policies and means by which global challenges in the areas of
security and development will be handled, depend on how the global
framework for governance develops in the next few years.
The great shock of September 11 happened as this book was being
finalised,and it is legitimate to ask what impact it will have on the various
forms of governance,or world orders,discussed in the book.The event and
the counteractions that followed have been described as “the first war of the
21st century”.They have also been referred to as a “war against terrorism”,
waged by an international coalition under the leadership of the USA.This
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can in fact be seen as an instance of global governance, but what kind of
world order is it an expression of? Even if the concept of war can be
questioned, it is relevant in the sense that a war normally concentrates
decision-making powers, silences opposition, and focuses on one particular
aim and one particular option;hence other options are excluded for the time
being.
Furthermore, a war strengthens the state as well as its military arm and
consequently weakens the subtler inter-state arrangements,not to mention
more elaborate post-Westphalia forms of governance,such as a norms-based
humane global governance.Thus,if a norms-based world order takes a long
time to emerge, as Falk suggests, the current development is no improve-
ment.Instead,the “unipolar movement”gains momentum.
Thus, in view of the state-strengthening influence of war, we should
perhaps expect neo-Westphalia forms, such as assertive multilateralism, to
crystallise. The question can be raised, as to whether the international
coalition against terrorism can be transformed into a solid institutionalised
regime based on generally accepted principles, or if this turns out to be
unilateralism (or perhaps,in consideration of the Anglo-Saxon brotherhood,
bilateralism) in disguise.
To the extent that the enemy can be dismissed as a sect with little popular
support,the outcome of the first phase of the war may be seen as “the end of
history”rather than “the clash of civilisations”,thus showing the strength of
the liberal, globalist case of beneficent globalisation. To the extent that
future developments may be seen as a new and coercive phase in
metropolitan rule over the margins,we should rather speak of a more serious
and violent stage of “durable disorder”.Thus,the events of September 11 will
be interpreted differently within different paradigms, at least until the
consequences are more evident than they are when this book goes to the
printer.
In the final chapter,Bertil Odén discusses what common features can be
traced in the four alternative forms of global governance,and what tentative
conclusions may be drawn regarding the role of development cooperation
within their framework.It is obvious that any conclusions,based on the type
of tentative trends that form the content of the four chapters,are venturous.
Yet,a few remarks may be made.
The authors agree that the state will not vanish or disintegrate.However,
they also agree that the role of the state will change and the scope for
governance at the nation-state level will change substantially.Whether the
forces of change will be strong enough to transform the world order into
something that could best be labelled post-Westphalia or whether neo-
Westphalia is a more appropriate label is uncertain,particularly in the light
of recent events.
It seems the authors in this volume also share the opinion that the impact
of homogeneous and territorial authorities will be reduced,while the impact