A WORLD BEYOND GLOBAL DISORDER

The title of this remarkable collection of essays gives the lie to the oft heard phrase 'New World Order' which is in fact a form of disorder based on militarism and unipolar global hegemony on the part of the United States, even if this is now being challenged by China and a resurgent Russia. In June 1963, President Kennedy gave a commencement address at the American University where he stated that war need not be inevitable and questioned the routine demonisation of enemies. More remarkably, in answer to his rhetorical question about what kind of peace he sought, he replied: 'not a Pax Americana, enforced on the world by American weapons of war; not the peace of the grave or the security of slave. I'm talking about the genuine peace: the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living; the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and build a better life for their children; not merely peace for Americans, but peace for all men and women; not merely peace in our time, peace in all time.' One can't help thinking that Kennedy's assassination might in some way have been linked to these sentiments, especially given the military and foreign policy record of the US since that time. [See my review of The Paradox of our National Security System in Books in Brief below.]

The speech is quoted in a powerful contribution by former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. Former because of her passion for truth, justice and peace. She was taught to be unruly by her father, and in Congress was part of every hot button issue that came across her desk. Because she tried to align her values with her behaviour, her talk with her walk, she became more than an irritant, she became dangerous, with a powerful array of status quo opponents. Here she advocates not war leadership, but peace leadership, like former Congressman Dennis Kucinich. She quotes Stephane Hessel's line "Indignez-vous!" - We should be indignant and outraged about the shambles that is happening in the world – disorder by design. Hence her recommendation that it is time for us collaboratively to interpose our vision and our directed action onto the warmonger's plans. 'We need to give them more resistance than they are getting from us now.' And engage not in a clash, but in a dialogue of civilisations.

The subtitle of 'The Courage to Hope' reflects the title of a book by theologian Paul Tillich 'The Courage to Be'. In this case, hope is not an escape, but an existential position, the courage to hope in an apparently hopeless world, genuine rather than foolish hope. Hope may require patience and needs to be embodied in acts of love and compassion. The book itself is located at the crossroads of hopelessness and hope - on the one hand with a full awareness of the grimness of our global situation, not only military, but also environmental, and on the other a determination to work for a better and more cosmopolitan future. The contributions come from a variety of disciplines and cultural backgrounds, including China, with an essay on spiritual humanism and another on Muslim ethics in an era of globalism. Then the longest and final essay is by Demenchonok entitled 'World in Transition: From a Hegemonic Disorder toward a Cosmopolitan Order'.

The first essay by Richard Falk on a new geopolitical realism for the 21st-century is a masterpiece of brevity and insight. He rightly contends that 'a state-centric world order has shown its inability to find sustainable solutions to nuclear weapons and climate change at the global end of the spectrum and address severe and prolonged situations of criminal injustice in Syria, Palestine etc.' Nation states are incapable of responding to global challenges, and global solidarity is helpless against preventing genocidal violence and crimes against humanity. The old geopolitical realism is still based on hard military power where law, morality and people are fundamentally irrelevant. The current global political leadership still treats this old geopolitical realism as the basis for rational behaviour, but this is manifestly inadequate with its focus on narrow national interest rather than planetary responsibility. Falk sketches the outline of a new geopolitical realism where war and militarism can no longer generate security and stability in an era when species vulnerability has become the signature reality. Structural reforms must be brought about so that global and human interests become primary. Then the development of political will to regulate the world economy on the basis of the values of justice, sustainability, self-determination, and ethical and ecological consciousness.

A telling example of global disorder is addressed in an essay on the use of drones as a means of random, extrajudicial killing of suspects. Daniele Archibugi focuses on three major problems: the status and rights of the target, the authority for the killings - decisions are often made by intelligence agencies for unaccountable bureaucratic bodies - and 'collateral damage' aka killing of innocent people. I agree with the author that these killings are war crimes fuelled by world, and also that they represent the triumph of technology over humanity. It is very clear that this whole area needs international regulation ultimately with a view to banning drone killings. In addition, such technology could easily get out of hand and be used by terrorist groups.

Edward Demenchonok articulates a cosmopolitan ideal as a realistic alternative to the current militarised and unipolar global hegemony. Cosmopolitanism would free the world from any hegemonic domination and the idea goes back at least as far as essays by Kant in 1784 and 1795. The cosmopolitan ideal is an alternative to a conflicted state-centric international system, which needs fundamental restructuring to remove the privileges of the Security Council and create a consensus of all nations as free and equal under the rule of law. This is necessarily pluralistic and morally excludes violence and domination. The urgent task is to develop viable alternatives to hegemonic domination. The author outlines the distinctive characteristics of a New Cosmopolitanism based on diversity, democratic principles, ethics, dialogue and transformation. There is also huge work to be done to articulate and embody these ideals, but this essay, and the book as a whole, makes a very constructive point of departure. Demenchonok warns that a cosmopolitan order will not come about automatically – 'all the great democratic achievements have been the result of people's struggles for their legitimate interests.' However, in this context, the cosmopolitan ideal can become a guiding and mobilising force that will only come about from the grassroots, as our current political leaders are hostages to short-term political and financial interests. And although the need for positive transformation has never been so urgent, the task has never been so difficult, so it is important to raise awareness as a preliminary to more coordinated action.