CONTEMPORARY

GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
BSBA 1A: GROUP 5
What is
government?
GOVERNMENT

Is an instrumentality through the will of the people is expressed,

formulated, and realized. How the government is being run and
managed by the people who are in the government called
governance. It relates to the system of interaction and decision-
making among the actors involved in solving certain issues or
problems leading to the creation, reinforcement or reproduction of
norms and institutions.
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

Is a movement among transtional actors towards

political cooperationaimed to solve issues or problems
that affect more than one state or region.

Each state has an independent government of which

other states cannot and should not control. To negotiate
and enforce compliance of the agreed norms set forth,
institutions are created.
Roles and
Function of the
United Nations
UNITED NATIONS

It is intergovernmental that promotes international

cooperation, and creates and maintains international
order. It replaces the ineffective League of Nations
and was established after World War II on October
24, 1945 to prevent another global conflict. The
name “United Nations” was coined by United
States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and first
used in the Declaration by United Nations of 1
January 1942, during second World War.
United Nations

FLAG EMBLEM

Map showing the member states of the United Nations

Headquarters New York City (international territory)
Official Languages Arabic Russian French
English Chinese Spanish
The 6 organs of United Nations
General
Assembly

Trusteeship Security
Council Council

Organs of
United Nations

International
Court of Secretariat
Justice

Economic
and Social
Council
GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is the main policy-

making organ of the Organization. Comprising all Member
States, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion
of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the
Charter of the United Nations. Each of the 193 Member
States of the United Nations has an equal vote.

The Assembly meets in regular sessions from September to

December each year, and thereafter as required. It discusses
specific issues through dedicated agenda items or sub-items,
which lead to the adoption of resolutions.
SECURITY COUNCIL
The Security Council has primary responsibility for the
maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15
Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter
of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to
comply with Council decisions.

The Security Council takes the lead in determining the

existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls
upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and
recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In
some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing
sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or
restore international peace and security.
SECRETARIAT

The United Nations Secretariat carries out the day-to-day work of

the UN as mandated by the General Assembly and the
Organization's other main organs. The Secretary-General is the
head of the Secretariat, which has tens of thousands of UN staff
members working at duty stations all over the world. UN staff
members are recruited internationally and locally, and work in
duty stations and on peacekeeping missions. Serving the cause of
peace in a violent world is a dangerous occupation. Since the
founding of the United Nations, hundreds of brave men and
women have given their lives in its service.
ECONOMIC and SOCIAL COUNCIL
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), under the overall
authority of the General Assembly, coordinates the economic and
social work of the United Nations and the UN family of
organizations. As the central forum for discussing international
economic and social issues and for formulating policy
recommendations, the Council plays a key role in fostering
international cooperation for development. It also consults with
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), thereby maintaining a
vital link between the United Nations and civil society. The
Council has 54 members, elected by the General Assembly for
three-year terms. It meets throughout the year and holds a major
session in July, during which a high-level meeting of Ministers
discusses major economic, social and humanitarian issues.
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
The International Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges
elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations
General Assembly and the Security Council. The Court may
not include more than one national of the same State.
Moreover, the Court as a whole must represent the main forms
of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world.
These organs vote simultaneously but separately. In order to
be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the
votes in both bodies. This sometimes makes it necessary for a
number of rounds of voting to be carried out. In order to ensure
a measure of continuity, one third of the Court is elected every
three years. Judges are eligible for re-election. Should a judge
die or resign during his or her term of office, a special election
is held as soon as possible to choose a judge to fill the
unexpired part of the term.
TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL
The Trusteeship Council, one of the main organs of the UN, was
established to supervise the administration of trust territories as they
transitioned from colonies to sovereign nations. The Council suspended its
activities in 1994, when Palau, the last of the original 11 trust territories,
gained its independence.

The Chamber, originally designed by Danish architect Finn Juhl in 1952,

has been revamped in a close collaboration between the UN and the
Government of Denmark, with new furniture by Danish designers Kasper
Salto and Thomas Sigsgaard.

Among the iconic aspects of the room is a statue of a girl with arms
upraised, reading towards a bird which hovers with outspread wings above
her head. Carved out of teak wood by Henri Starcke, a Danish sculptor, it
symbolizes Mankind and Hope.
Challenges of Global Governance in the
21st Century
The United Nations has naturally faces numerous problems and challenges given the
scope of its responsibilities. Take note that the institution is not a world government. It
functions due to the voluntary cooperation from states. If one state refused to
cooperate, there is always the tendency that the influence of UN is compromised.

Weiss (2015), identified five global governance gaps: knowledge, normative, policy,
institutional, and compliance. The UN’s relationship to these gaps is explored through
case studies of some of the most burning problems of this age, including terrorism,
nuclear proliferation, humanitarian crises, development aid, climate change, human
rights, and HIV/AIDS.
Five Global Governance Gaps

KNOWLEDGE NORMATIVE
Is a valuable core asset which is both intangible Is a role of the UN which has been fundamental
and concrete, a general and specific source. It is since its creation. Member-states are committed to
a knowledge that makes cooperation among review and reform their norms and practices and
member states possible where many areas are align these with international norms and standards.
highly complex and diverse. Systems Norms are measurements of morality. They serve as
organizations should not only focus on explicit bases of appropriate behaviors for actors in certain
and quantifiable knowledge only. It is tool for community.
promoting interdepartmental, system-wide, and
multi-stakeholders collaboration.
Five Global Governance Gaps
POLICY INSTITUTIONAL
Policies are enacted and implemented to Institutional gaps would include any failures of
settle problems or issues. These are effective mechanisms to ensure that the law is in
articulated and linked set of governing place. The different organization of the UN will
principles and goals for agreed programs to see to it that these policies are properly
reach those goals. There are many actors implemented.
involved in the process of making these
policies. When the involved actors have
different varied interest with regards to
conflict, making policy is difficult.
COMPLIANCE
The final challenge for global governance are the compliance gaps.
It is on the issue whether the policies are implemented or enforced
effectively. Some countries may not be willing or able to implement
the agreed elements of international policy as well as enforce
penalties on violetors and abusers.
Challenges in this Covid-19 Pandemic
Millions of people across the globe had been
infected with the novel corona virus and killed
hundreds of thousands individuals. The COVID-19
pandemic is a transnational treat that requires a
global response, but the outbreak resulted in
varying national approaches in managing global
epidemiological interdependence and expose
further to structural weaknesses in the global
governance system. The virus travelled from
Wuhan province of China to other countries,
spread to global north and global south until it
turned into a global pandemic.
State Relevance Amid
Globalization
Despite the many concerns on the loss of sovereignty due to
globalization, the state remains the key actor in the international and
domestic arenas even with the assumption of the emergence of global
civil society.