Transforming the United Nations System

Transforming the United Nations System PDF Author: Joseph E. Schwartzberg
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9280871994
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
Global problems require global solutions. The United Nations as presently constituted, however, is incapable of addressing many global problems effectively. One nation– one vote decisionmaking in most UN agencies fails to reflect the distribution of power in the world at large, while the allocation of power in the Security Council is both unfair and anachronistic. Hence, nations are reluctant to endow the United Nations with the authority and the resources it needs. Extensive reform is essential. This analysis is rooted in the proposition that the design of decisionmaking systems greatly affects their legitimacy and effectiveness. Joseph Schwartzberg proposes numerous systemic improvements to the UN system, largely through weighted voting formulas that balance the needs of shareholders and stakeholders in diverse agencies. It indicates ways in which the interests of regions can supplement those of nations while voices of nongovernmental organizations and ordinary citizens can also be heard. In numerous contexts, it promotes meritocracy and gender equity. The book's aim is not to create an unrealistic utopia, but rather to establish a workable world in which the force of law supplants the law of force; a world committed to justice and continuous yet sustainable development. The author argues that, given the many existential threats now confronting our planet, the time frame for decisive action is short. The task is daunting and success is not guaranteed, but in view of the urgency of our situation, we can find ways of mustering the will, imagination, and resources to do the job.

Transforming the United Nations System

Transforming the United Nations System PDF Author: Joseph E. Schwartzberg
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9280871994
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
Global problems require global solutions. The United Nations as presently constituted, however, is incapable of addressing many global problems effectively. One nation– one vote decisionmaking in most UN agencies fails to reflect the distribution of power in the world at large, while the allocation of power in the Security Council is both unfair and anachronistic. Hence, nations are reluctant to endow the United Nations with the authority and the resources it needs. Extensive reform is essential. This analysis is rooted in the proposition that the design of decisionmaking systems greatly affects their legitimacy and effectiveness. Joseph Schwartzberg proposes numerous systemic improvements to the UN system, largely through weighted voting formulas that balance the needs of shareholders and stakeholders in diverse agencies. It indicates ways in which the interests of regions can supplement those of nations while voices of nongovernmental organizations and ordinary citizens can also be heard. In numerous contexts, it promotes meritocracy and gender equity. The book's aim is not to create an unrealistic utopia, but rather to establish a workable world in which the force of law supplants the law of force; a world committed to justice and continuous yet sustainable development. The author argues that, given the many existential threats now confronting our planet, the time frame for decisive action is short. The task is daunting and success is not guaranteed, but in view of the urgency of our situation, we can find ways of mustering the will, imagination, and resources to do the job.

A Finer Future

A Finer Future PDF Author: L. Hunter Lovins
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 1771422874
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
The blueprint for an inspiring regenerative economy that avoids collapse and works for people and the planet. Humanity is in a race with catastrophe. Is the future one of global warming, 65 million migrants fleeing failed states, soaring inequality, and grid-locked politics? Or one of empowered entrepreneurs and innovators working towards social change, leveling the playing field, and building a world that works for everyone? While the specter of collapse looms large, A Finer Future demonstrates that humanity has a chance - just - to thread the needle of sustainability and build a regenerative economy through a powerful combination of enlightened entrepreneurialism, regenerative economy, technology, and innovative policy. The authors - world leaders in business, economics, and sustainability - gather the environmental economics evidence, outline the principles of a regenerative economy, and detail a policy roadmap to achieving it, including: Transforming finance and corporations Reimagining energy, agriculture, ecosystems, and the nature of how we work Enhancing human well-being Delivering a world that respects ecosystems and human community. Charting the course to a regenerative economy is the most important work facing humanity and A Finer Future provides the essential blueprint for business leaders, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, politicians, policymakers, and others working to create a world that works for people and the planet. AWARDS SILVER | 2020 Eric Zencey Prize SILVER | 2018 Nautilus Book Awards: Ecology & Environment BRONZE | 2018 Foreword INDIES: Business & Economics

The PGA Handbook

The PGA Handbook PDF Author: Nicole Ruder
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780615496603
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description


Pathways for Peace

Pathways for Peace PDF Author: United Nations
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464811865
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 415

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Book Description
Violent conflicts today are complex and increasinglyprotracted, involving more nonstate groups and regionaland international actors. It is estimated that by 2030—thehorizon set by the international community for achievingthe Sustainable Development Goals—more than half ofthe world’s poor will be living in countries affected byhigh levels of violence. Information and communicationtechnology, population movements, and climate changeare also creating shared risks that must be managed atboth national and international levels.Pathways for Peace is a joint United Nations–WorldBank Group study that originates from the convictionthat the international community’s attention musturgently be refocused on prevention. A scaled-upsystem for preventive action would save betweenUS$5 billion and US$70 billion per year, which couldbe reinvested in reducing poverty and improving thewell-being of populations.The study aims to improve the way in which domesticdevelopment processes interact with security, diplomacy,mediation, and other efforts to prevent conflictsfrom becoming violent. It stresses the importance ofgrievances related to exclusion—from access to power,natural resources, security and justice, for example—thatare at the root of many violent conflicts today.Based on a review of cases in which prevention hasbeen successful, the study makes recommendations forcountries facing emerging risks of violent conflict aswell as for the international community. Developmentpolicies and programs must be a core part of preventiveefforts; when risks are high or building up, inclusivesolutions through dialogue, adapted macroeconomicpolicies, institutional reform, and redistributive policiesare required. Inclusion is key, and preventive actionneeds to adopt a more people-centered approach thatincludes mainstreaming citizen engagement. Enhancingthe participation of women and youth in decisionmaking is fundamental to sustaining peace, as well aslong-term policies to address the aspirations of womenand young people.

