Global Governance: Lessons from Europe

This paper provides the (English translation) of the text of the Gunnar Myrdal Lecture presented at the U.N. Palais des Nations in 2005. The lecture provides a framework for attempting to determine the level and type of governance needed for a world that is increasingly globalized. It is argued that global governance should be based upon the principle of subsidiarity and thus limited to only those cases where a more regional approach would be ineffective. The experience of European integration is used as the basis for understanding the need for global governance. European integration rests upon three necessary conditions, a shared political will to integrate, an agreement on the goals to be sought, and the presence of a set of institutions which are able to deliver the desired outcome. Based upon the comparisons of European and global governance, five lessons are discussed. Overall the general theme is that no shared governance is possible without the underpinnings of shared values.