It is of course vital to avoid delusions about the realistic future of Global Governance. No central authority can impose policies on sovereign national governments, so it is wrong to consider our future in terms of any sort of "Global government" or even Globally binding law courts.



However, we do increasingly need co-ordination of national policies to create a proper Global framework for international co-operation, and in far more areas than just the "two" categories that this article seems to suggest. Healthcare for example, is not simply a national issue when infectious disease can spread around the Globe in weeks. It should be self-evident that the costs of containing an an outbreak of infections such as Ebola rapidly in poor countries of origin, are far cheaper than managing their effects after they have spread. And without any framework for international taxation, corporations and the owners of capital will continue to enjoy a Global race to the bottom as countries compete with each other for ever shrinking tax base revenues.



We urgently need a change in mindset about international co-operation that must overcome the short sighted stupidity of "them and us" thinking. If anything is obvious from history it is that powerful nations will set the rules that others must live by. It is quite conceivable that by 2050 China's economy will be double that of the USA, at least in PPP terms. By then there will be 5 billion people in Asia, and 2 billion in Africa, while Western Europe and North America together will still only amount to around 1 billion. If the rest of the World even approaches levels of Western productivity in 30 years time ( and why wouldn't they? ) the centre of power will have completely shifted away from America and Europe.



The lesson we should take from this is that the sooner the USA and EU begin to engage in shaping new frameworks for Global cooperation, the more say we will have in how those new institutions are designed. To continue the path of nationalist isolation currently advanced by Trump and Brexit will leave us isolated and alone. A small but very significant example is the humiliating defeat of combined efforts of UK/US to retain control of the Chagos Islands, home to the strategic US military base at Diago Garcia. The scale of defeat on this decision despite heavy lobbying from the anglo-American nations demonstrates just how far our power has already waned.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/21/chagos-islands-un-expected-to-call-for-end-of-british-control



The old colonial powers of the 20th century need to wake up to realities of Global power politics in the 21st. In truth, the sooner we enter into a structured Global partnership that allows for protection of national rights, and advancement of collective Global Goals, the greater the influence we will have on shaping Global governance in the 21st century. If we fail to shape this future now, before long it will be done without us, and in ways that are unlikely to advance democracy, or human rights that we prize.



Robert P Bruce

Author www.TheGlobalRace.net