Global Economic Governance: Need of the Hour

Abstract

The term global governance is polemical. It appears in the nineties in the international organizations language in order to shut the critics over globalization. But what does that mean exactly? Generally, the word refer to the fact that globalization has to be governed, since the markets have proven unable to do so. To govern globalization, international organizations say they want to consult new actors, mostly from the business sector and civil society, and to establish a broad decision making process. But global governance has no clear and precise definition, and we can say that international organizations make it operational in different ways and following different models. With its so-called dialogue with civil society, WTO is not apart of this movement towards the global governance strategy.

The international trading system, embodied in the World Trade Organization (WTO), is rightly celebrated as one of the great successes of international cooperation. The success of that system, however, has not been matched in other important areas of international policymaking, including environmental, labor, human rights, and competition policy. In recent years, the trading system has come under stress because the impact of its success has been felt in these "nontrade" areas. The liberalization of trade and the establishment of multilateral trading rules, for example, have made it more difficult for nation-states to impose trade sanctions on states that fail to undertake certain environmental measures. Governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and individuals concerned about the impact of the trading system on these non-trade issues have challenged the WTO to address this concern. As yet no consensus has emerged on the question of how to balance existing trade interests against these other interests.