This book provides a critical examination of the most important institutions of global governance in the world today. Drawing on history, political science, law and economics, the authors examine institutions such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and also the global private sector.
In a series of comprehensive analyses the inability of these institutions and entities to promote and protect human rights and international peace is revealed. The authors examine the failure of the United Nations to prevent the most fundamental violation of human rights, including genocide; the inability of the WTO to remedy its democratic deficit, prevent exploitation of vulnerable workers and integrate into its framework the protection of the environment; the consequences of the increasing power of multinational enterprises without the acceptance of their global responsibilities by the global private sector; and, in the case of the international finance institutions, the inability to prevent the financial catastrophes that have occurred in Asia and elsewhere while losing the battle against poverty in many countries in the South. While examining the failures of the past, the authors enthusiastically propose far reaching reforms, suggesting how these global institutions and their member states can reform themselves to prevent the exploitation of the most vulnerable in the global economy and bridge the gap between the high vision that saw the birth of these institutions and their present day failures. Global Governance, Economy and Law calls for nothing less than a global Marshall Plan, a new global political vision and a new system of international taxation to finance the integration of justice into the world economy.
This book will not only interest advanced students and academics in international law, international relations and trade and development studies but also those with an interest in globalization and international governance.