ASIA PACIFIC COLLEGE OF ADVANCED STUDIES, INC.

A.H. Banzon St., Ibayo, Balanga City, Bataan

GEC-CWORLD: THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

LECTURE 5

Global governance

● Refers to the collective efforts to identify, understand, and address

worldwide problems that go beyond the problem- solving capacities of states.

● Capacity of within the international system, at any given moment to provide

government-like services and public goods in the absence of a world government. It is a
combination of informal and formal ideas, values, rules, norms, procedures, practices,
policies, and organizations that help all actors-states, international organizations, non-
government organization- identify, understand, and address transboundary problems
● It is a movement towards political cooperation among transnational actors, aimed at
negotiating responses to problems that affect more than one state or region.
● is necessary because humanity increasingly faces both problems and opportunities that
are global in scale. Today, transnational problems such as violence and pandemics
routinely reach across borders, affecting us all.
● may also be used to name the process of designating laws, rules, or regulations
intended for a global scale.
● There is no “world government” but the many different regimes of global governance do
have commonalities. While the contemporary system of global political relations is not
integrated, the relation between the various regimes of global governance is not
insignificant, and the system does not have a common dominant organizational form.

Institution that Govern International Relations

● With the growing globalization the government of global relations goes beyond the
national governments. One country’s scale and scope are limited in addressing regional
and global issues like climate change, cybercrimes, global financial crises and territorial
disputes. Aside from the governments, non-state actors continue to increase their roles
in global governance.

International Organization

● When scholars refers to a group like the UN or institution like IMF and the World Bank
they usually called them international organizations
 ● Although some international NGO are considered as International Organizations. The
term is commonly used to refer to international governmental organization or group
that are primarily made up of member state.

The United Nations 

● is an intergovernmental organization responsible for maintaining international peace

and security, developing friendly relations among nations, achieving international
cooperation, and being a center for harmonizing the actions of nations. 
● United States President Franklin Roosevelt coined the name United Nations it is an
organization between countries established on 24 October 1945 to promote
international cooperation. It was founded to replace the League of Nations following
World War II and to prevent another conflict.

Out of 196 countries 2 are not members (Holy see or Vatican and Palestine).
Headquarters: New York
Nations representative Pledge their government to:

1. Each government pledges itself to employ its full resources, military or economic,
against those members of the Tripartite Pact and its adherents with which such a
government is at war.
2. Each government pledges itself to cooperate with the governments signatory hereto
and not to make a seperate armistice or peace with the enemies.
Also the United Nations means allies to fight against the axis powers in the Second World War
II.

● The United Nations officially comes into existence.

● 50 countries' representatives met and held the United Nations Conference on
International Organization to officially make the United Nations Chapter.
Philippines is 28th signatory in the United Nations Chapter under Carlos P. Romulo
administration.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

● Regulates international trades

● Deals with the rule of trade between the nations
● Ensure the trade will flows smoothly, predictable and freely as possible
● Acts as a forum in negotiation trade agreements.
Selective Institution Associated with World Trade

World Bank
● The international financial institution that provides loans to countries of the world for
capital projects
● It was established by the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference or the
Bretton Woods Conference.
World Bank Group
● International Bank Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

● Offers loans to middle-income countries to develop and improved their

economy
● International Development Association (IDA)

● Provides loans and grants programs that boost economic growth, reduce
inequalities and improve people’s living condition
● International Finance Corporation (IFC)

● Providing loans for private sectors in developing countries to create markets

that open up opportunities for all.
● Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)

● To promote foreign direct investment (FDI) into developing countries to help

support economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve people’s lives.
● International Monetary Fund (IMF)

● Ensure the stability of the international monetary system. It does so in three

ways; keeping track of the global economy and the economies of member
countries; lending to countries with balance of payments difficulties; and
giving practical help to members.

Specialized Agencies of World Trade Organization

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 
● To contribute to peace and security to peace and security by promoting international
collaboration through educational, scientific, and cultural reforms in order to increase
universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental
freedom.
● Contribute to build peace.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

● Stimulates economic progress and world trade
 ● Providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seeking answers to common
problems, identify good practices and coordinate domestic and international policies of
its members.
International Labor Organization
● A United Nation agency dealing with labor problems, particularly international labor
standards, social protection, and work opportunities for all.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) 
● A specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat
hunger.
● Help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition

● Reduce rural poverty

● Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable
● Enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems 
● Increase the inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems 
● Increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises.

World Health Organization

● Building better, healthier future for people all over the world 

● Concern about public health

● Prime concern is to eradicate and combat dangerous disease like AIDS/HIV
● Make research in medicine and vaccines to eliminate disease, and development of
nutritious foods
● Responsible for World Health Report and Survey

Others Specialized International Institutions

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

● To foster the planning and development of international air transport so as to ensure
the safe and orderly growth of international civil aviation throughout the world.
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
● Responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine
pollution by ships.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
● Connecting all the world’s people
 ● Allocate global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develop the technical standards that
ensure networks and technologies are seamlessly interconnected, and strive to improve
access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide.
Universal Postal Union (UPU)
● Ensure a truly universal network of up-to-date products and services

