From Chaos to Cooperation: Rethinking Global Governance for the 21st Century

By: Rana Muhammad Hannan

In today’s increasingly complex and challenging political environment, global leadership is on the cliff edge. An increasing conflict in the Middle East, the distrust between big powers including United States and China, and the expanding unpredictability on international relations that we see around, are clearly steering towards an anarchic state on global governance. The fundamental question remains: who is supposed to solve these emergent global problems, and how is abuse of power to be averted? One might only wonder how much further along the political affairs of the world could be if there were simply one authority that governed everything. However, with existing gaps and conflicting forces at work, we are headed in the wrong direction away from constructive solutions, pulling core drivers of initiatives farther apart.

The current state of global leadership can, therefore, best be described as one that is severely in crisis. When the levels of tension increase and the conflicts by all means grow, the global security is under an even bigger danger. The world today requires a radical overhaul of the current multilateralism for one of humanitarian nature not imperialistic. It is possible to argue that the pivotal antagonism of the world’s political economy in the upcoming one hundred years will be predicated on the interconnection of economics, technology and geopolitics, two of which will be the United States and China. This new cold war is not limited to these two countries but goes beyond, and global effects are incomparable. The trade tensions between the US and China are having implications for global stability and the China sponsored Belt and Road Infrastructure project is restructuring political alliances across Africa, Asia and Europe. At the same time, confrontation around Taiwan has raised not only the military dangers but also changed the positions of power in international organizations for example the United Nations Security Council. Many smaller nations are already forced to make a choice on which side they want to be on increasing the divide of international governance and throwing international interests to the wind as crises that require multilateral solutions continue to rise like global inequality issues, climatic change, and epidemics.

However, local wars remain a threat to the general cooperation in international relations at the same time. The Middle East is still considered as always filled with unrest, and it is still viewed as the Hot Spot of the world. Innovations such as Israel’s pushes to take an even more aggressive approach to Gaza or the geopolitics of Iran demonstrate how multilateralism’s’ efficacy is constricted. The United Nations, which is designed to settle such conflicts, frequently is rendered powerless by veto and, farther, by the conflicting agendas of its members. The conditions in Gaza, where violence and suffering continues, stands in contrast with more settled conditions in neighboring Egypt to show how authority in particularistic leadership is crucial to the containment of regional conflicts. Unfortunately, such leadership is missing and as such another Gaza like crisis is probable, meaning cycles of violence continue that cause major disaster to millions of people.

However, some people may ask under whose guidance decentralizing global leadership could be a chance of more localized governance a chance of cutting off the encouragement of authoritarian rule? Although decentralization at the regional level is appropriate in such systems, the failure to develop a cooperative structure at the regional level deepens the issue. Most of the time, bad regional institutional frameworks put nations in a very poor to manage crises as they happen. The following is the end product of fragmented world solutions that are generally haphazard and uncoordinated in addressing international issues. A clear example of this is through managing the spread of the COVID-19 across the world. Though it is normal to respect sovereignty of individual nations, only a collective response in fighting pandemic was possible. The COVID-19 crisis had proved the importance of strong and collective global system to respond to global challenges and avoid future socio-medical crises. Renovation of multilateral institutions still remains an important task in the global economy. Different organizations like the United Nations and the G20 needs to adapt to the current changing nature of politics in words. Newer players to the international economy, for instance, India and Brazil, should be accorded enhanced voice to make significant decisions as the world today needs a more acceptable system of governance. Another proof evidence – the recent expansion of the BRICS – with countries like Russia and South Africa – points to this evident general extension of a multipolar world. However, without properly defined and clear further concept of cooperation in the sphere this could lead to the formation of yet another block which would apparently fail to introduce unity in the approach towards the global issues. The crises such as climate change, poverty and health crises cannot be addressed by nationalism or sectarianism; but with a leadership model that is people oriented and for the common good.

It can therefore be agreed that the current state of leadership in the world is worrisome at best or under siege at worst. The failure of primarily world superpowers to act in unison as well as the inefficiency of global organizations in regulating internal relationships remains a major problem to international stability and integration. In order to bring societies closer together and make them more active in cooperation with each other leaders have to emphasize the dialogue and social change. Too often, governments are undertaking actions that are counterproductive, and citizens of the world must insist on a new role for a new future. Still, this time the risks have been raised higher than ever: this is actually the first time when the world needs courage, joint effort, and negotiation more than ever.

The world has never written it louder that it wants change. People are at a point of decision – for the great can be birthed or the counter-structure can be deepened that spins the globe further toward anarchy. It is high time to look beyond and provide visionary visions, take responsibilities and dare to look beyond national borders. This is the chance of a generation to change the world for the better right at the political elite level. Will the Obama generation latch onto this challenge and embrace it with hope and courage or will the coming generations look back and say this was moment of change that we let slip? The choice is ours to make.