States are sovereign, but they do not operate in isolation. Their security and prosperity are shaped by a shared international environment and by the actions of other states. This lesson explains how global governance helps organize cooperation in an international system without an overarching authority, why shared resources can be overused, and which actors participate in addressing global problems.
All flashcards
What is global governance?
The process through which sovereign states accrue rights and duties and use shared rules and norms to organize cooperation.
What does anarchy mean in the international system?
There is no overarching international authority with the power to govern all sovereign states; this does not rule out cooperation.
What is the tragedy of the commons?
It occurs when actors compete to use a shared, limited resource and their individual use harms the resource or wider community interests.
What is free riding?
Benefiting from a collective good without contributing to the efforts or costs of securing it.
Which actors participate in global governance?
States are primary actors; NGOs, multinational corporations, national groups, and religious actors also contribute.
Quiz questions
What does the term global governance describe?Answer: A process for developing shared rules, rights, and duties among sovereign states.
What does it mean to describe the international system as anarchic?Answer: No overarching authority governs all sovereign states.
Why can clean air be understood as a collective good in the pollution example?Answer: It can benefit people across borders, including those whose states did not protect it.
How can states' short-term economic decisions contribute to the tragedy of the commons?Answer: A state may pursue immediate gains while adding to long-term harm to a shared resource.
Why can global governance help when one state's pollution reduction has limited effect without action by its neighbors?Answer: It can help states coordinate responses to cross-border problems while preserving sovereignty.
Based on Introduction to Political Science by Mark Carl Rom, Masaki Hidaka, Rachel Bzostek Walker (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.