Global Prospects for United Nations

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 26 January 1995
World Economic Forum
Davos, Switzerland

"Given the new prospects for international life, I think it is important not only to promote the democratic idea, but also to think globally. We must realize that in order for democracy to have real meaning, it must be possible for it to be exercised everywhere that power is concentrated - at the national level, of course, but also at the international and, henceforth, the transnational levels.

"For democracy is not just a form of government of or among States. It must be the method by which all power, of whatever kind, is wielded in today's international society.

"In other words, I firmly believe that the globalization of the economy must be accompanied by the progressive globalization of democracy.

"In saying this, I am well aware that I am both presenting a paradox and defining a risk.

"The paradox, of course, lies in the somewhat contradictory courses taken by the expansion of democracy and the evolution of power at the international level. At a time when States are gradually achieving democracy, the reality of global power is largely eluding them, because globalization involves the emergence of new powers that transcend State structures. There is, therefore, a tremendous risk that States will become, at one and the same time, increasingly democratic and increasingly unable to control the basic decisions on which their future and that of the planet ultimately depend."

Aussenpolitik - German Foreign Affairs Review: Vol. 46 / No. 2

Boutros-Ghali et les Nations-Unies vus par Washington 

Posted to	alt.politics.org.un, fr.soc.politique
From		Marc Bonnaud <mbonnaud@francenet.fr>
Organization	prend un "s" et pas un "z"
Date		Wed, 02 Oct 1996 16:02:00 -0700
Message-ID	<3252F468.10B7@francenet.fr>
Le secrétaire général des Nations-Unies, Boutros Boutros-Ghali est soutenu pour sa réélection par la totalité des Etats représentés aux Nations-Unies, à l'exception des Etats-Unis, pour lesquels Madeleine Albright a déclaré que "le secrétaire général doit être un administrateur et pas un diplomate". Qu'en pensez-vous? Serait-il donc plus facile de faire pression sur un administrateur que sur un diplomate? Et un pays qui n'a pas payé sa participation depuis plusieurs années peut-il être admis à faire valoir son droit de veto?

[The secretary general of the United Nations, Boutros Boutros-Ghali is supported for re-election by all the members of the United Nations, with the exception of the United States, for whom Madeleine Albright has declared that "the secretary general should be an administrator and not a diplomat." What do you think? Is it easier to manipulate an administrator than a diplomat? And a country that hasn't payed its membership fees for several years, can its right of veto be allowed?]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Marc Bonnaud - courrier : mbonnaud@francenet.fr ; page frontispice sur la Toile : http://PersoWeb.francenet.fr/~mbonnaud/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++