Globalization and Summit Reform : An Experiment in International Governance

Ever since I was a graduate student at the University of Chicago in October 1962, I have been interested in challenges at the global scale that could affect the future of humanity. The Cuban Missile Crisis brought home to me how vulnerable we are. Indeed it brought home that we could be dead from causes thousands of miles away with a warning of a maximum of thirty minutes. It was obvious the world was becoming smaller. As I looked out the window from my apartment in Chicago, I could see ch- dren of school age at play in the alley – despite it being a weekday. They weren’t in school. One rarely saw adult men with them – only women. What con- quences would that bring? Not far away was the headquarters of a strange group calling themselves the Black Moslems. There was a palpable anger that radiated from there. Where would this lead? Was there not a breaking point in how much difference in wealth and general well-being could be tolerated? I became increasingly interested in international politics, in particular about how we governed ourselves through international institutions and international law. Hans Morgenthau emphasized to us the importance of national interests. It became clear to me that governments needed interests as an incentive to act, c- tainly if there were important consequences in acting. Values were important but were not a sufficient condition.

From the Afterword, by The Right Honourable Paul Martin

"[e]ven if only a partial transition to multi-polarity occurs, we face a significant institutional challenge, because for the moment there is no effective framework within which this broader distribution of power can be contained, managed and mobilized for the common good of humankind. This is the fundamental reason why the L-20 is needed―we need a body that can form the consensus required to deal on a timely basis with issues of all kinds that have global repercussions."

This account of the 'L-20 project' describes and analyses a 3-year mobilization designed as an alternative to the political deadlocks preventing progress on critical global issues. The L-20 would include leaders from the existing G-countries, augmented by key regional powers such as China, Brazil, India, South Africa and Egypt. The book traces the origins and findings of the project, which generated a broad array of cutting-edge research and over twenty substantive, action-oriented workshops involving hundreds of experts and practitioners around the world. The workshop series examined in detail the operational possibilities for a Leaders Group addressing a range of issues, including infectious disease control, climate change/global warming, energy security, nuclear proliferation, management of international financial crises, and the provision of safe drinking water and sanitation, to name just a few. In the context of a rapidly globalizing world, the book addresses the classical problems of international governance – How do we prevent war? How do we feed the hungry? How do we house the homeless? How do we cure the sick and safeguard the healthy? Featuring a Foreword by Dr. Gordon Smith, an Afterword by the Right Honourable Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada, and a glossary of terms, Globalization and Summit Reform provides a unique, insiders’ perspective on the process of international governance and itsfuture prospects.