Sunday Times 2
Questions on global governance
View(s):What are the rules that govern “global” space — the rules of ‘global governance’? Who makes these rules? What are the politics of rule-making? If politics in the national sphere provides us with a model of how rule-makers can be held to be representative or accountable, what are the politics which apply in the realm of ‘global governance’?
Prof. Tony Anghie
These are some of the interesting, as well as relevant questions which will be posed by Prof. Tony Anghie in his keynote address on ‘Sovereignty and the Challenges of Global Governance: A Sketch of Three Regimes’. The Sunday Times secured an abbreviated version of the address in advance.
Before touching on the three major aspects of ‘Indicators’, ‘Investment Protection’ and ‘Human Rights’, Prof. Anghie points out that it is a commonplace to say we are living in a ‘globalised world’. Our sense of identity, of who we are, has been transformed by the perception that we inhabit not only a national but global space. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Education website, for instance, speaks of training students to be ‘competent citizens’ while achieving excellence in ‘global society’. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Higher Education proclaims as its goals the ambition to make Sri Lanka a regional knowledge hub.
Prof. Anghie states, “If the space of the ‘global’ has assumed this immense significance, many questions arise thereafter. Classically, states create rules — international law — to govern the globe. The intensification of globalisation however, has complicated this framework. New actors have emerged, wielding immense power in somewhat unconventional but effective ways. Further, it is not only through `law’ strictly so called, that power may be exercised. This continuously changing system, if it can be called that, raises new challenges to issues of accountability, representativeness and legitimacy.
“I address these issues — and can do so only in a superficial way — by sketching out three somewhat different modes of what might be broadly termed ‘global governance’. They are: Indicators, Investment Protection and Human Rights.
Indicators and Rankings:
“We now live in a world where indicators and rankings exist for a startling number of phenomena: The various World Cricket Rankings, Credit Rating Agencies and the World University Rankings are only three of these. Indicators and Rankings rarely if ever make any claim to represent ‘binding law’. Nevertheless, they exercise enormous authority and influence on policy making — whether at the levels of government or the university. Equally importantly, they affect the perceptions of a very large and potentially important audience about the quality or standing of a particular country or institute or programme or even, individual. These rankings and indictors can provide valuable information in an accessible way. The issues then arise: How are these rankings compiled, what assumptions do they make about `quality’ and `measurability’ and what do concepts of ‘transparency’ or ‘accountability’ that are usually associated with proper governance mean in the context of indicators and rankings?
Foreign Investment:
“The importance of foreign investment for achieving economic development has long been emphasised by economists and development organisations. Private actors can play a vital role in promoting economic growth. The character of the legal regime that has been devised to protect the rights of investors has always been controversial because these disputes are usually adjudicated by international arbitral panels — located in Washington DC or Singapore or London — applying an ‘international law’ that is very different from the domestic law that would have been applied if the matter had been settled by a national court.
“In addition, government measures taken in the interests of public health and safety — such as the regulation of tobacco sales — have been challenged by corporate interests claiming that their property rights have been infringed and they have consequently suffered losses. Private actors wield immense power and questions arise of how they may be held accountable for their actions.
International Human Rights
“Although human rights is a relatively new part of international law, it has assumed an enormous significance in global governance, especially as many other major projects have become associated with human rights — including development, self-determination, the rule of law, environmental protection, transitional justice and the conduct of war. Human rights have traditionally suffered from the problem of a lack of enforcement. That situation is changing now as human rights norms are incorporated into national systems and regional human rights systems are constructed. Questions nevertheless persist as to the legitimacy and utility of human rights.
“Sovereignty is conventionally seen as essential to the protection of the rights of a people in the international realm. Each of these three regimes presents different challenges to sovereignty. Indeed, each may usefully compel sovereignty to justify its practices and subject itself to broader scrutiny. While they differ in important respects, we might examine these regimes in terms of basic issues about how they are constructed and exercise power, the participation of developing countries in the formulation of these regimes and the impact of their operations on people in developing countries. These questions may provide some provisional insights into the mysteries of global governance while also suggesting a useful scholarly agenda.”