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Global governance: Political and economic - Coggle Diagram
- Global governance: Political and economic
2.2 Economic
World Trade Organisation (WTO)
- Established in 1995 and is based in Geneva
- Includes 164 member states and is the largest international economic organisation
- Settles trade disputes between member states and enforces international trade rules
- Oversees the trade in services, protection of intellectual property and non-tariff barriers
- Historically the US, the EU, Japan and Canada have formed the dominant quad (informal state alliances that share similar interests in trade issues) in the WTO
- The US and EU represent the main trading nations, while Japan represents Asian countries and Canada represents the interests of NAFTA/USMCA
- More recently a competing quad has emerged consisting of the US, EU, Brazil and India which better represents the developing world
Strengths of the WTO
- Considered to be more democratic than its fellow Bretton-Woods institutions - decisions are made by simple majorities and 2/3 of members are developing states - the rules were written by its member states, many of which are democracies, and the member states elect its leadership
- As a result, developing states are much more influential in the WTO than in the IMF and World Bank
- The GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and WTO have been very successful in reducing tariff barriers - average tariffs on imported goods fell from 40% of their value in 1947 to 3% in 2000
- This has made it much cheaper for states to trade, and made the prices of manufactured goods more affordable for consumers, which has stimulated economic growth and led to better job prospects - by promoting free trade the WTO has helped to raise living standards globally
Weaknesses of the WTO
- Many argue the WTO is too powerful - it can compel sovereign states to change laws and regulations by declaring them to be in violation of free trade rules
- Decision making in the WTO is dominated by the US and the EU - through their membership of the quad, they set the agenda on single undertakings, which have to be accepted or rejected in full - this means the issues of developing countries have not been given significant weight
- In spite of the WTO, developed countries have not fully opened their markets to products from underdeveloped countries - eg the US and EU have been unwilling to abandon protection of their agricultural and textile industries, which has disadvantaged countries such as China and India (who produce large quantities of these goods at lower prices)
- Many argue the WTO is indifferent to the impact of free trade on workers' rights, child labour, the environment and health - as a result many of its meetings have been the target of violent anti-capitalist protests
- Although the organisation is internally democratic it lacks external accountability - its hearings on trade disputes are closed to the public and the media - this leads to suspicion that judgements are not based on impartial interpretation of the rules, but on the basis of quid pro quos and compromises
G7
- Informal bloc of industralised democracies - the US, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK (the EU also attends meetings)
- The group meet annually to discuss issues such as global economic governance and international security
- Represents nearly 50% of the net global wealth
- A very high net national wealth and Human Development Index are the main requirements to be a member of the group
- The G7 is not a permanent organisation and there are no formal criteria for membership - there are annual rounds of meetings under a rotating presidency
Strengths of the G7
- Provides a forum for states to discuss common concerns openly in a way they could not in other forums, such as the UN
- The group is small enough for intimate discussions between leaders and finance ministers, which makes it easier to reach agreement
- The G7 represents states with similar political and economic systems, liberal democratic capitalist economies, which facilitates consensus
- The G7 has made a number of important interventions in global politics - it cancelled $100 billion of bilateral and multilateral debt in 1999, it also cancelled all debts of 19 countries owed to the IMF and the World Bank in 2005
Weaknesses of the G7
- Many argue the G7 no longer represent the world's largest economies - it was formed in the 1970s by what were then the world's richest countries, China and India have since become two of the largest economies in the world (now members of the G20)
- In the late 1980s, G7 members produced 70% of the world's GDP, but this has now declined to below 50%
- Anti-globalisation protestors criticise the G7 for its inability or unwillingness to deal effectively with poverty, inequality and climate change - it has cancelled much of the debt of developing countries, but the gap continues to widen between them and developed countries
- Despite the G7's sanctions and public condemnation, Russia continues to undermine the sovereignty of Ukraine and seems unconcerned about its exclusion from the G7, probably because it still enjoys membership of the G20 (arguably a more important international forum)
The G20
- The G20's purpose is to promote international financial stability and replace the G7 as the main economic forum of wealthy nations
- The G20 is much more diverse than the G7 - with members from North and South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania
- The G20 works closely with a number of international organisations including the UN, IMF, World Bank and WTO
- The EU and African Union are also both members
- The G20 represents 85% of global GDP and 75% of world trade
- Like the G7, the G20 has no formal organisation or membership criteria - the main work is conducted through a series of meetings, there is also a rotating presidency held for a year
