The Challenge of Global Democracy : An NGO Retreat on Addressing the Democratic Deficits in International Decision-Making

Retreat Report (PDF format)

Assistant Secretary Holmes' Speech

Progressive civil society actors are well aware of democratic deficits at the global level and keen to contest the legitimacy of global governance. They have also articulated a series of incremental reforms to the current system of global governance in previous forums. Some of these proposals, such as increasing the degree of transparency of policies and practices of intergovernmental organizations and trans-national businesses, are not only clearly desirable but also politically feasible in the medium term, and civil society actors are already putting a lot of energy into achieving them. But other proposals, such as those pertaining to the question of representation, are not only much less politically feasible in the medium term, but they are also in need for a wider understanding of what democracy means at the global level.

In order to address these issues, Citizens for Global Solutions teamed up with Oxfam America to gather key civil society leaders together for a three-day retreat in early December, 2003. Made possible by a generous grant from the Ford Foundation, the retreat's purpose was to launch a deeper reflection about the nature of global democracy among civil society leaders from around the world and working in many different NGO sectors.

 In preparation for the retreat, participants were asked to write a "think piece" addressing the nature of democratic deficits in contemporary globalization; the changes needed to secure the legitimacy of global governance; how democratic deficits in global governance affected the programs of their organization; and what their organization does or plans to do to counter these democratic deficits. Their responses were reviewed and synthesized in a framework document by Professors Jan Aart Scholte , Acting Director of the Centre for the Study of Globalization and Regionalization at the University of Warwick, and Jim Riker, Associate Director of the Democracy Collaborative the University of Maryland. Dr. Scholte and Dr. Riker also served as moderators of the retreat along with Heather Hamilton, Citizens for Global Solutions' Vice President for Programs.

During the retreat, participants engaged in facilitated discussions and heard from prominent speakers, including Aziz Ali Mohammed, Special Advisor to the International Monetary Fund and the G-24; Dawn Calabia, Deputy Director of the UN Information Center in Washington, DC; and Kim R. Holmes, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs.
 Resources

• The Challenge of Global Democracy. Full retreat report including framework document, participants and retreat summary. In PDF format.

•  Assistant Secretary Holmes' Speech