2021: The Crucial Year for Social Order-Global Order Transformational Changes

2021: The Crucial Year for Social Order-Global Order Transformational Changes. Brookings Institution. Colin I. Bradford. October 12, 2020

The underlying political driver of the current tensions in the global order is the actual or potential failure of economies to deliver social outcomes that are politically sustainable. This is not just a phenomenon that brought about Brexit and Boris Johnson in the U.K. or Trump in the U.S. This has been and is the drama of developing economies for decades, the source of social unrest in Eastern Europe, the fear of the Communist Party of China, and the discontent of Europeans with the strictures of the EU. It is global and deep seated; sweeping and systemic.

 Populist nationalism is on the rise and authoritarianism is increasing as a result. The easy road for politicians to take today is to appeal to national strength and rally their publics around the flag. The hard road to take is to seize on this moment of hyper-interconnectivity revealed by the COVID-19 crisis and realize that strong multilateral cooperation and coordination are essential for global health and economic recovery in the short run and systemic transformation in the medium and long run.

The urgent necessity is for governments, societies, and firms to realize that there is no going back to normal, that systemic crises require systemic change and that social priorities and people-centered policies are vital to restoring confidence in markets and governance. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

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What’s the ECB Doing in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis?

What’s the ECB Doing in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis? Brookings Institution. Sage Belz et al. June 4, 2020

Like the Fed, the ECB has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by pledging to lend freely and stepping up its purchases of government debt. “Extraordinary times require extraordinary action,” said Christine Lagarde, the ECB president. “There are no limits to our commitment to the euro. We are determined to use the full potential of our tools, within our mandate.” But the governance of the ECB and the political environment in which it operates differ from those of the Fed, and at times have complicated the ECB’s response to the crisis. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

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Transforming Agriculture for Climate Resilience: A Framework for Systemic Change

Transforming Agriculture for Climate Resilience: A Framework for Systemic Change. World Resources Institute. Rebecca Carter, Tyler Ferdinand and Christina Chan.  October 2018

 Transformative approaches to adaptation in agriculture will be needed to maintain and enhance global food security, avoid maladaptation and reduce growing risks of crisis and conflict. Today, the agriculture sector practices adaptation with relatively limited incremental adjustments to existing systems to better manage current climate variability and cope with near-term climate risks. Increasingly, severe climate impacts are beginning to test the limits of what we can adapt to through such relatively minor adjustments. These impacts will increasingly require more dramatic shifts at greater scale, speed, and intensity to manage risk, strengthen food security and protect lives and livelihoods—especially among the poorest and most vulnerable, who often depend on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, fishing and tourism.

This working paper explores the concept of transformative adaptation for agriculture and why it is needed. It looks at how transformative outcomes could be achieved by aligning adaptation projects along pathways and adjusting planning processes to incorporate longer-term, more systemic approaches. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

 [PDF format, 24 pages].

Civic Education: Laying the Groundwork for Democracy

Civic Education: Laying the Groundwork for Democracy. Center for Strategic and International Studies. Daniel F. Runde and Erin Nealer. November 1, 2016

Civic education—through which citizens learn how their country’s government works and how they can participate—manifests itself in many ways around the world and plays a key role in emerging democracies. Programs that foster civic education include voter education, neighborhood conflict-solving initiatives, and participation in city hall or local government institutions. The relationship between an informed, active citizenry and an accountable, transparent government is clear; civic education in schools and beyond teaches citizens how to vote, what their community needs are and what values it holds, and what the social compact between elected officials and their constituents means in practical terms. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

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Governance Falls Behind Globalization

Governance Falls Behind Globalization. YaleGlobal. Ernesto Zedillo. December 3, 2012.

Many in the world point to the need for mechanisms to monitor and control globalization, particularly after a decade when debt crises in one country spread quickly around the globe. Yet as economic interdependence continues to build, governance is not keeping pace. Ernesto Zedillo reflects on globalization and its governance over the past decade. Developed countries have balked at sharing power with emerging economies. Likewise, nations do not want to disperse their power, and leaders resist pressures from domestic special interests. Attempts to reform international organizations, ensuring fair representation and sound procedures to address pending crises, have failed miserably. If anything, the gap between globalization and governance has only widened. The warning signs are there for numerous global crises that can only be resolved with cooperation. Zedillo urges political leaders to prepare their societies for the governance required to tackle the global crises. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

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