Synopses & Reviews
In the 21st century, the world is faced with threats of global scale that cannot be confronted without collective action. Although global government as such does not exist, formal and informal institutions, practices, and initiatives--together forming "global governance"--bring a greater measure of predictability, stability, and order to trans-border issues than might be expected. Yet, there are significant gaps between many current global problems and available solutions. Thomas G. Weiss and Ramesh Thakur analyze the UN's role in addressing such knowledge, normative, policy, institutional, and compliance lapses. The UN's relationship to these five global governance gaps is explored through case studies of some of the most burning problems of our age, including terrorism, nuclear proliferation, humanitarian crises, development aid, climate change, human rights, and HIV/AIDS.
Review
"Never has a serious book on the United Nations and global governance been timelier." --John Gerard Ruggie, Harvard University Law School Indiana University Press
Review
Global governance is the latest catchphrase in discourses about international relations. It signifies 'governance without government,' or how the international community creates rules and maintains order without formal government structures, yet few serious studies of the phenomenon exist. Weiss (Graduate Center, CUNY) and Thakur (Univ. of Montreal, Canada) begin with a clear articulation of the concept as a prelude to how governance issues have played out in the UN. The book is both a history of global governance in the context of the UN as well as a report card of what gaps remain. A notable feature is the amazing breadth of the work; over 75 percent of the book is devoted to nine sets of issues across three different areas: international security (e.g., use of force, arms control, and terrorism), development (e.g., sustainable development, trade, and climate change) and human rights (e.g., rights, responsibility to protect, and health) respectively. Weiss and Thakur have managed to perform the difficult trick of producing a work that can function as textbook, scholarly reference, policy guide, and popular reading. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduate students, graduate students, and research faculty. -- ChoiceP. F. Diehl, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jan. 2011 Indiana University Press
Review
"Every student of global governance, and every course on global governance, needs to have a coherent understanding of the existing UN system and its relationship to the rest of world governance, both as it now exists and as we can imagine it can be. This is simply the best book available for that purpose." --Craig Murphy, Wellesley College
Review
"An intriguing and meaty analysis of the world's collective problem-solving arrangements.... Tom Weiss and Ramesh Thakur are the doyens of contemporary scholarship in this field, and there could be no more credible or lucid guides through these complex and important issues." --Gareth Evans, International Crisis Center, Brussels
Review
"Weiss and Thakur have managed to perform the difficult trick of producing a work that can function as textbook, scholarly reference, policy guide, and popular reading.... Recommended." --Choice Indiana University Press
Review
"Global Governance and the UN will satisfy those who seek a serious grappling with the ethical aspects of international action to address the world's most pressing challenges. The book argues that the UN's evolution is an "unfinished journey":... global governance will continue to evolve, with the UN at the center, in the wake of each global crisis." --Ethics and International Affairs
About the Author
Thomas G. Weiss is Presidential Professor of Political Science at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies.
Ramesh Thakur is the Inaugural Director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for International Governance Innovation, and Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, Ontario.
Table of Contents
Contents<\>List of Boxes, Tables, and Figures
Series Editors' Foreword Louis Emmerij, Richard Jolly, and Thomas G. Weiss
Foreword John Gerard Ruggie
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction: The Problématique of Global Governance
1. Tracing the Origins of an Idea and the UN's Contribution
Part 1. International Security
2. The Use of Force: War, Collective Security, and Peace Operations
3. Arms Control and Disarmament
4. Terrorism
Part 2. Development
5. Trade, Aid, and Finance
6. Sustainable Development
7. Saving the Environment: The Ozone Layer and Climate Change
Part 3. Human Rights
8. Generations of Rights
9. Protecting against Pandemics
10. The Responsibility to Protect
Notes
Index
About the Authors
About the United Nations Intellectual History Project