Transcultural understandings of legitimacy: A pre-condition for global governance?

Hosted by: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

The legitimacy of global governance is challenged: African countries question the International Criminal Court and accuse it of pursuing only African cases and ignoring crimes in other parts of the world. The decision-making structures of the UN Security Council and of other International Organizations such as the IMF are criticized for not reflecting current configurations of power. And mass protests during meetings of the WTO and G8 shed light on the opposition of vocal sections of the public against global governance institutions.

Shortfalls in legitimacy are a vital problem for the functioning of global governance. The more illegitimate actors perceive global governance, the less likely they will collaborate and the lower the degree of compliance. Achieving global legitimacy is thus of key importance in times of pressing global challenges. One key challenge to constructing legitimacy is the cultural diversity of an international order that has fundamentally changed with the emergence of new global powers. Two programmes in Germany have taken up these challenges by working closely with participants from these emerging powers: The Managing Global Governance Programme by GIZ and the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and CrossCulture Internships by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa). By moving “from information to participation” they actively engage participants from different cultures in the joint creation of common values and norms which guide collective responses to global challenges.

Why are institutions of global governance accused of lacking legitimacy? Is global governance a Western concept? What is the role of cultural diversity? How can global governance be constructed in a more legitimate way? Which role does transcultural dialogue play for creating common values and finding common solutions to global problems?

These and other questions will be addressed by this panel of high-level experts, organised by the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) – Germany’s leading development policy think tank.

Panelists:

Figale, Juliana
German Federal Foreign Office, Training for International Diplomats & MGG Alumni, Germany

Grätz, Ronald
General Secretary, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), Germany

Mallavarapu, Dr. Siddharth
Associate Professor & Chairperson, Deptartment of International Relations at the South Asian University, India

Scholte, Prof. Jan Aart
Faculty Chair of Peace and Development in the School of Global Studies at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick, UK

Moderation:

Reiber, Dr. Tatjana
Senior Researcher at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) in Bonn, Germany