The Global Economic and Social Governance Project
The Global Economic and Social Governance Project is a new international research initiative devoted to the analysis of innovative proposals to reform global governance in two key areas - finance and leadership. The project is proposed in the context of the rapidly growing interest in, and demands on, the institutions of global governance. The project will rigorously examine long-standing institutional arrangements and search for new and politically feasible ways to finance the attainment of globally agreed objectives, such as the Millennium Development Goals - goals which are considered urgent but which are unlikely to be met, in part due to inadequate resources.The project premised on the idea that it is crucial for the long-term interests of developing countries that the global architecture of development finance and leadership is tilted further in their direction. It will be exceedingly difficult for significant progress to be achieved on the domestic level without significant changes in global arrangements.
The distinctiveness of this project comes from its combination of scholarly research and a high-level consultation process that is designed to engage key political actors in these important debates, and to develop strategies to advance certain proposals.
This study intends to treat a range of questions that attract considerable political interest, such as proposals for the creation of an International Finance Facility or the allocation of Special Drawing Rights, for the creation of an Economic and Social Security Council, or for internationally coordinated taxes, but which in many cases have not yet been subjected to detailed examination. The study will contribute to a number of other related policy agendas and research programs - for example by advancing the debate on global public goods and their financing, by adding to the important debate about the merits of public-private partnerships and new forms of networked governance, and by injecting new ideas and insights into the push for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.
The initial output of the Global Economic and Social Governance Project will be two jointly edited and authored volumes, which are expected to be published in 2005. The project is led by a team of four scholars with significant experience in the international system. An advisory panel of distinguished academics and practitioners in related fields supports the editors. Several high-level political and expert consultations will be held over the next two years as part of the project. The full project proposal, including descriptions of each book, can be downloaded here: [HTML] [PDF].
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