>>>>Dean Grillot: So as we explore ways to face challenges in the global community, we
have to go back to this concept of global governance or world government. Remember that
earlier in the course we talked about anarchy. We talked about international anarchy and
the lack of a central authority, the importance of a lack of a world government. Well let's
return to that concept now about global governance as opposed to global government, right? We
know that the global community does not have a world government. We know there isn't a
central authority, there's no elected official that makes decisions for the global community.
But there is this concept of global governance. And again Professor Rebecca Cruise joins me
to talk about this concept and what it really means. Now that we've made this distinction
between global government and global governance, let's talk a little bit about what that means.
Professor Cruise, is global governance possible? I mean, we kind of understand that global
government isn't possible. It's not like we're going to go out and elect a world leader.
But is global governance possible? How do we know global governance?
>>Dr. Cruise: Well to some extent we do try to govern the international environment, and
we have organizations, you've mentioned a couple and throughout this course, the European
Union is regional governance perhaps, the UN, the greatest organization that attempts
to govern internationally. I think it's also important to point out that countries do this
when it's in their best interest. They're willing to give up a degree of sovereignty
to join organizations that will then assist them in some function or another. But they
only adhere to those decisions when it continues to be in their best interests.
>>Dean Grillot: So let's pick up on that: self-interest. So some would suggest that
states within the global community actually engage in collective action because it's in
their self-interest to do so. And I want to refer back to concepts like neoliberalism,
for example. But nonetheless, there are lots of global problems, and and there, there are
so many of them that that countries cannot solve on their own. So they have to come together
in order to govern issues, like, let's just talk about some examples: pollution, the Law
of the Sea. Let's talk about the Law of the Sea Treaty. Let's talk about maybe maritime
security, right-- the management of the oceans and rulings on the high seas, if you will.
I mean, that's one way in which we govern the global community, is it not?
>>Dr. Cruise: It is. Likeminded countries that are concerned about these issues come
together in various ways. They can come together and sign treaties, sign conventions. They
can form an organization or be part of an organization that deals with those issues,
and they often will use reputational cost or or reputational concerns to make other
countries adhere by those requirements. But these are not absolute, of course. We do have
a Law of the Sea. It's prohibited that you pollute in certain areas. You're supposed
to respect that, countries that have signed on are supposed to respect that. And yet we
have some signators that don't, and we also have some that have not signed on that clearly
do not either. So we can have those attempts, but they're only as good as the weakest link.
>>Dean Grillot: Well there are thousands of thousands of these kinds of agreements, treaties,
organizations that do attempt to govern the global community, if you will. But you raise
this important point of compliance and enforcement. I mean, who forces states, governments, individuals
to comply with these types of regulations?
>>Dr. Cruise: Really there is no set compliance. We'd say even the United Nations has no teeth.
They cannot take a country and charge them with failure to comply to some protocol or
some convention. What they can do, again, is use reputation. They can shame a country
for not complying. They can use sanctions-- can hit them economically. We see this happening
in Iran right now where sanctions have been placed on there, preventing countries from
buying oil there, and trying to kind of squeeze the governments there to then comply by some
of these decisions. But when it really comes down to it, there is no compliance guarantee.
>>Dean Grillot: Well clearly, global governance is a tricky concept but something that happens
on a daily basis and something that's going to continue to happen, given the global community
really is an interdependent one. But what do you think? Global government? Would that
be preferable? Global governance-- is it possible? Let us know.