Emerging powers and global governance

Abstract

This paper highlights and discusses three riddles inherent to emerging countries’ attitudes towards the existing Global Governance (GG) network. The riddles address, respectively, a contradiction related to the decaying aspect of the order, a lack of perception about the shifting centre of world power and the heterogenous views emerging countries hold on many key GG instances. An additional section elaborates on the influences of the disparities within the far from homogenous ‘emerging countries group’, singling out the main role China has been and will continue to play. It also compares their attempts with one of the main lines of reform debated since the first period of the French Revolution, by introducing the idea of The Saint-Just Curse. The three riddles place great uncertainty on the true meaning and efficacy of the efforts by emerging countries at changing or transforming the existing GG. Moreover, the disturbance to the previous statements, due to the presence of the unique emerging group actor which is China, further complicates the analysis. Finally, a common feature of all attempts, The Saint Just Curse, signals a lack of creativity by the group. Summing up, under the light of the arguments here developed, it is not at all sure that the needed re-shaping of the present GG will be a major outcome of the emerging countries international role.