Global community concepts and frameworks

Global Community

Globalization and the Need for Global Community Response: An Exploration of Three Case Studies

In his discussion of the beginnings of globalization, economists O'Rourke and Williamson compare the creation of a global community to the creation of the world, with economists taking a more recent "big bang" view and historians taking a later "big bang" approach (109). Though the exact moment that the global community sprang into existence is unknown, it is relatively easy to trace the development of that community. In 1492, Christopher Columbus made the European world aware of the Americas and paved the way for colonization of and trade with the "new world." On April 6, 1917, the isolationist United States balked as Congress dragged American troops into Europe's "Great War." For decades, globalization may have existed, but the global community did not. If one were to argue that it did exist, one could not argue that it was anything more than a community enticed by the trade opportunities and frightened by the firepower of its neighbors. But with the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by 175 states, companies in different states collaborating on alternative fuel research, and states across the world taking up arms in oil rich countries, it is clear that the global community has evolved to consider concerns beyond economics and war. In fact, three contemporary problems -- global climate change, the peak oil problem, and political struggles over energy -- convey and increasing need for global community and collaborative solutions in the global community.

As environmental science revealed more and more about the facts of global climate change, the need for the global community to address the issue became apparent. Unlike the economic and military concerns that convinced states to interact with their global neighbors based on their own self-interest, the potential effects of global climate change have left many states certain that working with their neighbors to fight the problem will result in the best solution for the entire community. That global actors acknowledge the need and desire for a global community response to the problem can be evidenced by the action that has already taken place to address it. In 1992, intergovernmental organization (IGO) the United Nations launched the Framework Convention on Climate Change, which strongly suggested that sates regulate emissions in order to reduce the elevation of greenhouse gasses. Though a step in the right direction, member nations soon became convinced that a more stringent commitment, rather than suggestion, was needed to affect real change. Thus, the Kyoto Protocol, which required a commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gasses, was adopted in 1997 and took effect in 2005 (Kyoto).

Because of the collective voices of the global community -- states, IGOs, and other non-state actors like environmental researchers and interest groups -- the Framework Convention on Climate Change and finally the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. Because of a global community effort, a solution to the problem of global climate change has begun, but it is not yet complete. Out of 192 countries, only 175 have signed the protocol. Even the United States, one of the global community's most industrialized states, has refused to sign the agreement. Because a global community response was so successful in establishing a partial solution to the problem, following the model of global community response is necessary to achieve a full solution. Global climate change does not affect a single state or a region, but as its name implies, is a global problem. One nation's greenhouse emissions will affect the well-being of another nation in the future. Using this concept, further solutions to this problem can be solicited. By continuing to involve states, NGOs, and IGOs, a solution to this problem can be achieved eventually, but only through community response. Researchers can continue to work toward discovering scientific solutions, NGOs and IGOS can offer incentives for companies and individuals to adopt new greenhouse gas cutting policies, and governments can enforce these policies. The global nature of this problem, in addition to the global community response that fostered both the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol exemplifies the importance of global community in dealing with this international issue.

A second global problem, the peak oil crisis, has established itself as a prime example of the need for global community and global community responses in this age of globalization. Since the use of fossil fuels for energy production first became mainstream, scientists and government officials knew they were a temporary energy source. But with a buy now, pay later mentality, each generation passed the alternative fuel research responsibility onto the next. Now in the midst of a peak oil crisis, scientists and geologists have begun to determine that oil will reach its peak rather quickly, if it has not already. On the individual level, people are concerned with transportation to and from work, heating their houses, and powering their electronic devices. On the domestic level, governments are becoming concerned with aggregate production and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), food availability, and mass panic. According to Clifford J. Wirth of Peak Oil Associates International, the United States is much less prepared than the rest of the world to deal with the peak oil problem, resulting in an eventual cessation of transportation, food production, sanitation, etc. Regardless of the United States' current position among the under-prepared, the peak oil crisis is not contained to the domestic level, but will also have startling repercussions on the international level. Rising prices and falling production has already begun to lead to the macroeconomic problem of stagflation. As transportation begins to become too expensive for most, even those businesses that do not directly rely on oil production will suffer. In addition to the global humanitarian problems of food and shelter supply, the global economy could eventually shut down.