What is Global Governance?

Global Governance

In this course, Dr Sagar Deva (University of York) explores global governance. In the first module, we ask what global governance is and why we need it, considering three key areas in which it operates – the global economy, international security, and human rights. The second module looks at the core principles and institutions of global governance, often referred to as the liberal international order. In the third and fourth modules, we think about the two central components of the liberal international order – the UN, and the international economic system led by the IMF, World Bank and WTO. We conclude in the fifth module by considering three key challenges to the liberal international order – lack of legitimacy in the developing world, the failure to prevent Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the rise of populism across the world.

What is Global Governance?

In this module, we think about what global governance is, focusing on: (i) the general characterisation of global governance as the system of rules and institutions which enables interactions and activities to function across national borders; (ii) the distinction between global governance and national government, in terms of their different purposes and powers, and the greater reliance on consent over force in global governance; (iii) the increased need for global governance in a globalising world; (iv) the three key areas of global governance – the economy, international security, and human rights.