Global Governance Evolution: Pandemics, Wars, and Economic Shifts

Introduction to Global Governance

What is governance? The concept of governance has evolved, reflecting new processes and methods by which society is organized. According to Rhodes (2012), "Governance implies a change in the meaning of government, referring to new governing processes, changing order and rules, or new methods by which society is organized." Similarly, Mark Bevir (2012) states, "Governance encompasses all governing processes, whether carried out by a government, market, or network, at different levels and through tools such as laws, norms, power, or language. Governance differs from government by focusing less on the state and more on social practices."

The Evolution of Global Threats: Pandemic Responses

Global threats, such as pandemics, have significantly shaped the need for and evolution of global governance. Comparing two major pandemics highlights this progression:

Spanish Flu Pandemic (1918-1920)

• Number of Countries: This pandemic affected a large number of countries due to early globalization and the connection between nations through World War I.
• International Organizations: At that time, international institutions were limited, and the global response was in its early stages of development.
• Response: It was mainly coordinated at the national level with measures such as quarantines and closures, although tools like vaccines or antiviral therapies were not available.

COVID-19 Pandemic (2019-2021)

• Number of Countries: It impacted almost every country in the world due to high global interconnectivity.
• International Organizations: Institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) participated, leading coordination and advisory efforts.
• Response: Included quarantines, social distancing, rapid vaccine development, and mobilization of international resources to mitigate health and economic effects.

The Emergence of Global Governance

The concept of global governance reflects the growing interdependence of nations and the need for organizational structures to address common challenges. This need began to emerge as early as the 19th century.

Global Governance: Historical Context

Global governance has sought to create initiatives that not only reflect the problems of the time but also prevailing values, such as the advancement of human rights, economic regulation, and support for peace.

Pre-World War I Foundations

Before World War I, global governance was based on two fundamental pillars:

1. Functional Specialized Agencies

   • International Telegraph Union (1865): Regulation of transnational communications.
   • International Bureau of Weights and Measures (1875): Global standardization of measurements.
   • International Association for Labor Legislation (1889): Defense of global labor rights.
   • International Electrotechnical Commission (1906): Technical standards in electrical engineering.

2. Classical Internationalism

   A movement that promoted:

   • Perpetual peace.
   • International arbitration to resolve conflicts between states.
   • Internal political reforms toward democratic systems.

World War I (1914-1918)

World War I was a global conflict caused by military alliances, triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. It pitted the Triple Entente (France, United Kingdom, Russia) against the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) on fronts such as the Western and Eastern, using technologies like artillery, gas, and airplanes. It ended in 1918 with the intervention of the United States.

Post-World War I Developments

After the war, the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, German, and Russian empires collapsed, and new states such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia emerged. In Russia, the Bolsheviks consolidated their 1917 revolution, establishing the Soviet Union (1922), which became a key player in global politics by promoting communism as an alternative to capitalism. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) imposed severe sanctions on Germany, generating resentments that would contribute to World War II.

Economic Landscape and Crises

Before the 1929 crash, the global economy went through a period of apparent prosperity known as the Roaring Twenties. This era was characterized by massive industrial growth led by the United States, global trade expansion, advances in mass production, and a speculative bubble in financial markets.

The Roaring Twenties and Economic Fragility

However, this prosperity was fragile due to several factors:

• Agricultural overproduction.
• Dependence on credit.
• Unequal wealth distribution.
• Lack of economic regulation.

This interconnected system relied heavily on U.S. loans granted for European reconstruction after World War I.

The Great Depression (1929)

In October 1929, the collapse of the U.S. stock market marked the start of the Great Depression, an unprecedented global economic crisis. Excessive speculation and a lack of financial confidence led to the market crash, dragging down interdependent economies worldwide.

Key impacts included:

• International trade contracted drastically due to falling demand and the imposition of tariffs.
• Millions of people lost their jobs, especially in industrial economies like Germany and the United States.
• The social impact was devastating, with increased poverty and the rise of extremist movements like fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany.

The crisis revealed the weakness of international institutions such as the League of Nations, which lacked tools to address economic problems of this magnitude. The lack of coordination between states and the absence of economic planning worsened the collapse. This event marked the end of the classical liberal model based on free and unregulated markets, highlighting the need for new economic policies and global governance structures that would later give rise to initiatives such as the Bretton Woods system after World War II.

Global Economic Governance Frameworks

Global economic governance refers to the institutions, rules, and processes designed to manage the world economy. It aims to ensure financial stability, promote economic growth, foster economic cooperation among nations, regulate global trade, and ensure fairness among nations in an interconnected world. It emerged after World War II to avoid crises like the Great Depression (1929) and facilitate global reconstruction. The foundations of this system were established in the Bretton Woods Agreements (1944).

Foundational Institutions

• International Monetary Fund (IMF): Focuses on ensuring global financial stability, supervising economic policies, promoting monetary cooperation, and providing loans to countries in crisis.
• World Bank: Funds development projects and fights poverty.
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) / World Trade Organization (WTO): GATT, the predecessor of the WTO, regulates international trade, promotes trade liberalization, and resolves trade disputes.
• G-20: Composed of the world's main economies, it has become an important forum for coordinating global economic policies, especially in times of crisis, such as the 2008 financial crisis.

Challenges and Evolution

Global economic governance faces significant challenges, including inequalities between developed and developing countries, limited representation of emerging economies in institutions like the IMF and World Bank, and risks associated with protectionism, financial crises, and climate change. In the 21st century, this governance has evolved to address contemporary challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and the digital revolution.

Mid-20th Century Economic and Political Shifts

The second half of the 20th century was marked by economic crises, political transformations, and a reconfiguration of the global order.

• 1968 Tensions: The world faced economic and social tensions, exacerbated by civil movements and inflationary challenges. These tensions paved the way for later crises.
• 1973 Oil Crisis: The OPEC embargo caused a drastic rise in oil prices. This crisis highlighted the energy dependence of industrialized economies and worsened global recessions.
• Bretton Woods Collapse (1971): The Bretton Woods system played a key role by defining the dollar as the international reference currency, backed by gold, promoting global economic stability. However, the system collapsed in 1971 when the United States abandoned the gold standard, marking the start of a system of floating exchange rates and greater financial volatility.
• Decolonization and the Global South: The decolonization process of the 1950s and 1960s transformed the global political landscape, with the independence of countries in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. These new states faced significant challenges, such as poverty and economic dependency, but also sought to redefine their position in the international order. Movements emerged to strengthen cooperation among nations of the Global South, promoting a more equitable economic order and countering the dominance of developed powers.

These economic crises, along with the rise of the Global South and the transformation of the Bretton Woods system, highlighted the interdependence of world economies and the need for more inclusive economic governance. This period marked a transition toward a more dynamic global order, in which emerging nations began to claim a more relevant role in the international economy and politics. The search for a balance between traditional powers and emerging economies remains a crucial challenge today.