Democratic Global Governance with UN Reforms: Toward the Future Multipolar World
通过联合国改革实现全球民主治理： 面向未来的多极世界
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Jan Oberg
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January 8, 2025
Last year, I was asked by the prestigious “China Investment” Magazine in Beijing to write a longer analysis of my own choice. It would become the cover story in the first 2025 issue. While I have written several things before (a) for China Investment, it was the first time that I could freely choose. I feel honoured by the trust in extended by the editorial board.
Since China relies heavily on long-range thinking and visions, I thought it would be interesting to write something within the field of future research—which I explain in the introduction to the analysis—about how I could envisage a future world with global governance and a reformed United Nations.
I think it is urgently necessary to focus much less on the past and focus much more on the future. No one can drive to a goal by only looking in the rear mirror… And social science is indeed about the future – and about what C. Wright Mills called the ‘sociological imagination’ and making good, precise predictions. It is also about using intuition and experience to foresee what could come outside, or in addition to, mere extrapolation.
Humanity’s future is doomed – yes, doomed – if we spend 98% of our time and energy on the past and the present – and if we adhere to the totally outdated idea that the future must be an extrapolation of them.
We have to create a better, more peaceful world, and that takes imagination (and will often be met with the narrow-minded response that this or that idea is not realistic).
Enjoy!
China Investment 12 • 2024
Democratic Global Governance with UN Reforms: Toward the Future Multipolar World
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As I understand this article, democracy can be defined in many different ways. So what is described here :
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/17/russia-gives-navalny-lawyers-multi-year-sentences-for-relaying-his-messages
is the russian way to interpret what democracy means?
Thanks so much Jan, for this contribution. It is so rare to have any sort of positive proposals from anywhere in the West, and It needs to be shared and taken seriously.
Note: I don't know if it is my computer/ technical skill, but in the whole article I cannot access an of the links. Just for your information in case it is general and not me!
One point I often encounter in so many people is that the UN is useless because is does not enforce suggestions for action vital to solving important issues. Of course, the individual members of the UN need to keep to international laws and follow directives for the UN to function. Each nation (OR ITS LEADERS!!) is legally obliged to do so. However, as we see glaringly in recent years, some do not, and they are the ones which are already very influential and military-minded, and with great influence on media. It is NOT the fault of the UN, which so many people blame. Your suggestions go a long way to remedy this misunderstanding,with many others.