Global Governance 2.0 BT - The Changing Global Order: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Globalisation and global governance are frequently employed buzzwords when discussing the characteristics of the current global order. This chapter seeks to both define and illustrate the interaction between these two concepts, along with their accompanying ramifications for state sovereignty. In doing so, it identifies the primary actors involved, including states, intergovernmental organisations (IGOs), regional entities, multinational corporations (MNCs), and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). This chapter also outlines key IR theoretical approaches to global governance, a relevant discussion as global governance is often addressed as an analytical concept or tool, which provides a certain perspective on global politics that differs from mainstream IR theories. The second half of the chapter proceeds on a brief analysis of the ways in which globalization and the diversification of governance play out on the global stage, comparing their differing effects within democratic and authoritarian state systems. In doing so it highlights some adverse effects and critical views on global governance. The chapter concludes that globalisation may exacerbate existing challenges to democratic structures of governance, and that it is therefore necessary to carefully evaluate the organisation and efficacy of global governance schemes.