Introduction. The organizing principles of global security

Extract

‘The new organizing principles of regional and global security are democracy, good governance and the rule of law. There are close relationships between globalization and international security, on the one hand, and democratization, human rights and respect for the rights of minorities, on the other. In the 21st century democracy should be seen not only as a form of government but also as a way towards the peaceful coexistence of nations. Today, the distribution of power is increasingly of a functional character: sovereign states delegate part of their power to global and regional institutions and organizations, part to the national sphere, and part to the sub-national level. Democratic governments, however stable, are not static: they are part of the process in which norms, tenets, procedures and institutions must be constantly reworked. Good governance and democracy, as the new organizing principles of global security, will promote the kind of relationship between states that takes account of divergent interests but eliminates the use of force as a means of settling conflicts of interests.’