Synopses & Reviews
The simple yet challenging goal of this book is to deliberate the legitimacy, and advance the feasibility, of an important new concept --the notion of global civics. We cannot achieve the international cooperation that is needed for a globalizing and interdependent century without embracing and implementing this important concept.
The first section of Global Civics is a presentation of the overall idea itself; the second section consists of diverse assessments from around the world of the concept and where it currently stands. The third section discusses various options for a global civics curriculum.
Praise for the Global Civics Program
I agree with Hakan Altinay that in order to navigate our global interdependence, we need processes where we all think through our own responsibilities toward other fellow humans and discuss our answers with our peers. A conversation about a global civics is indeed needed, and university campuses are ideal venues for these conversations to start. We should enter this conversation with an open mind, and not insist on any particular point of view. The process is the key, and we should not wait any longer to start it. --Martti Ahtisaari, 2008 Nobel Peace Laureate
The growing interconnectivity among people across the world is nurturing the realization that we are all part of a global community. This sense of interdependence, commitment to shared universal values, and solidarity among peoples across the world can be channeled to build enlightened and democratic global governance in the interests of all. I hope that universities and think tanks around the world will deploy their significant reservoirs of knowledge and creativity to develop platforms to enable students to study and debate these issues. This project is a contribution toward that goal and I look forward to following it closely. -- Kofi Annan, Former Secretary General of the United Nations, 2001 Nobel Peace Laureate
Synopsis
We are experiencing unprecedented levels of global connectivity and interdependence. In order to navigate our global interdependence, we need processes where we all think through our own responsibilities toward other fellow humans, and discuss our answers with our peers. A conversation about a global civics is indeed needed, and the university campuses are ideal venues for these conversations to start. Martii Ahtisaari, 2008 Nobel Peace Laureate
This thoughtful book debates civics in a universal context. It clearly illustrates that we cannot achieve the cooperation that is needed for a globalizing century without developing some form of global civics.
It will always be necessary for citizens and nations to understand costs and benefits. Self-interest will remain an integral component of national policies. It neither should nor can be the only mechanism at work, however. For international cooperation to succeed in our increasingly interdependent world, our perception of worldwide connection and solidarity has to deepen, and our sense of being part of a global community has to strengthen. At times, the sharing that is implicit in any community has to extend beyond national borders. Global Civics reveals how to make that happen.
The book's first section makes the case for global civics. The second section presents global perspectives on the question of global civics, including international feedback from public life, academia, and NGOs. The third section starts the all-important discussion of how to build an effective curriculum for global civics, so that institutions of higher learning throughout the world can teach it. As Martii Ahtisaari points out above, institutions of learning must take a leading role in advancing that agenda.