Get Over It

The coming years will tell whether the US intervention in Iraq brought the first modern constitutional democracy to the Arab world or instigated protracted civil war and disintegration .     

Mini‐lateralism Will Get Us Nowhere

The further we get from the crisis moment of the global financial meltdown in 2008–2009, the weaker the momentum to establish an effective system of global governance. Gordon Brown, the former prime minister of Great Britain who hosted the most successful G‐20 conclave in London at the apex of the crisis, laments the complacency that has taken over. With the scandalous departure of Dominique Strauss‐Kahn as head of the International Monetary Fund, a global debate has opened up over whether the emerging economies should have a greater voice in that institution. Nobel laureate Michael Spence comments.     

The G‐20 Must Get Serious About Its Commitments

The sovereign debt problem in Europe, ignited by Greece, has morphed into an economic crisis challenging the solvency of major banks and countries as well as a generalized crisis of governance. Lacking the legitimacy of public support, the leaders of the European Union's fledgling institutions have been indecisive and unable to contain the looming danger of financial contagion. Along with the economic slowdown in the United States, instability and volatility in Europe threaten to derail the fragile global recovery. In this section, several former European leaders as well as political figures from the emerging economies offer their ideas on how to fix Europe and stem the global threat.     

It Is a G‐Zero,Not a G‐20, World

The G‐20 supplanted the G‐8 as the executive committee of globalization as the emerging and advanced economies came together in the wake of the Wall Street crash to stave off depression. Now, each country is going its own way. In this section we examine whether the G‐20 can be saved, and what the countries within it must do to bring the global economy into balance.     

Post‐Party Democracy Can Restore the Rule of the Many Over Money

Historically, liberal democracy was born as a means to curb the power of kings and tyrants through mechanisms that would ensure accountability and consent of the governed. A system of checks and balances—two legislative chambers, executive and independent courts—were instituted to ensure power did not become too concentrated. Today's highly diverse, mass consumer societies, however, have presented another set of challenges. Power is so diffused governance is becoming ineffective. The short‐term mentality of voters and the lobbying of special interests undermine the ability of democracies to focus on the long‐term and the common interest. Because there are more checks than balances, gridlock has supplanted consensus. In this section, we compare Chinese and Western systems on their ability to deliver good governance. The editors of the Economist magazine put the debate in historical context.