- The G20 has created the Financial Stability Board to coordinate the activities of national financial regulatory bodies with international bodies
Weaknesses of the G20
- As with the G7, not all of its members are the world's richest countries - Argentina, Mexico and Indonesia all rank outside the top 20 largest economies
- The G20 is also criticised for its lack of transparency and accountability - there is no formal charter and the most important meetings are private and often held in remote locations to deter protestors
Strengths of the G20
- Since 2009, the G20 has become a more significant body than the G7
- The G7/8 states were particularly affected by the global financial crisis, at the G20's first summits, measures to aid economic recovery were agreed, with a fund of $500 billion to stimulate economic growth
- At the summits, agreements were reached over expanding the IMF's borrowing programme and the IMF's voting shares were adjusted in favour of developing countries
- At the Pittsburgh summit in September 2009, members agreed that the G20 would replace the G7 as the main forum for economic cooperation
2.1 Political
The UN
General Assembly
- Main body for all 193 UN members, where they are all represented and meet annually
- The main representative, deliberative and policy-making body of the UN
Strengths
- Accepted the UDHR in 1948 - global human rights framework which influences domestic and international law
- Only global forum where (nearly) every country is included
- Allows the global community to seek consensus on global issues - in 2005 the Assembly agreed on the R2P principle
- Equal voting rights means smaller states have more influence than in the UNSC
- Agreed and set out the Millennium/Sustainable Development Goals in 2000
- Palestine granted observer status in 2012, despite opposition from the USA and Israel, this allowed Palestine to join the Rome Statue and the ICC - allowed investigation of war crimes in Palestinian territory
Weaknesses
- Seen as a 'talking shop', debate can be both challenging and time consuming - many disagreements between all states
- Gives equal say to democracies and dictatorships
- Represents the interests of states, not the people within them or global opinion
- A two thirds majority is needed for matters of peace and security, membership and UN budget - difficult to pass due to disagreement amongst states
UN Security Council
- Maintains peace and security
- Can authorise military action to enforce its resolutions (eg against Iraq in 1990)
- The council has 15 members - five of which are permanent members who have the power of the veto - China, France, the UK, USA and Russia
- Decisions made by the Council are binding on all UN member states
Strengths of the UNSC
- Represents the realities of world power
- Can be a powerful force when acting collaboratively
- Represents an ideal of collective security
- Represents an ideal of upholding the UN Charter and maintaining world peace
Weaknesses of the UNSC
- Often powerless to make decisions due to permanent member rivalries and clashes of interests - the veto
- Gives too much power to very powerful states so is undemocratic
- Represents the world order of 1945 - France and the UK are now not powerful enough to deserve membership
- Lack of permanent members from South America, Africa and Asia
- Hard to reform as permanent members must agree to changes
NATO
- NATO was formed in 1949 to provide collective security against the threat of military action in Europe from the Soviet bloc, and to promote deeper political integration and stability in Europe
- Article 5 of NATO's treaty states that an attack on one signatory would be considered an attack on all of them
- The Warsaw Pact was formed in 1955 as the Soviet's collective security organisation
- Following the end of the Cold War, NATO have been involved in the American-led invasion into Afghanistan in 2001, which aimed to take control from the Taliban regime, which had allowed Al-Qaeda to use the country as a base
- However NATO's involvement in Afghanistan was criticised due to NATO airstrikes which killed civilians and a number of 'friendly fire' incidents
- Tensions between NATO and Russia have risen in recent years due to Russia's annexation of Crimea and invasion of Donbass on 2014
- Russia has also used its military to support President Assad in the Syrian civil war
Strengths of NATO
- Countries are bound by values of freedom, democracy, human rights and market economies
- NATO has achieved its purpose of deterring Soviet/Russian aggression against member states
- NATO has changed with the times and found new roles to serve the interests of its members (however missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan have been criticised for civilian deaths)
- Spends about 70% of the world's total military expenditure
- Technologically advanced military alliance
- Various military successes include contributing to ending the Kosovo War in 1999 and Bosnian War in 1995
Weaknesses of NATO
- It is questionable whether states would actually come to the aid of an attacked state - Article 5 has only been invoked once (after 9/11)
- All states have different national interests - NATO now has 32 members
- Not all EU member states are members of NATO - 23 states are members of both
- Requires unanimity for decisions to be made - NATO is intergovernmental
- Over-reliant on the military power of the US - the US military is the strongest of all NATO countries
- Dominated by the US - the US accounts for 70% of total defence spending of all NATO countries, the US has influenced NATO's defence strategy against the Soviet and missions in Afghanistan
- Not all countries spend the guideline 2% of GDP on the military - Germany, Italy and Canada have all been reported to spend less
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