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Occupy!Our last Newsletter noted that a global day of action would be held on 15 October using the banners of ‘Global Change’ and ‘Global Democracy’. In the two months since then, the tent cities (or Occupy) movement has spread to more than 1000 cities, showing a large scale of grassroots interest in a ‘just and democratic global system’. One of the manifestos that has come out of the Occupy movement is ‘United for Global Democracy’, which was produced in a four-month process of discussions by people’s assemblies, groups and individual activists in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa and North America. The manifesto has been endorsed by many of the groups and assemblies involved in Occupy, as well as prominent voices of the Global Justice Movement, such as Arondati Roy, Eduardo Galeano . Michael Hardt, Naomi Klein, Noam Chomsky and Vandana Shiva. You can read more about ‘United for Global Democracy’ in The Guardian and Red Pepper (in English) and in Publico (in Spanish).
Building Global Democracy has responded to several requests from Occupy to feed into debates about what a global democracy would look like, and by what strategies it could be advanced. Our office participated in the process of writing the ‘United for Global Democracy’ manifesto and helped to organise a public discussion on ‘global democracy as a human right’ at the Occupy London site outside St Paul’s Cathedral on 11 December. Speakers included Peter Chowla from the Bretton Woods Project, Richard Laming from the Federal Union, Peter Frankental from Amnesty International UK, our West Europe convenor Jan Aart Scholte and several activists from the camp. Scores of people braved winter chills to join four hours of lively conversations, which were also streamed live on Internet and tweeted to 23,000 followers of Occupy London on Twitter. See a video from the event here.
New Free Toolkits AvailableA new Building Global Democracy toolkit is available online here and/or you can order free hard copies here. This handy foldout document summarises the findings and suggestions of our ‘Learning for Global Democracy’ project, building on the results of our Delhi workshop and ten case studies from around the world.
The previous toolkit on Conceptualizing Global Democracy is available here. A third toolkit, on Including the Excluded in Global Politics, is expected in March 2012.
New Project LaunchedBuilding Global Democracy is starting its fourth project, on Structural Redistribution for Global Democracy. The initiative starts from the premise that, in order to achieve democratic global politics, all affected people would need to have equal opportunities to participate. To reach such equality would require changes in the ways that world resources are distributed. The project explores new rules for the global economy that could achieve more equitable and empowering distributions of credit, information, knowledge and other resources. As always in Building Global Democracy work, contributions will be drawn from diverse regions, cultures, ideologies and walks of life. | |||
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Our Latest Work now Available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish!Building Global Democracy research from the project Including The Excluded in Global Politics is now available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi, Portuguese , Russian and Spanish. These studies highlight creative ways that different marginalised groups across the world have pursued empowerment in global politics. The groups include Dalits, children, Afro-descendent women, sexual diversities, indigenous peoples and the urban poor. The original English versions can be accessed here.
New Writings by Our Conveners
Anand Kumar, our convener for South Asia, has published a book on Understanding Globalization and Emerging India which, among other things, addresses questions of democracy. The book is available here.
Jan Aart Scholte, BGD convener for Europe, has written a working paper on ‘Reinventing Global Democracy’ that can be accessed here. A revised version of the paper will appear in the European Journal of International Relations. | |||
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Visit our Library: Knowledge in one click!
Building Global Democracy has developed an online library with information and links to publications that engage with the issues of Global Democracy. The Library has more than 500 entries and is being periodically updated by our IT guru, Carlos Zepeda. You can sign-up to get library updates, and you are also welcome to submit additional bibliographical resources to enrich the debate and knowledge on Global Democracy by writing to: library@buildingglobaldemocracy.org, | |||
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The Building Global Democracy programme brings together academics and practitioners from around the world to advance knowledge and practice for greater public participation and control in global affairs. Building Global Democracy explores how expanded 'rule by and for the people' can be achieved in respect of global issues such as climate change, financial crises, health concerns, Internet links, migration flows, security problems, and trade. The premise is that more democratic governance can encourage more effective and more legitimate responses to vital global challenges. The Building Global Democracy programme is facilitated through a convening group of ten persons based in ten world regions, with diverse backgrounds and political outlooks. Our administrative office is located in the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation at the University of Warwick in Britain. Core funding is provided through a generous grant from the Ford Foundation, with co-funding from other sources. More details about Building Global Democracy can be obtained on our website www.buildingglobaldemocracy.org or email us at info@buildingglobaldemocracy.org | |||
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Website: www.buildingglobaldemocracy.org | Email: info@buildingglobaldemocracy.org | Tel: +44 (0)24 7657 2532 | |||
The toolkit describes many creative ways that people can become informed and mobilised on global affairs. The compact illustrated guide will be inspirational for NGOs, social movements, students and their teachers, and indeed anyone interested in global problems.
The Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly is an international network of parliamentarians, non-governmental organizations and individuals. Its objective is to coordinate forces around the world who recognize the need to ‘give the world’s citizens a voice’ in global politics. The campaign advocates the creation of a largely consultative global Parliamentary Assembly as a first step towards the long-term goal of a directly elected world parliament. The Campaign is currently supported by around 300 NGOs from 60 countries and 4,500 individuals from 150 countries, who include 1,050 members of national parliament in 100 countries. 
