A Comparison of Gobal Governance Across Sectors: Gobal Health, Trade,and Multilateral Development Finance
Helble, Matthias; Ali, Zulfiqar; Lego, Jera | February 2018
Abstract
To what extent do the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the World Bank remain central today and how much influence do they still wield in shaping the global agenda? While several studies have traced the development of various intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), charting their growth and influence in international affairs, and assessing their prospects, few if any have compared IGOs across various fields. This paper aims to fill this gap by taking a closer look at three different policy fields to better understand the current architecture of global governance, the centrality of IGOs, the role of new and other actors, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of this “new” architecture. The authors find that, first, the emergence of new private players has significantly eroded the centrality of IGOs such that the course of global governance in health, trade, and development finance has changed irreversibly. Second, regional arrangements have overtaken global ones and nonstate actors have assumed more prominent roles. Third, this multiplicity of powerful players has led to some positive outcomes but also greater inefficiencies and redundancies. Fourth, developed countries have been pivotal in eroding the centrality of IGOs, but developing countries are taking on a greater role in global governance. Fifth, the new architecture can be described as one of diversification in global health governance, fragmentation in global trade, and variation in multilateral development finance. Global governance in the 21st century is thus characterized by a proliferation of actors and a decentralization of authority, an erosion of IGO centrality accompanied by a greater role for nonstate actors, developing countries, and by increased regionalism. Depending on the sector of governance, its inherent aims, and the nature of the actors involved, the new architecture may be one of variation, fragmentation, or diversification. While this new architecture is complex and might possibly lead to inefficiencies and redundancies, it allows a greater number of actors to participate, making it more representative of the current world order and making it possible to mobilize more resources to promote development.
Citation
Helble, Matthias; Ali, Zulfiqar; Lego, Jera. 2018. A Comparison of Gobal Governance Across Sectors: Gobal Health, Trade,and Multilateral Development Finance. © Asian Development Bank Institute. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/7905.Keywords
Development assistance
ADB
Curriculum development
Development assistance
Development aid
Development indicators
Development potential
Development models
Project appraisal
Performance appraisal
Regional development bank
Trade development
Import volume
Export volume
Asian Development Bank
Development
Trade
Development Goals
Skills Development
Sustainable Development
Trade Flows
Trade And Development
Food Security And Trade
Trade Volume
Trade Potential
Trade Flows
External Trade
Industrial policy
New technology
Innovations
Industry
Export policy
Import policy
Capital
Business
Communication in rural development
Social participation
Occupational training
Partnership
Joint venture
System analysis
Labor and globalization
Labor policy
Regional trading blocs
Foreign trade and employment
Developing countries
Industrial priorities
Technological innovation
Technology transfer
Foreign trade regulation
Industrial relations
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