Against Global Democracy

Abstract

There is much talk today of the need for forms of democracy that transcend the boundaries of the nation-state — for democracy at the transnational and/or global level. I begin by drawing attention to the word ‘need’ in that sentence. People who talk in these terms do not suppose that there is an eruption of demands by ordinary citizens for new, higher-level forms of democracy — that these citizens have come to realize the limitations of national democracy and are actively seeking new arenas in which to practise self-determination. To suppose any such thing would surely fly in the face of the evidence. The argument, instead, is about changes in the current world order that necessitate, according to its supporters, some form of global democracy. The argument is functional in form: there are certain essential tasks that need to be fulfilled, and that can only be fulfilled by democratic institutions operating above the national level.