Understanding global security - Peter Hough

TOWARDS GLOBAL SECURITY
of 120 different faiths and produced a declaration drafted by Kung (a German Catholic
theologian). In the declaration two principles were espoused as universal: (1) every
human should be treated humanely, (2) people should behave towards others as
they would expect them to behave towards them. From this, more precise moral
guidelines can be deduced, such as non-violence and respect for life, solidarity and
just economic order, tolerance and truthfulness and equal rights between men and
women (Kung and Kuschel 1993, Kim 1999).
Good global governance, that which enhances human security, requires
the restoration of the natural equilibrium between human actions and the ethics
that guide them. This necessitates positive action to ‘identify’ the missing norms,
which are in the interests of all but obscured from view. This is distinct from
the imposition of normative standards since inclusiveness is a prerequisite for allowing
the normative dialogue to grow. Those who consider a political system to be
fundamentally unjust will resist even the imposition of just norms. By identifying the
common denominators of mutually beneficial living, the functionalist imperative
can be reactivated and good governance can evolve. Most democratic states needed
some sort of push of this form, such as the codification of a constitution or a bill of
rights, to assist in the evolution of gradually more just political systems. An important
point here is to recognize that the ‘creation’ of normative ideas and principles today
can affect future human behaviour. Even ‘rational egoists’ are less likely to overturn
moral norms once they are established, unless for compelling tyrannical reasons,
which will then be clearly understood as such (Keohane 2002: 259). If amoral action
is against the norm it is less easily resorted to, even by the instinctively amoral actor.
Reputation is important in international politics. Over the last 50 years governments
gradually have less frequently violated global human rights standards or resorted to
unjust wars because of the implications for their standing in the world. Similarly,
MNCs have begun to act in a more socially and environmentally responsive manner
through fear of the effects of naming and shaming and a general recognition that the
moral climate in which they operate is changing.
Human rights and justice cannot be undone as quickly as they are evolving
so long as they are understood as the rights of all humanity and justice for all. To
ensure this there is compelling evidence that global spillover needs to be ‘cultivated’,
as neo-functionalists advocated for European integration as a means of getting
over the ‘national interest’ barrier to the evolution of mutual interests. The logic of
functionalism could then be reactivated and the needs of people better met.
Understanding how global security can be enhanced depends on it.
• The present state system is inadequate for the satisfaction of human security.
• Political integration at the regional level marks a recognition of the limitations
of the state in satisfying human needs and this logic is now applicable at the
global level.
• The current growth in global governance is not meeting human security needs
because it is skewed by the fact that economic liberalization is advancing at a
greater rate than global policy formulated purely in the human interest.
Key points
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