Global governance

Context: Analysing the need for common global governance

What are the impediments to international cooperation in the 21st century?

• USA & China: The rivalry between the world’s two largest economies has intensified spreading the fears of a new cold war breaking between them.
• India – China: The militaries of the two most populous countries of the world has been engaged in a tense standoff for the past seven months.
• India and Pakistan: Endless state of confrontation between the armies of two nuclear-armed countries.
• West Asia: Civil wars in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen that are externally instigated.
• Brazil: Fire in parts of the Amazon forest, the world’s largest sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide has been a global concern
• USA- Russia nuclear disarmament: Uncertainity over the extension of the only remaining nuclear weapons control pact between the US and Russia, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty which is set to expire on February 5, 2021.

What are the Other common challenges?

• Ensuring affordable availability of the COVID vaccine to the entire global population.
• Making the world economy inclusive, equitable and sustainable for complete eradication of poverty.
• Achieving time-bound climate action to protect the planet.
• Preventing the militarisation of oceans, outer space and other global commons.

How can we tackle this problem?

• Need to establish democratic world government: Since, Non-discriminatory and justice-promoting governance is necessary for creating a more united, safer and better world. So, this concept must be brought to the centre of global discourse and action.
• Principle of shared sovereignty: Exclusive national sovereignty has become the greatest barrier to human unity and fraternity. The concept of national sovereignty is invoked many times to threaten peace, well-being and development. In the age of globalisation, we must embrace the virtues of shared sovereignty, in which connectivity (physical, digital, cultural and people-to-people) takes priority over the territorial sovereignty.
• New laws of global governance: Where militarisation of international disputes must be criminalised.
• Disarmament: The world community must compel all nations, to destroy all their weapons of mass destruction and to reduce their military expenditures.
• Reform and strengthen United Nations: To gradually evolve into a future world government body. As a key element of UN reforms, permanent membership of its security council must be abolished and nations that wage offensive wars or have failed to resolve disputes with their neighbours should stand disqualified/suspended from UNSC membership.
• Making governance more broad-based and participatory: Technology and mobility have made it possible for artists, professionals, environmentalists, disempowered communities etc, to collaborate by transcending national barriers. Therefore, their empowered participation in global governance is a must.
• People’s Movement: Rally the people of all nations, races and religions around a new democratically governing body to address the issues caused by myopic, self-centred and unaccountable national governments.

The solution to polarisation is reform of government and state institutions in a way that they work for all citizens without discrimination and injustice. Societies are healed when governance becomes fair and compassionate.

[Answered] What do you understand by Parliament sovereignty? How Indian constitution check parliament sovereignty?