GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

Spring 2010

by Kemal Dervis

The great crisis of 2008-2009 has led to one major change – and thus to progress – in global governance; the G20 replacing the G7 as the premier international forum for discussing global cooperation. The London and Pittsburgh G20 meetings built confidence, proposed an increase in the war-chest of the IMF at a critical time and contributed to rebuilding the confidence shattered by the worldwide financial collapse.

The proposals made were broadly adopted at meetings in Istanbul of the World Bank and IMF, with the specifics awaiting more work, particularly when it comes to the significant shift towards emerging countries needed in voting weights and to the mechanisms of multilateral macroeconomic policy coordination.

The recent sequence of events should remind us that an informal meeting of leaders, even when they represent the most important countries, cannot replace the governing bodies of the international institutions of the UN system, including the IMF and the World Bank. Global cooperation requires burden sharing and coordinated action within the framework of these institutions.

Progress on issues such as long term financial stability, climate protection, effective control of infectious disease and the peaceful management of nuclear energy depends on how the G20 will be able to provide leadership, while recognising that all nations and peoples must have a say and must be part of a legitimate international system.

 

Further articles in this GLOBAL GOVERNANCE section
Pascal Lamy	Global Governance is a challenge for democracy (but an EU opportunity)
Iain Begg	Global governance could take a leaf from the EU's book
Leszek Balcerowicz	Worldwide reform means engaging public opinion first
Robert Hutchings	Why U.S.-EU economic co-operation holds the key to global governance
Paul Tucker	Ending boom and bust: The case for macroprudential instruments
The Europe's World panel on global governance
C. Fred Bergsten	The global crisis has accelerated governance reform
Daniel Daianu	G20 could turn into a global economic security body
Jirí Dienstbier	Nation states cannot meet the challenges of deregulated globalisation
William Drozdiak	An alternative is regional institutions to act in the service of global governance
Monica Frassoni	The only global governance model that would work is federal
Angel Gurría	G20 could give the momentum needed to usher in unprecedented international co-operation
Danuta Hübner	The dynamics of crisis have fundamentally altered the global financial system
Wolfgang Ischinger	We need fundamental reform of the international institutions
Sandra Kalniete	Global governance requires predictable and fair funding
Sergei A. Karaganov	Despite its decline, Europe will be a shining example of how the world should be governed
Kishore Mahbubani	Europe provides both the problem and the solution to reforming global governance
Reza Moghadam	We at the IMF have already begun the process of reconciling effectiveness and legitimacy
Jean Pisani-Ferry	After a brilliant start, global co-operation and governance may disappoint in the years ahead
Hans-Gert Pöttering	The European Parliament must play a central role if we want a democratic model of global governance
Jiang Shixue	China would never accept the idea of a G2
Danilo Türk	We need global institutions capable of making international co-operation inclusive
Guy Verhofstadt	Integration that transcends borders is the logical response to 21st century realities
Download full PDF version of this section