A Possible World: Democratic Transformation of Global Institutions

As globalization proceeds apace international law, and the scope and powers of international institutions - the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization - continue to grow. If democratic values are still an aspiration of the 21st century, then their deficit at international level must be addressed. Patomaki and Teiveinen survey the range of proposals now on the table. Ruling nothing out, they emphasis feasibility. While democratic advances do not come without political mobilization, there is little point mobilizing people for the utopian and unrealizable. This informative, thought-provoking book will be of use both to students of International Relations and Political Science, and also to campaigners concerned with the existing inequitable and unaccountable international arrangements.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: How Should We Assess Global Democracy Initiatives? Part I: Reforming Existing Institutional Arrangements 1. The United Nations 2. The Bretton Woods Institutions 3. The World Trade Organisation 4. International Courts 5. Conclusion Part II: Creating New Institutional Arrangements 6. Empowering Global Civil Society 7. Global Truth Commission 8. World Parliament and Global Referendum 9. Debt Arbitration Mechanism 10. Global Tax Organisations 11. Conclusions Part III: A Strategy 12. Conservative vs. Transformative Proposals 13. Outline of a Strategy for Global Democratic Change

About the Author :
Dr. Heikki Patomaki is Professor of International Relations at the University of Helsinki, and formerly Professor of World Politics and Economy at Nottingham Trent University. He is also Research Director of the Network Institute for Global Democratization. He recently published Democratising Globalisation: The Leverage of the Tobin Tax (Zed Books, 2001) and After International Relations: Critical Realism and the (re)Construction of World Politics (2002). Dr. Teivo Teivainen is Director of the Program on Democracy and Global Transformation at the San Marcos University in Lima, Peru. He published Enter Economism, Exit Politics: Experts, Economic Policy and the Damage to Democracy (Zed 2002). Dr. Heikki Patomaki is Professor of International Relations at the University of Helsinki, and formerly Professor of World Politics and Economy at Nottingham Trent University. He is also Research Director of the Network Institute for Global Democratization. He recently published Democratising Globalisation: The Leverage of the Tobin Tax (Zed Books, 2001) and After International Relations: Critical Realism and the (re)Construction of World Politics (2002). Dr. Teivo Teivainen is Director of the Program on Democracy and Global Transformation at the San Marcos University in Lima, Peru. He published Enter Economism, Exit Politics: Experts, Economic Policy and the Damage to Democracy (Zed 2002).

Review :
Amid all the cant about democracy and globalization, it is refreshing to have a book that takes a democratization that is global seriously, as an objective and as a process. This book adds substance to the slogan that another world is possible. This stimulating exploration of global democracy offers clarity and hope concerning one of the most urgent challenges of contemporary politics. This is a book for all of those who want to engage in practical projects of democratic change. This book provides us with as much needed critical discussion of the possibilities and limitations of this enterprise while maintaining an optimistic perspective on the future of global democratic governance.