According to the manner in which globalization has engendered a process whereby, for example, economical and social relationships are no longer ultimately determined by the Westphalian nation-state model, a particular logical extension of this historical development is the possibility of a global government. The recent UN resolution that proposed that the United Nations should evolve into a global government, therefore, is entirely symmetrical with the movement of globalization itself, in so far as this is one possible direction which globalization can take. What is problematic about the resolution, and why the United States, should oppose it, however, is arguably the choice of the European Union as a model for this eventual world government, to the extent that the EU itself is rife with tensions and antagonisms.

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This has most recently come to the fore with the refugee crisis in Europe. Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar, in light of this crisis, has suggested that it could lead to the end of the European Union itself. (Emmott and Sekularac) The failure of the EU to address this problem in a unified manner, with tensions between member states as to how to treat the issue, provides a clear counterpoint to the myth that the EU is a coherently functioning political entity. Strong Eurosceptic political parties are only gaining strength throughout the EU, with the aforementioned refugee crisis and the Greek financial crisis being two examples of explicit failure of EU policy. (Murray, 2015) From this perspective, it is entirely conceivable that the EU itself could collapse before any global government model based on the EU could come into existence.

Certainly, the EU’s failure does not preclude the possibility of other trans-national political entities succeeding where the EU has not. For example, the BRICS organization and the Eurasian Union are two younger alternatives to the EU model, which have not encountered the dysfunctions of the EU. In this regard, the resolution to have the UN develop into a global form of government is entirely in line with globalization itself. However, what is truly problematic about this resolution is the choice of a model for how this global government should operate.

References

  • Emmott, R. & Sekularac, I. (2015). “Slovenia sees end to EU if leaders fail on migrant plan.” Reuters. 25 October. Web. 28 October, 2015.

  • Murray, D. (2015). “Euroscepticism is growing all over Europe.” The Spectator. 3 October. Web 28 October, 2015.