On July 12 and 13, 2004, as part of NIRA's 30th Anniversary Symposium series, the Global Governance Forum was held in NIRA's Conference room. As part of our strategic research project, the thirtieth year since NIRA was founded, NIRA has outlined five target areas for research: social governance, market governance, public governance, regional governance, and global governance. The intent of these projects combined is to examine appropriate modes of governance for the 21st Century. For the Global Governance Forum, NIRA called upon scholars and experts from inside of Japan and abroad to have an open discussion on this theme. The global governance research project began in NIRA in May, 2004, and will conclude in March, 2005. Research is conducted by the NIRA study group on global governance chaired by Professor Yozo Yokota.
- Forum
As globalization deepens political, economic, security and envrionmental interdependence, the necessity for global cooperation in dealing with the challenges faced by the international community is increasing. While it is clear that there is no institution, including the United Nations, that functions as a strong, centralized governing agency, the United States exerts a strong influence on global governance as a 'quasi-governing agent.' Against this background, the new international order was considered, focusing on recent U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as global efforts in counter-terrorism. Against this background, the future stability of international community demands a path for a new international order.
Following a day and a half of closed sessions, an open forum was held for further discussion by panelists and participants.. In this forum, we examined American foreign policy after September 11 and the domestic factors behind American policy making. Also analyzed was US-led global efforts of counter-terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, and what is happening in their reconstruction activity. The forum participants also addressed the question of how to approach 'new threats' faced by the international community today, including perspectives from Europe, with a particular focus on the role of United Nations. Finally, new directions for global governance were discussed, focusing on the potential role of Japan.
The overall goal of this forum was to discuss new developments in global governance and Japan's role in these developments. Day and a half of closed discussions were held as part of NIRA's internal research. Followingly, at the Open Forum, the results for the closed sessions were introduced to a larger group of participants and further discussed. Among the wide range of issues that could be discussed in connection with global governance, questions related to security were the focus of the forum.
- Open Forum
On the afternoon of July 13, the Open Forum was proceeded by Professor Yozo Yokota of Chuo University as a moderator. The program began with a greeting from NIRA President Takafusa Shioya and three presentations.
The first presentation was by Professor Fumiaki Kubo of Tokyo University. The title of the presentation was "What is happening in the United States?" He presented on five points:
- After 9-11, there was very strong support for the president and consensus on a continuing threat and the need to take military action in Afghanistan. However, following the military intervention, a "Marshall Plan" for Iraq failed to materialize, and there were shortcomings in the provision of humanitarian, economic, and reconstruction aid.
- In the latter 1990s, the UN agreed to use sanctions against Iraq, but they were not implemented effectively. Changes in the political landscape after the first Gulf War made Democrats less resistant to the use of force, and allowed President Bush to take advantage of the mood of the country in pressing for war in Iraq.
- There are two campaigns in the United States today. The first is the political race for president between Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry. The second is the contest between the foreign policy elite and the antiwar views held by many voters. Although the outcome of this contest is unclear, current public opinion is similar to that on Vietnam in the early 1970s.
- The stability of Iraq is an especially important problem.
- General issues to be addressed in relation to global governance, including the policies of powerful states, the problem of failed states, prevention of terrorism and counter-terrorism, "ethnic cleansing", WMD proliferation, rogue states, and unilateral military action by the United States.
The second presentation was by Professor Amatzia Baram of Haifa University. He spoke on the topic of "Governance in Iraq: A historical perspective and current advice". He included Iraq's military, Sunni and Shiite conflict, since Hussein's rule began. Beyond current terrorism, he examined Iraqi development from a long-term perspective. Professor Baram highly valued Japanese role of reconstruction activity in Iraq.
The third presentation was by Professor Oshiba of Hitotsubashi University. He spoke on the theme of "New threats and Global Governance: The Role of the United Nations." First, he defined "new threats" as including WMD proliferation, terrorism, small arms, environmental destruction, and infectious diseases. He mentioned that the debate over the use of force is becoming a problem. He also pointed out that actors in global governance, including the United Nations, regional bodies, countries, and local as well as transnational organizations, ought to build multi-layered structures for governance.
Free discussion
After the presentations, participants in the forum and those in the research project became panelists in a discussion. After that, the floor was opened to questions and comments from all attendants. After the discussion, Mr. Michiro Naruto, a special advisor to NIRA, delivered a comment. He spoke on three points: The lessons of the Iraq war, the erosion of national governance, and the relation between Japan and global governance.
At the free discussion, a variety of problems related to global governance were discussed. Among the problems were recent developments in American policy towards Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Korea. Panelists and participants exchanged views on recent global efforts of international community. Finally, NIRA director, Hirotsugu Koike closed the Forum.
Research output from the NIRA global governance research project will be available in March, 2005, when the research project report and recommendations will be released.
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