Global Democracy

Democracy is increasingly seen as the only legitimate form of government, but few people would regard international relations as governed according to democratic principles. Can this lack of global democracy be justified? Which models of global politics should contemporary democrats endorse and which should they reject? What are the most promising pathways to global democratic change? To what extent does the extension of democracy from the national to the international level require a radical rethinking of what democratic institutions should be? This book answers these questions by providing a sustained dialogue between scholars of political theory, international law and empirical social science. By presenting a broad range of views by prominent scholars, it offers an in-depth analysis of one of the key challenges of our century: globalizing democracy and democratizing globalization.

The political project of extending democracy to the global level is seen as the next major challenge for proponents of democracy. This volume considers some of the difficulties which need to be overcome for this extension to take place. The issues discussed include: Philosophical and theoretical questions about the nature of democracy and the justification of its values Pressing political considerations, such as the crucial role of elections in democracy promotion Legal developments, such as the role of international law and judicial networks The nature of the global political space as democratization brings challenges to the ways in which systems have traditionally been organized Global Democracy and its Difficulties will appeal to a range of academics, scholars and students who work across fields such a political theory, international law, comparative politics and political economy. It will be of particular interest to those with an interest in the political, economic, legal and moral aspects of democratization.

Presents the arguments for the establishment of a world government to answer pressing global issues such as war, global injustices and environmental problems.

Contested globalizations -- Rival transnational networks -- Politics in a global system -- Globalizing capitalism : the transnational neoliberal network in action -- Promoting multilateralism : social movements and the UN system -- Mobilizing a transnational network for democratic globalization -- Agenda-setting in a global polity -- Domesticating international human rights norms -- Confronting contradictions between multilateral economic institutions and the UN system -- Alternative political spaces : the world social forum process and "globalization from below"--Conclusions: Network politics and global democracy.

This book defends the case for the expansion of the democratic model to the global political sphere by examining the nexus between the phenomenon of international exclusion and the political response of global democracy.

The scale, effectiveness and legitimacy of global governance lag far behind the world's needs. This path-breaking book examines how far civil society involvement provides an answer to these problems. Does civil society make global governance more democratic? Have citizen action groups raised the accountability of global bodies that deal with challenges such as climate change, financial crises, conflict, disease and inequality? What circumstances have promoted (or blocked) civil society efforts to make global governance institutions more democratically accountable? What could improve these outcomes in the future? The authors base their argument on studies of thirteen global institutions, including the UN, G8, WTO, ICANN and IMF. Specialists from around the world critically assess what has and has not worked in efforts to make global bodies answer to publics as well as states. Combining intellectual depth and political relevance, Building Global Democracy? will appeal to students, researchers, activists and policymakers.

A sweeping account of the rise and evolution of liberal internationalism in the modern era For two hundred years, the grand project of liberal internationalism has been to build a world order that is open, loosely rules-based, and oriented toward progressive ideas. Today this project is in crisis, threatened from the outside by illiberal challengers and from the inside by nationalist-populist movements. This timely book offers the first full account of liberal internationalism’s long journey from its nineteenth-century roots to today’s fractured political moment. Creating an international “space” for liberal democracy, preserving rights and protections within and between countries, and balancing conflicting values such as liberty and equality, openness and social solidarity, and sovereignty and interdependence—these are the guiding aims that have propelled liberal internationalism through the upheavals of the past two centuries. G. John Ikenberry argues that in a twenty-first century marked by rising economic and security interdependence, liberal internationalism—reformed and reimagined—remains the most viable project to protect liberal democracy.

The political project of extending democracy to the global level is seen as the next major challenge for proponents of democracy. This volume considers some of the difficulties which need to be overcome for this extension to take place. The issues discussed include: Philosophical and theoretical questions about the nature of democracy and the justification of its values Pressing political considerations, such as the crucial role of elections in democracy promotion Legal developments, such as the role of international law and judicial networks The nature of the global political space as democratization brings challenges to the ways in which systems have traditionally been organized Global Democracy and its Difficulties will appeal to a range of academics, scholars and students who work across fields such a political theory, international law, comparative politics and political economy. It will be of particular interest to those with an interest in the political, economic, legal and moral aspects of democratization.