A reader inspired by the dream of world federalism should be grateful to discover this 2010 dissertation about a world state, because this concept seems to be on the verge of sinking into public oblivion. Nicholas Hagger deserves credit for reminding us of it. He does so by reviewing the history of the idea of global federalism and looks at various approaches to make universal government a reality. In conclusion he constructs a blueprint, which reforms the UN and adds to it a supranational regime consisting of a world president, a council of ministers, a commission, a world senate as well as a world court of justice, armed forces and a world bank. It covers all aspects of a good world government and of course includes worldwide national disarmament in a way where international conflict resolution is transferred from the battlefields to the courts.
Although my comments are lastly of little impact, I will mention some. He says the ultimate end-point we are striving for is a global regime of "republican liberal democracy". I agree, but then again I think we are missing something. Our current concept of democracy is defective. The will of the people is volatile. In crises or after a period of incendiary rhetoric it may become violent and history has shown us an abundance of its deadly results. It needs a device to corral its foolishness and passion around a magnet of reason and good sense. The judgment of an objective, non-partisan group of experts might do that so long as it is given a constitutionally guaranteed vote in parliament. In the hullabaloo of election campaigns it might be a stabilizer, in controversies it might make the difference between right and wrong, and in crises it might be a life-saver. It resembles giving the doctor a vote when dealing with a medical emergency. That mechanism might create something called "informed" or "advised" democracy. It does not curtail, but rather enhance popular judgment. Such improved democracy would benefit us all even before we establish world federalism.
Hagger is concerned about covert and nefarious manipulations of the "elites" such as the Bilderberg group, the Syndicate and others. That brings up the question of safeguards against corruption, under-the-table manipulators or an army of lobbyists who might distort the will of world government the way they are currently doing it with the will of the US Congress. Indeed, such safeguards would be required.
A major concern is the utilization of a reformed UN in a world regime. It has always appeared unworkable to me. The United States in particular would find it unacceptable. It would be required to abandon its veto power, but that step would be seen inimical to the interests of the state of Israel. Loosening our bonds to Israel as a price for obtaining a world government would be a severe impediment and makes the reform of the UN a doubtful approach. As we have seen, all attempts to reform the UN have been unsuccessful during the past 60 years and that's for a good reason. Instead, a more realistic implementation might be a gradual, unobtrusive, perhaps even surreptitious process, one entering "through the back door" (not to alarm nay-sayers) and would originate in the EU, where national pride has already been surrendered to a community spirit. A pact among them to abandon national armed forces in favor of a joint military force and thereby transferring conflict resolution to the courts would be quite uncomplicated and budget-friendly. This pact, divorced from all other aspects of the EU, could be readily expanded eastward to form a Eurasian peace zone, hopefully all the way to Vladivostok and beyond, and its simple, initial administrative structures could gradually be expanded to include further governmental duties as future generations see fit. Such a structure would be a matrix for the incremental implantation of administrative functions. A world constitutional convention with all the benefits of Hagger's blueprint might finally come about a few decades later.
None of my thoughts detract from Nicholas Hagger's treatise. Many roads lead to Rome and he deserves praise and credit for his comprehensive study. His book is a stern reminder that human civilization's most essential step forward is still impatiently waiting in the wings.
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