Global Governance

This book deals with a range of topics related to global governance. It begins with an introduction to the theoretical literature in order to provide a framework for the individual chapters written by the authors contributing to this book. There are many global challenges that the global community, which includes state and non-state actors, has to deal with. International institutions like the United Nations are trying to meet some of these challenges, for example, in the field of sustainable development. One of the chapters in the book discusses the United Nations assessment of the Millennium Development Goals. Another chapter discusses the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and highlights the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations member states in December 2015. A related topic is climate change, which led to the Paris Agreement that states were encouraged to sign up for. Rising sea levels are threatening the existence of some low-lying atoll states of the Pacific region. The challenges they face are discussed by Roy Smith in his chapter, Maintaining Sovereign Identity among States Facing Existential Threats. There are other threats to our security and well-being posed by terrorism, for example, that require the adoption of appropriate counterterrorism measures. This issue is discussed by Natasha Underhill in her chapter Counterterrorism in a Globalized World: Threats and Ways Forward. Kunal Mukherjees chapter, The Rise of Islamism in the Contemporary World: A South Asian Perspective, discusses a related issue. The book argues that international co-operation is essential to solve problems and make progress in different areas, ranging from international security to international trade. But progress may be slow when states feel that it is not a positive sum game, which is what Chris Farrands argues in his chapter, Global Governance, Multilateralism and the Management of International Trade. Finally, the book addresses the issue of global governance and world order. One way forward is by reforming the United Nations and giving more recognition to regional organisations, as is discussed by Spyros Blavoukos and Dimitris Bourantonis in their chapter, Principled Multilateralism and the United Nations. But as the concluding chapter, Global Governance and World Order: Perspectives, Challenges and Outlook argues, ultimately, global governance has to be conceived as self-governance and not act as an imposition from above based on an international hierarchy; it requires a political commitment from all stakeholders if it is to be successful in maintaining world order.