Global Civil Society?

Global Civil Society? PDF Author: John Keane
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521894623
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
John Keane, a leading scholar of political theory, tracks the recent development of a big idea with fresh potency - global civil society. In this timely book, Keane explores the contradictory forces currently nurturing or threatening its growth, and he shows how talk of global civil society implies a political vision of a less violent world, founded on legally sanctioned power-sharing arrangements among different and intermingling forms of socio-economic life. Keane's reflections are pitted against the widespread feeling that the world is both too complex and too violent to deserve serious reflection. His account borrows from various scholarly disciplines, including political science and international relations, to challenge the silence and confusion within much of contemporary literature on globalisation and global governance. Against fears of terrorism, rising tides of xenophobia, and loose talk of 'anti-globalisation', the defence of global civil society mounted here implies the need for new democratic ways of living.

An Essay on the History of Civil Society

An Essay on the History of Civil Society PDF Author: Adam Ferguson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Civil society
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description


Citizens and Service Delivery

Citizens and Service Delivery PDF Author: Alaka Holla
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821389807
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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Book Description
In many low and middle income countries, dismal failures in the quality of public service delivery such as absenteeism among teachers and doctors and leakages of public funds have driven the agenda for better governance and accountability. This has raised interest in the idea that citizens can contribute to improved quality of service delivery by holding policy-makers and providers of services accountable. This proposition is particularly resonant when it comes to the human development sectors – health, education and social protection – which involve close interactions between providers and citizens/users of services. Governments, NGOs, and donors alike have been experimenting with various “social accountability” tools that aim to inform citizens and communities about their rights, the standards of service delivery they should expect, and actual performance; and facilitate access to formal redress mechanisms to address service failures. The report reviews how citizens – individually and collectively – can influence service delivery through access to information and opportunities to use it to hold providers – both frontline service providers and program managers – accountable. It focuses on social accountability measures that support the use of information to increase transparency and service delivery and grievance redress mechanisms to help citizens use information to improve accountability. The report takes stock of what is known from international evidence and from within projects supported by the World Bank to identify knowledge gaps, key questions and areas for further work. It synthesizes experience to date; identifies what resources are needed to support more effective use of social accountability tools and approaches; and formulates considerations for their use in human development. The report concludes that the relationships between citizens, policy-makers, program managers, and service providers are complicated, not always direct or easily altered through a single intervention, such as an information campaign or scorecard exercise. The evidence base on social accountability mechanisms in the HD sectors is under development. There is a small but growing set of evaluations which test the impact of information interventions on service delivery and HD outcomes. There is ample space for future experiments to test how to make social accountability work at the country level.

China and the International Human Rights Regime

China and the International Human Rights Regime PDF Author: Rana Siu Inboden
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108898319
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Rana Siu Inboden examines China's role in the international human rights regime between 1982 and 2017 and, through this lens, explores China's rising position in the world. Focusing on three major case studies – the drafting and adoption of the Convention against Torture and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, the establishment of the UN Human Rights Council, and the International Labour Organization's Conference Committee on the Application of Standards – Inboden shows China's subtle yet persistent efforts to constrain the international human rights regime. Based on a range of documentary and archival research, as well as extensive interview data, Inboden provides fresh insights into the motivations and influences driving China's conduct and explores China's rising position as a global power.

The "Third" United Nations

The Author: Tatiana Carayannis
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192597906
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
The Third UN is the ecology of supportive non-state actors-intellectuals, scholars, consultants, think tanks, NGOs, the for-profit private sector, and the media-that interacts with the intergovernmental machinery of the First UN (member states) and the Second UN (staff members of international secretariats) to formulate and refine ideas and decision-making at key junctures in policy processes. Some advocate for particular ideas, others help analyze or operationalize their testing and implementation; many thus help the UN 'think'. While think tanks, knowledge brokers, and epistemic communities are phenomena that have entered both the academic and policy lexicons, their intellectual role remains marginal to analyses of such intergovernmental organizations as the United Nations.

The United Nations, Peace and Security

The United Nations, Peace and Security PDF Author: Ramesh Thakur
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139456946
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
Preventing humanitarian atrocities is becoming as important for the United Nations as dealing with inter-state war. In this book, Ramesh Thakur examines the transformation in UN operations, analysing its changing role and structure. He asks why, when and how force may be used and argues that the growing gulf between legality and legitimacy is evidence of an eroded sense of international community. He considers the tension between the US, with its capacity to use force and project power, and the UN, as the centre of the international law enforcement system. He asserts the central importance of the rule of law and of a rules-based order focused on the UN as the foundation of a civilised system of international relations. This book will be of interest to students of the UN and international organisations in politics, law and international relations departments, as well as policymakers in the UN and other NGOs.