● Sets the rule of international mail exchanges and makes recommendations to stimulate
growth in mail, parcel and financial services volumes and improve quality of service for
customers.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
● A specialized agency of the United Nation for meteorology (weather and climate),
operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
● Authorized voice on the state and behavior of the earth’s atmosphere, its interaction
with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water
resources.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
● Intellectual property (IP) refers to creation of the mind, such as inventions; literary and
artistic works; design; and symbols, names and images used in commerce example
patents, copyright and trademarks
● Lead the development of a balanced and effective international intellectual property (IP)
system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefits of all.
International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD)
● Invest in rural people empowering them to increase their food security, improve the
nutrition of their families and increase their incomes. Building resilience, expanding
their businesses and taking charge of their own development.
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
● The specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for
poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
● Responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible
tourism 
● Leading international organization in the field of tourism, which promotes tourism as a
driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and
offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies
worldwide.
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
 ● To foster the planning and development of international air transport so as to ensure
the safe and orderly growth of international civil aviation throughout the world
Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN)
● It is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia,
which was formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and
Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Myanmar,
Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social
progress, cultural development among its members, protection of regional peace and
stability, and opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully.

Economic Participants
Asia-Pacific Economy Cooperation (APEC)
is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic
cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It was established in 1989 in response to the
growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in
other parts of the world; to fears that highly industrialized Japan would come to dominate
economic activity in the Asia-Pacific region; and to establish new markets for agricultural
products and raw materials beyond Europe.

ASIAN Development Bank (ADB)

It is a regional development bank established on August 22, 1966 to facilitate economic
development of countries in Asia. ADB was modeled closely on the World Bank, and has a
similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with member’s capital
subscriptions.
By 2012, both the U.S and Japan held the two largest proportions of shares each at 12.78%.
China holds 5.45%, India holds 5.36%.

United Nation

● Is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and

security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation,
and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.
Role and function of united nation

● The United Nation (UN) was established after the Second World War with one central
mission- to maintain international peace and security. Currently, with the world being
 faced with numerous issues that threaten peace, the UN serves as an actor in
confronting these. 
● Responsible for bringing human rights into the realm of international law through the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
● Become an instrument for governments to identify spaces of agreement and resolve
problems collectively by enabling the exchange of opinions between and among its
members and by hosting consultations.
● Also carries the functions of delivering humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable
development, and upholding international law.

United Nation Five Organs

1. General Assembly
●  is the central deliberative and the only organ where all member-states have equal
representation in discussion and consideration, and policymaking.
2. Security Council 
●  is the organ which has the commitment to preserve peace and security.
3. Economic and Social Council
●  It is the main organ for cooperation, policy review, policy dialogue, and advice on social,
economic, and environmental issues.
4.  International Court of Justice 
●  United Nation prime judicial organs.
5. Secretariat
●  It is the organ tasked to execute the daily activities as assigned by the five other organs.

21ST CENTURY Big Three in the World

The European Union (EU), China, United State (US) As Khanna (2008b:64) put it, the “web of
globalization now has three spiders.”
However, in this view, the US is the one of the Big Three that is declining while the other two
are likely to continue their recent ascent. However, he does not foresee the US being replaced
by the other two; they will coexist and compete actively and aggressively with one another. 

Challenges of the United Nation in 21st century

● The UN is not a world government, and its function primarily because of voluntary
cooperation of the states. If the states refuse to cooperate, the influence of the UN can
be severely circumscribed.
 1. In terms of knowledge, the UN, is underappreciated regarding how its convening
capacity and mobilizing power are utilized to help funnel and consolidate knowledge
from outside and ensure its discussion and dissemination among governments.
2.  The contrasting moral structures of social behavior in different member- states
complicate the formation of a normative standard that can be applicable to all.
3. In formulating propositions, problems occur when only the member-states are heard.
UN belittle the helping hand of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the global
public opinion. Sometimes, recommendations are not executed.
4. Institutions can also be places where ideas are cornered and left behind. The modality
and processes for enforcing compliance with international norms and laws are not
present. In fact, some UN staff members violate, cheat, and challenge them.

Governance and Globalization

● Globalization and global governance are intimately connected

● As globalization occurs, states lose control over their destinies, problems become
“bigger” than the capacities of individual governments, and states must delegate and
possibly abdicate political authority to supranational entities with powers that more
nearly coincide with the scope of the issues and actors to be managed.

Challenge of Global Governance in the 21st Century

● Global climate change and pollution of the environment.

● Poverty and management of economic development.
● Deficit of fresh water
● Pandemics (such as Ebola, Sars, Covid-19)
● Transnational Terrorism
● Global economic crisis or recessions
● Global Migrations
● Global energy markets and their instability
● Management of global trade and investments
● Financial instability and management of financial markets

Climate change, poverty, violent conflict, intolerance and extremism present direct threats to
the unity and well-being of the international community. The greatest challenge facing our
generation is the pollution of our environment as caused by the combustion of fossil fuels as an
energy source.

The Relevance of the State amid Globalization

 Globalization also creates a sense of interdependence among nations, which could
create an imbalance of power among nations of different economic strengths. The role of
nation-state in a global world is largely a regulatory one as the chief factor in global
interdependence. 
Globalization has changed the role of the state in many ways: politically through
interdependence and independence of states, socially through the problems and threats of
terrorism and deadly disease, technological through the media and internet and economically
through the change from national to global economies.