Human Development Report 2013 - UNDP

International governanceis increasingly influencedby a multitude of voicesand actors throughglobal movementsand transnationalactivist networksdeveloping countries. Developed countriesshould welcome these changes, as the successof the South extends benefits to the North andadvances the prosperity of all.Indeed, some intergovernmental processeswould be invigorated by greater participationfrom the South, which can bring substantialfinancial, technological and human resources.Emerging economies could lead in achievingthe Millennium Development Goals, innovatingin climate change mitigation and concludingthe Doha development round.Global organizations that are more representativeof the world’s countries would inprinciple be accountable to the world’s peoplethrough national governments. However, statemediation alone is inadequate. Internationalgovernance is increasingly influenced bya multitude of voices and actors throughglobal movements and transnational activistnetworks. Indeed, this has been the thrust ofantiglobalization movements, sometimes selfdescribedas “global democracy” movements,which cut across a range of issues, articulate diverseconcerns and embrace an almost endlessvariety of political messages but share the basicconcern of making transnational power andgovernance accountable to civil society.To this end, today’s multilateral institutionsare encouraged to recalibrate their representationand guiding principles, in areas such as:• Voice. Matching the circles of stakeholdersand decisionmakers so that all have an effectivevoice in global matters that concernthem.• Public goods. Building bridges across organizationallines to facilitate the multilevel,multisector, multiactor production thatmany global public goods require.• Leadership. Encouraging global leaders, stateand nonstate, individually or collectively, toexercise leadership to assist the internationalcommunity on issues that are caught inglobal policy stalemates and problems thatare reaching crisis proportions.• Convening. Realigning existing organizationsto reflect changing global economic andpolitical realities, and vesting them with theauthority and expertise to effectively mediateamong different stakeholders.• Information and resources. Helping poorercountries in the South participate moreeffectively in global governance through betteraccess to information, technical assistanceand finance.• Citizen participation. Drawing on the wealthof ideas and views emerging from citizennetworks and from participants previouslysidelined from the global discourse.International organizations are becomingmore inclusive and sensitive to the requirementsof a rapidly changing world. The UnitedNations Economic and Social Council, forexample, has established the DevelopmentCooperation Forum to promote more broadbaseddiscussion of development assistance.There is scope for renewed multilateralism.However, there have been only modest governancereforms at the International MonetaryFund (IMF) and the World Bank. The UnitedNations Security Council’s core structure remainsunchanged, despite decades of debate.More-determined reform is needed for multilateralinstitutions to facilitate cross-nationalcollaboration on stalemated global issues inways viewed as fair and just by all countries.Global civil societyInternational governance institutions can beheld to account not just by member states, butalso by global civil society, which can shape theexercise of power and act as a countervailingforce to states and markets. All kinds of voluntaryassociations—including nongovernmentalorganizations, social movements, advocacygroups, unions and community groups—haveused channels of influence such as elections,lobbying, media and public campaigns to becomedrivers of social change within many leadingcountries of the South—including Brazil,Egypt, India and South Africa. In the Indianstate of Kerala a rich history of civic engagementinfluenced the government to prioritizeextensive social rights and equity- promotingpublic policies. In Brazil, the Sanitarista movementof health care professionals played acentral role in developing the country’s publichealth care system and expanding services tothe poor. 24National civil society groups are increasinglyusing their experience engaging with nationalgovernments to open up independent networks110 | HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2013