From a European government to a world-wide government

Often we tend to focus very much on the present, the immediate; on the tactical, and less on the context; on strategy, with one eye on the past and one on the future. If for a moment we leave the daily hustle and bustle behind and take a break to look at the world we live in as a whole, we see that we live in a time of great danger, but also great opportunities. It's actually one of the definitions of the Chinese characters for crisis, signifying both danger and opportunity. We are in a global era restarting the search of a new system, as was the case after the great economic crisis of the '30s; after the Second World War; and after the end of the Cold War in 1989.

What is the specific change in our live now? Unlike the lessons of the past, the current crisis has not led to the victory of protectionism, as in the 30s. Paradoxically, the ever accelerating globalization is thriving more than ever, our work increasingly dependent on foreign markets. Transformations in this context impact inevitably on the processes of governing: we are talking about animation, engaging in conversation with people, as well as efficiency and reducing bureaucracy, developing e-governing, etc.

Therefore it is worth to take a look at how any global government is organized under the pressure of globalization. There are conspiracy theories that have been going around for decades, like the Club of Rome, Trilateral, Bilderberg Group, but the reality is that they have changed in the Internet age: the groups have to be increasingly more open, including communicating their lists of participants.

If the global elite, economic and political, is seen regularly in such formats, or in the open like at the Davos Forum, it implicitly means that, under the pressure of global challenges, multi-national coordination intensifies. At same time there is a need to redefine international organizations, the keystone of post-war system, i.e.: UN military alliances such as NATO or other regional structures, the EU (aiming at accelerated integration and federation), ASEAN, Mercosur, the African Union and the Arab League.

A world government will not be set up automatically. The fact is that developing a European government is much more likely to happen than a global one; it's easier to govern on a regional level than globally. It is likely, therefore, that our generation of Europeans will move towards a Brussels based government in the next decade, with a federal structure, and the generation of our children has the mission of democratizing global governance.

Dan LUCA / Brussels