Reforming the United Nations

"Global Civil Society" and the Political Depoliticization of Global Governance

“…As “vehicles” for “world opinion” both into the United Nations and outward from the United Nations (see Childers and Urquhart 1994:176–177; Emmerij et al. 2001:118; Suter 1998:202), NGOs became the primary (albeit not exclusive) manifestation of a differentiated international public sphere that described itself as an international or global civil society. “Global civil society” was a “public sphere” of associational life above the individual, below the state and across national boundaries, constituted by practices of “world civic politics” (Wapner 1995:312–313).…”

“…17 17 Kaldor’s (2003:588–589) distinction between an “activist” conception of global civil society represented by social movements and a “neo‐liberal” conception represented by NGOs notwithstanding, global governance discourse in the 1990s treated both types largely homogeneously. Otto (1996:108, 112), for instance, refers to “peoples‐based NGOs” with a “foundation in the ‘new social movements’.” See also Qureshi/Weizsäcker Group (1995:9–10), Harris in United Nations (1995a), Ritchie (1996:183, 185–186), Canadian Committee (1997:18), Groom (1998:240–241), and Suter (1998:201). …”

The Un at Sixty Three: Problems and Prospects of Reforming a Veteran

“…The Reagan administration was the most anti-UN administration in the US history. It withdrew from the UNESCO, slashed its contributions to other specialized agencies, and was lethargic in paying its dues to the central UN budget (Suter, 1998). Soviet Union during the Gorbachev era paid back its accumulated arrears but at present, Russia is in arrears once again due to its own financial problems.…”

“…If they could get away with paying their subscriptions late, others thought that they too had the same option. And as a consequence, during 1995 (the 50th anniversary year of the UN), the world body was at a particularly low, with only seven countries up-to-date with their subscriptions (Suter, 1998). And the UN entered the new millennium with its perennial financial crisis.…”

“…It is obvious that the P-5 are no longer the globe's main countries like 1945 when the UN system was launched. Britain and France are regarded by many scholars as the countries needed to be excluded from the P-5 (Suter, 1998). But who would dare to exclude these veto-armed nations?…”